Many of you* have asked me what bangers I’ve been listening to as I rack up hour after hour on the UK’s motorways and single track bumpy roads this year. 96 hours in August, says Google. During the first lockdown my Marvellous Melancholy Melodies post was a huge hit with readers in the Philippines and… Continue reading THE RETIRED MARTIN GBG22 COMPLETION SOUNDTRACK
Author: retiredmartin
Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.
AUGUST ’22 STOCKTAKE + MINI SEPTEMBER PREVIEW
The August highlights package (prescribed by law) comes late, but at least I’ve got the Google Maps travel summary to share with you. Blimey. A month of exhausting travel saw Wales and England conquered, just like in 1066 or whenever it was. History was never my strong point. Clearly the highlight of any month is… Continue reading AUGUST ’22 STOCKTAKE + MINI SEPTEMBER PREVIEW
9 CRIMES, PROBABLY NINE (9) RULE VIOLATIONS AT BEN LAWERS
Where was I ? Oh, telling you about the Great Scottish Ticking Trip, which came to a halt last Monday in Ben Lawers last Monday, leaving me stranded on nine (9) pubs to go to complete the lot. Will BRAPA get there before me at this rate ? 40 minutes off the glorious A9 from… Continue reading 9 CRIMES, PROBABLY NINE (9) RULE VIOLATIONS AT BEN LAWERS
TEN YEARS AFTER, TEN TICKS TO GO. A PAUSE IN PITLOCHRY
A little pause on the blog of late due to “life events” and “irregular WiFi”, neither of which are Kangaroo Air Force Ventilator covers. Due to those “life events” I’m NOT in Orkney tomorrow, but a week ago I was in northern Scotland reducing my GBG pubs required down to a round ten. I think… Continue reading TEN YEARS AFTER, TEN TICKS TO GO. A PAUSE IN PITLOCHRY
11 (O’CLOCK) TICK (TOCK) – A SLOW DESCENT TO THE APPLECROSS
I know you know I love a bit of early U2 (I saw them in ’81, preachy even then), and there’s no better place to go for the soundtrack as I move inexorably from 12 to 11 GBG pubs to do. By 1981, the Applecross Inn has a coastal route for intrepid pub tickers too… Continue reading 11 (O’CLOCK) TICK (TOCK) – A SLOW DESCENT TO THE APPLECROSS
A DOZEN (GBG) ROSES & A SIX-PACK (OF IPA) – THE TICKING OF STRATHCARRON
With the ticking of the Strathcarron Hotel my GBG requirements fell to twelve. I thought there’d be LOADS of songs with twelve in them, but Cole Swindell was the obvious choice. Dave “US Dave” Southworth tells me Cole is “the new Dylan“*, but I reckon his musical collaborator Shy Carter is the a superior capturer… Continue reading A DOZEN (GBG) ROSES & A SIX-PACK (OF IPA) – THE TICKING OF STRATHCARRON
No. 13 Baby – A Local Hero in Plockton
You’re getting these short reports from The Final Countdown before it’s rudely interrupted by our annual visit to Cranborne Chase (aka Sixpenny brewery land) for the End of the Road festival. I’m there for the usual motley array of teenage angst and Americana and Bao buns, with little interest in the headliners who I saw… Continue reading No. 13 Baby – A Local Hero in Plockton
14 YEARS, 14 TICKS LEFT. BYE BYE SKYE, HELLO PLOCKTON
I want to thank Simon Urry, a legend of the Highlands, for his advice and help in visiting pubs these last few days. He really is a #PubMan, and I can’t say better than that. I also want to thank the folk who have suggested songs with fourteen (14) in the title, and “Seven And… Continue reading 14 YEARS, 14 TICKS LEFT. BYE BYE SKYE, HELLO PLOCKTON
FIFTEEN MINUTES, FIFTEEN (15) TICKS LEFT. CARBOST OR BUST.
Today’s Reader of the Day is the mysterious sidspid, who recommends Kirsty MacColl as the soundtrack as I take you down to fifteen remaining ticks. Blimey, Kirsty was a great songwriter (sometimes let down by tinny production), look at these lines; There’s Suzy-Ann with her tits and curlsWhere mediocrity excelsFor those vicious boys and their… Continue reading FIFTEEN MINUTES, FIFTEEN (15) TICKS LEFT. CARBOST OR BUST.
SWEET LITTLE SIXTEEN (Too young to get married) (as you might ruin my Sligachan GBG tick)
Am I allowed to reference Chuck Berry in 2022 ? Anyhow, sticking rigidly to the Scottish Tickathon, here’s the sixth tick of the final twenty-two, which by my maths makes that a Sweet Sixteen to go*. Big thank you to Cal Mac (Calvin MacDonald, who built the first oracle to take tickers across the sea… Continue reading SWEET LITTLE SIXTEEN (Too young to get married) (as you might ruin my Sligachan GBG tick)
