From End of the Road we made a hurried journal across Cranborne Chase and the famous Zig Zag Road to Shaftesbury. You’ll remember Shaftesbury. In 1981 a giant loaf of bread got stuck at the top of Gold Hill and the entire population of the lower town starved. Mrs RM was doing something called “work”… Continue reading MRS RM GOES TO WORK IN A PUB
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 LATE, LATE NIGHT, AND IT’S ALL TIM THOMAS’S FAULT
Greetings from a sunny Larmer Gardens on Cranborne Chase where I’ve reached the end of the End of the Road and the tent is packed. Back to life, back to the reality of ticking again. I told you yesterday I’d managed to avoid the homebrew, and almost made it through to close sober, but for… Continue reading A LATE, LATE NIGHT, AND IT’S ALL TIM THOMAS’S FAULT
BEAVERTOWN BANISHED, COOKING LAGER BOOMS AT THE END OF THE ROAD
I wondered what would happen to my readership if I stopped publishing new content during my 4 day music festival on the Dorset/Hants/Wiltshire border. Pleasingly, still a few people visiting hoping for pics of Old Boys drinking 6X through a straw in Shaftesbury. We’ll have to hope Mrs RM took THOSE photos as she tours… Continue reading BEAVERTOWN BANISHED, COOKING LAGER BOOMS AT THE END OF THE ROAD
Blog Map
a reminder my blog map will be your essential guide to the UK pubs, graffiti and Chinese takeaways if I can ever be bothered to finish updating it.
AUGUST ’21 STOCKTAKE + SEPTEMBER PREVIEW
What a great month August was. OK, there was no actual sun, but as long as you stayed away from the tourists at the coast it was fine. I seemed to get around a fair bit, despite the British seaside being off-limits. Actually, I did touch the sea (not literally, it’s cold) at Bridlington and… Continue reading AUGUST ’21 STOCKTAKE + SEPTEMBER PREVIEW
WHO OR WHAT IS INGLEBY BARWICK ?
The Beer Guide trail takes you to places that even people who live there have never heard of. Ingleby Barwick is a suburb of Thornaby, itself a suburb of Stockton which many would (wrongly) consider a suburb of Middlesbrough, which as you’ll know exists only to manufacture the humble parmo. Those 21,045 clearly work and… Continue reading WHO OR WHAT IS INGLEBY BARWICK ?
EAST OF PETERLEE
I assumed you’d want to see what Horden looks like. The Bell, which is the last licensed place that ISN’T a club left in this mining village, is a gem. Well beyond my normal budget, but with the addition of the new railway station (back after 50+ years) last summer it has added value for… Continue reading EAST OF PETERLEE
TO BILLINGHAM, TO FINISH DURHAM
I clearly need a break; I must complain to the Pub Tickers Union. The blog titles have gone to pot of late, my crack team failing to come up with a suitable, “R” rated name for a post featuring THIS; It’s no wonder BRAPA is now within 4 Twitter followers of me (1,344 v 1,340);… Continue reading TO BILLINGHAM, TO FINISH DURHAM
LUCIFER OVER STOCKTON
As I mentioned the other day, there’s some stupid hotel prices being quoted as our summer (“what Summer ?”) limps to an end, as lifeless as an Arsenal performance at the Etihad. Pub men have their work cut out finding cheery B & B s from which to tick Guide entries using unreliable trains. Step… Continue reading LUCIFER OVER STOCKTON
HOW TO BRIBE A PUB TICKER TO GIVE YOU A GOOD REVIEW
Beer Twitter is a very serious business full or arguments about authenticity, oppressive capitalism and whether Doom Bar is the bestest beer. Stay well clear of Beer Twitter. Pub Twitter is fun and uncontroversial, unless you get into county boundaries or Baps v Barms. In Darlington, my second GBG tick for the year was about… Continue reading HOW TO BRIBE A PUB TICKER TO GIVE YOU A GOOD REVIEW
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