The Privileged Few get their advance copy of the new Good Beer Guide (2022) in the next week, and the whole process of GBG ticking starts afresh. My Ticking Year (£25.99 via Amazon) will come to an end when the Guide is officially released on 12 November (ideal Christmas present for your niece) and the… Continue reading ANTIQUE SHOPPING IN HEELEY
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.
A PINT OF HOLT’S
I end with a picture of a meticulously crafted pint of Holt Bitter (and part of Sheffield Hatter’s meticulously crafted beard), as I make the Sun & Castle (stop I) my final stop before I wimp out and head home (getting old). A wonderful community atmosphere, and I’m pleased to see they’d already got the… Continue reading A PINT OF HOLT’S
SUPER STOCKY PART IV
Don’t worry, it’s not entirely “one pub = one post” on the Stockport Stagger or I’ll be here till Christmas (always a good time to do Stocky). Where were we ? Oh yes, (D), the Arden, pretending to walk off a huge pie on the way down to Portwood. On the way we pass some… Continue reading SUPER STOCKY PART IV
INSIDE THE ARDEN
Pub No. 3 on the Codgers in Cheshire Crawl took me back to the Arden Arms, where my youngest lad was converted to a lifetime of joy drinking Unicorn in April. Well, actually he drinks at Vocation and Fierce so #CaskIsDead. It really is a lovely pub. Six months ago we had to enjoy lunch… Continue reading INSIDE THE ARDEN
TOP 100 PUBS – SWAN WITH TWO NECKS, STOCKPORT
A reminder that if you can’t be bothered to read my report look at my photos from the Stockport crawl you could always go straight to the more concise posts from Pub Curmudgeon (here), Kentish Paul Bailey (here) and Brummie Pete (here). I suspect Cheshire Life had a reporter there too. Stockport had anticipated our… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – SWAN WITH TWO NECKS, STOCKPORT
STOCKPORT OLD CODGERS REUNION ’21 – IT BEGINS
Friday the 8th October 2021. The day Pub Curmudgeon got the gang back, the first meeting of the Beer & Pubs Forum since you-know-what. I wore my special Bass shirt (actually the smartest thing I own since I threw the suits away, which will be awkward at funerals). It was a lovely day to cross… Continue reading STOCKPORT OLD CODGERS REUNION ’21 – IT BEGINS
SHEFFIELD’S PUB HERITAGE
The problem with Sheffield, if you’re a pub ticker, is that it’s easy to be distracted from The True Path (ONLY visit new GBG pubs, don’t get distracted by revisits and beer festivals and keg pubs). We’re getting a few visitors now from backwaters such as Cambridge and Dereham and Hook, and they all expect… Continue reading SHEFFIELD’S PUB HERITAGE
MATILDA MANN MANIA
Oh no, scary new music that’s not 50/70 year old blokes still playing their ’90s/’70s hits ! Don’t worry, there’ll be another pub post along in a minute. I finished an epic Wednesday in London, NOT in the Parcel Yard but just behind it at Lafayette, a new basement venue tucked into the flashy new… Continue reading MATILDA MANN MANIA
INTO ISLINGTON
On the home straight now, as I declare on five GBG ticks and try to think of things to do while waiting for my gig to open doors at 19:00 that doesn’t involve researching pubs. Here’s my “heat map”; bit of a midfield battle, isn’t it ? The walk through Finsbury takes us past some… Continue reading INTO ISLINGTON
CLOUDY IN STROUD(Y) GREEN
Oh no ! Pictures of beer ! What happened to the photos of London’s architectural wonders, cosmopolitan dining scene and hemp shops ? All present and correct on the walk from Finsbury Park to Stroud Green, from Arsenal to Tottenham if you like. I cannot lie, this bit of North London is a bit of… Continue reading CLOUDY IN STROUD(Y) GREEN
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