You’ll remember my failed attempt to visit the Church Inn, Prestwich back when the Guide came out. A rather better attempt to capture the spirit of Mark E Smith, I thought. Since then Pubmeister has beat me to the Prestwich Punch, though he seems to have failed to find sufficient comedy there to blog about. … Continue reading FIT AND WORKING AGAIN – TICKING PRESTWICH
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.
ST. HELENS – ONE FOR THE GBG CONNOISSEUR
Tricky one, this. The Connoisseur Ales Tap in St Helens prompted my post about opening times in the Good Beer Guide back in September. Back then I said “Now the Connoisseur can open whenever it likes, but having a place in the GBG open 11 out of 365 days is just daft. ” And I… Continue reading ST. HELENS – ONE FOR THE GBG CONNOISSEUR
99 RED BALLOONS
Last pub of the night, before a deeply unsatisfactory Chinese takeaway and restless nights sleep on Blackpool Road. Ah, the Plungington. Never heard of it. Just past the Princess Alice, but a million miles away in every other respect, you could almost be in Fulwood. The menu was the giveaway we’d found Preston’s only… Continue reading 99 RED BALLOONS
VINYL TAP
Matthew had promised me a “scary tour” of his ‘hood. Plungington is lively, but can I politely suggest that Matt has never worn that paisley shirt within sight of Maidenhead Cons Club. Not the most complex half-hour walk in history to GBG newbie No.3, the attractively named Plunginton, but on the way I got the… Continue reading VINYL TAP
WARMING UP IN PROUD PRESTON
“Are we in Preston yet ?” said the excited boy to his mum as the train passed Garstang, which really deserves its own stop now it’s got a new Guide entry. It was understandable that the young lad was in a state of frenzy as we pulled into the City of Dreams, even in the… Continue reading WARMING UP IN PROUD PRESTON
FONT APPRECIATION AT THE LANCASTER GOLDEN LION
Preston makes a great base for pub tickers, with fast trains* to pub hubs like Westhoughton, Lancaster and Blackpool, and providing an opportunity to meet the Pub King of West Lancashire himself; More from Matthew shortly. I started Friday afternoon in Lancaster, always a curate’s egg with its attractive architecture but strangely unalluring pubs (and… Continue reading FONT APPRECIATION AT THE LANCASTER GOLDEN LION
CLOUDWATER ARRIVES IN WESTHOUGHTON
There you go, a literal title perfectly evidenced by the photo. Don’t see that very often. Hands up who can place Westhoughton on the map ? Feels like a Wigan town, but it’s very Bolton (Francis Lee was born there), and there’s no way you’ll forget you’ve just left the South. Holt pub, mobility scooter,… Continue reading CLOUDWATER ARRIVES IN WESTHOUGHTON
JULIA JACKLIN v SILENT PLANET THROUGH THE ROTHERHITHE TUNNEL
On the Tuesday night I had a return trip to South London for Julia Jacklin‘s premiere of her magical new record near London Bridge, a handy place from which to finish off the London GBG entries. But life has other plans. Or in this case, Matt, who was desperate to see Silent Planet, the best… Continue reading JULIA JACKLIN v SILENT PLANET THROUGH THE ROTHERHITHE TUNNEL
A WALTHAMSTOW MARKET PUB
Only two weeks till Simon “BRAPA” Everitt will be donning his pixie outfit (above) and riding his silver reindeer into rural village pubs on Christmas Day, demanding a pint at 11.57am. Pubs are certainly in the middle of festive season meltdown (these posts are so far behind the Halloween decs are still up), which (touch… Continue reading A WALTHAMSTOW MARKET PUB
NODDY MAKES A RETURN VISIT TO THE SHORTLANDS TAVERN
Really into short post territory now (unlike BRAPA), with a return visit to the Shortlands Tavern while I wait for the train to trundle up from Bromley South. I had 14 minutes. Less the three minutes I’d need to admire the hidden beauty of Shortlands Station. Shortlands feels like the suburb of Bromley it is,… Continue reading NODDY MAKES A RETURN VISIT TO THE SHORTLANDS TAVERN
retiredmartin 