August 2025. Birmingham. Take a look at the OS map of Brum, to the right of New Street Station. Two big white holes, the upper one the HS2 works, the lower a huge empty car park that ChatGPT tells me will soon be a 687 home development called Pressworks, That bit of brownfield marks the… Continue reading BACK TO BRUM TO FILL IN THE BLANKS

August 2025. Birmingham. Another one to upset the “I thought this was a beer blog” mob as we head from tranquil Tanworth-in-Arden into central Birmingham via southern suburbs called Hollywood and Brandwood End that have never seen a GBG entry*, into a suburb that has. Stirchley, home to our much missed Pub Man Peter and… Continue reading THE DEN, STIRCHLEY

August 2025. Tanworth-in-Arden. (Not to be confused with Tamworth, which isn’t in Arden.) A bit of slow tourism for you, a night in rural Warwickshire before Mrs RM’s assault on Brum’s tourist attractions and my own attempt to tick the West Mids. It must have been a bargain late rate due to cancellation or summat,… Continue reading BRYTER LAYTER. HAPPY HOUR IN TANWORTH-IN-ARDEN

August 2025. Warwick. Yes !  An actual, bona fide, GBG chapter completion. 3 years on from The Big Completion, I still enjoy that pinking of a map, even when there’s only a trio of new entries. My final Warwicks pub is in the county town (is it a town ?), and I’m frankly dismayed that… Continue reading WYE VALLEY REACHES WARWICK

August 2025. Lowsonford. Into the heart of middle England now, an England of canals, wonky roofs on country pubs in tiny villages, and pies. The Fleur de Lys is the home of the eponymous pies, a style I’ve never heard of but no doubt one of you will inform me. These are the high beams… Continue reading “BEWARE THE LOW BEAMS !” FLEUR DE LYS, LOWSONFORD

August 2025. Stratford-upon-Avon. Mrs RM is in the MAD museum next to Shakey’s birthplace when I call her to suggest a half in The Garrick, “potentially” one of Stratford’s oldest pubs. “It’s 4 minutes walk, round the corner in the High Street. You can’t miss it“. Oh yes she can. To be fair, I could… Continue reading THE GARRICK, STRATFORD. NOT BAD FOR SHAKESPEARELAND

August 2025. Stratford-upon-Avon. You’ll know this blog hasn’t been too kind to Stratford-upon-Avon over the years, calling it “an irredeemable dump” in 2023, a Northern Midland Maidenhead if you like. But I hadn’t actually visited the town in over a decade, so when Mrs RM wanted to get material for post on steam punk sites… Continue reading An “almost” apology to Stratford-upon-Avon

August 2025. Corley. Coventry. We’d booked our usual B & B chain hotel in Brum from Sunday night, but there’s cheaper rooms at the start of the weekend, like the glamorous (for £40) Days Inn on the M6 just past Coventry. Not very useful for getting you to Coventry on foot, or anywhere interesting, But… Continue reading PUB WALKS FROM CORLEY SERVICES No.1 – HARE & HOUNDS, KERESLEY

August 2025. Long Lawford nr Rugby. Mrs RM decided that she wanted an immediate return to finalise blog material  on Birmingham, a city (like Chisinau) that has obviously never been blogged on before. I reckoned I could finish a few GBG chapters as well, starting off with a rare trip just west of Rugby. Long… Continue reading BEER AND SKITTLES (AND ARTISAN BURGERS) IN LONG LAWFORD

August 2025. Norwich. Outside of festivals, August gigs in cities are a bit of a rarity due to the lack of students, though the Americana folk I bore you with tend to mix up the festivals with the odd gig in small venues. Norwich Arts Centre’s converted church isn’t that small, but the intimacy and… Continue reading SURPRISING CASK STATS IN NORWICH