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

August 2025. Norwich. A night in Norwich, whose Arts Centre is one of my favourite gig venues in the country, along with Leeds’s Brudenell and London’s Lexington. But with no new GBG entries in the centre, how do you gainfully spend an hour before the first act? Well, no serious pub blogger should say he… Continue reading FAT CAT, TOM CAT. (NEARLY) 5*

August 2025. Great Moulton. Norfolk. I’ve made a historically poor effort to visit Norfolk’s newbies this year, they’re incredibly remote, even by Norfolk standards. But August brings a night in Norwich, and a rare pub in South Norfolk, of which Wiki says; A full-time career travelling the country visiting pubs, churches and Chinese takeaways, and… Continue reading FOLLOW THE TRACTORS TO GREAT MOULTON

August 2025. Newton. Cambridge. After an evening with a sleepy Dad in his care home we dropped a friend off near Addenbrookes and kept heading randomly south. Oh, look, a nice pub. “This looks like the Queen’s Head“. Mrs RM, who’d been paying no attention to the route, astonishes me with her powers of perception.… Continue reading “This looks like the Queen’s Head” says Mrs RM