August 2025. Birmingham (or is it Solihull ?) I’m not a beer festival fan. I always say this to folk who equate beer with pubs. Frankly, the venues are dull, the beer not as cool and crisp as in the pub next door and if I’m going solo I find it hard to start the… Continue reading DID I ENJOY THE GREAT BRITISH BEER FESTIVAL ?
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.
CRAZY TRAIN
August 2025. Birmingham. Just back from four days of nu-folk and falafel wraps and Korean cinema at End of the Road Festival, I bet you can’t wait for my reviews of Glasshouse Red Spider Mite and Tropical F**k Storm, coming up in, ooh, 8th November. The defining image of EOTR 25 is not a pretty… Continue reading CRAZY TRAIN
CHERRY REDS
August 2025. Birmingham. This was the view from our £45 B & B hotel. Chinatown (via a grotty, Newport-esque, underpass), the Gay Quarter (1 pub I think) and HS2. The next week we returned and had a south facing view of a derelict building site. Birmingham is, like Manchester and Sheffield, a city of architectural… Continue reading CHERRY REDS
TOP 100 PUBS – THE CRAVEN ARMS, BIRMINGHAM
August 2025. Birmingham. I’m currently in a field, in Wiltshire (or possibly Dorset) drinking Verdant murk with James, while Mrs RM guards the house. She doesn’t get the weird alt-folk and craft cans, but she does get WiFi. I don’t. So these next few posts may be minimal. But you don’t need to actually say… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE CRAVEN ARMS, BIRMINGHAM
HOOCH IS BACK !
August 2025. Birmingham. Mrs RM had retired to our B & B hotel in central Brum, probably with a huge bag of crisps, and wasn’t coming out again. So as the train back from Dorridge crawled into Moor Street, a bonus pub. Wonder what BRAPA’s been up to ? It was 6:49 PM on the… Continue reading HOOCH IS BACK !
WHAT A RACQUET ! DISASTER DODGED IN DORRIDGE
August 2025. Dorridge. I left Mrs RM to finish her pint under the arches at Indian Brewery so I could catch the fast train to Dorridge, a 17 minute trip with gasping plug sockets the highlight. Obviously I know of Dorridge; I’m a man, I know everywhere. It’s basically a smart Solihull suburb, a Midland… Continue reading WHAT A RACQUET ! DISASTER DODGED IN DORRIDGE
ON THE BRUM DESI TRAIL
August 2025. Birmingham. Two nights in Birmingham at the reliable (and £45) B & B hotel across the A38 from the Victoria, and with the Great British Beer Festival tomorrow Thursday was the day to explore Brum, unencumbered by GBG ticking. I always reckon you need at least a dozen visits to get to the… Continue reading ON THE BRUM DESI TRAIL
TROUBLE BRUMMING AT BREWDOG
August 2025. Birmingham. I should have been at the Great British Beer Festival on the Wednesday, bringing you tasting notes from the No/Lo Alcohol bar and telling you how the Rolling Stones tribute was worse than the real Oasis. But Father-in-Law’s emergency treatment took precedence, and deferring the Brum trip a couple of days had… Continue reading TROUBLE BRUMMING AT BREWDOG
TAKE THE FIRST BUS TO HALESOWEN
August 2025. Birmingham. Halesowen. If July was all about Darlington, August is full-on Birmingham. Two (2) x two (2) day trips to Brum, staying next door to the O2 where I saw Lizzy McAlpine on one of the great nights of my life last October. Four days to get to the heart of the city… Continue reading TAKE THE FIRST BUS TO HALESOWEN
THRAPSTON AWAITS ITS CRAFT REVOLUTION
August 2025. Thrapston. Northamptonshire. Wednesday saw us down in Kent, whizzing father-in-law to Maidstone Hospital and back, via what I can only call a chaotic stop in Tonbridge Spoons, where Mrs RM managed 2 pints of £2 Jaipur in half an hour. At least someone is getting use of those CAMRA vouchers. Thursday morning brought… Continue reading THRAPSTON AWAITS ITS CRAFT REVOLUTION
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