February 2025. York. We left Brew York after sharing a third of that inevitable Imperial Stout, conscious that, as the word below “Trust me you can dance” says, too much beer is a very bad thing. So, no trip across the road to the Blue Bell, or to Ossett’s Hop, which as Mrs RM noted… Continue reading A SHAMBLES
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.
JUICE FORSYTH
February 2025. York. Back from Poppleton, I wondered how much of her ChatGPT generated Insta-friendly York blog Mrs RM had managed to tick while I was ticking the Lord Nelson. Not a lot. “Research” her excuse. She’d found York astonishingly busy on a damp Sunday night the week before half-term, and sure enough the pubs… Continue reading JUICE FORSYTH
LET’S GO TO POPPLETON
February 2025. Poppleton. York. No new GBG entries in Ye Olde Cittie of York for what seems like aeons, so thank goodness for Poppleton, said no-one ever. “I’ve been to Paradise, but I’ve never been to Poppleton” sang Charlene on her 1982 Motown chart-topper. First stop west of York on the Harrogate line; 5 minutes… Continue reading LET’S GO TO POPPLETON
YORK CITY. EXCEPCIONAL
February 2025. York. A Sunday night in York, but not here; not in the Grand (£229 tonight), not when you can stay at a Travelodge 5 minutes walk from the walls for £32.99. UK hotel prices have gone mad recently, just take a look at Premier Inn in London in April, and on a grey… Continue reading YORK CITY. EXCEPCIONAL
A “MYSTERY” COACH TRIP FROM ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE TO THE PHOENIX IN YORK
February 2025. York. Mrs RM was following the “Secret York” guide generated By ChatGPT. I’m not sure “Walk the Walls” really qualifies as a local’s secret, even if you are starting from the southern side at Fishergate Bar. Five minutes of Mrs RM shouting “You’re too close to the edge !” as if I was… Continue reading A “MYSTERY” COACH TRIP FROM ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE TO THE PHOENIX IN YORK
THE GOLDEN BALL, YORK. BAD KITTY, SHY CAT
February 2025. York. We said we’d get away straight after the funeral; Mrs RM hoped for Moldova, I wanted Maidenhead. It never happened, what with trips to banks and father-in-laws and such. But Sunday brought news of £33 Travelodges in big cities, and with its most famous resident 250 miles away in Neath, there would… Continue reading THE GOLDEN BALL, YORK. BAD KITTY, SHY CAT
TOP 100 PUBS – THE COMMERCIAL, CHAPELTOWN
February 2025. Chapeltown. Sheffield. A Saturday attempt to reach West Yorkshire foiled by overcrowded Cross Country carriages. If you learn only one (1) thing from this blog it should be “NEVER attempt to take a train from Sheffield on a weekend“. So, instead, a short hop to the Sheffield burbs, to S35, home of the… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE COMMERCIAL, CHAPELTOWN
PRIDE NOT DRINKING WELL IN CHAPELTOWN SPOONS
February 2025. Chapeltown. Sheffield. Back in Sheffield for 5 nights, the longest stretches at “home” in a year, Mrs RM did the fluffy jobs (boiler, painting, Instagram updates) while I manfully sought to bolster my waining vault of blog material. On the Saturday I joined a scrum at Sheffield Station to board a train to… Continue reading PRIDE NOT DRINKING WELL IN CHAPELTOWN SPOONS
22 MINUTES WAIT AT WORKSOP STATION ? IT CAN ONLY BE THE MALLARD, THEN
February 2025. Worksop. The last thing you want on the morning of your mum’s funeral is an e-mail deleting your social media account. “A Bluesky account you control has been assessed as a spammy, fake, or inauthentic account.“ Me, “inauthentic” !!! ChatGPT reckoned I’d broke their community guidelines by promoting Doom Bar or something, so… Continue reading 22 MINUTES WAIT AT WORKSOP STATION ? IT CAN ONLY BE THE MALLARD, THEN
“One Day Like This”. The Pavilion, Mansfield.
February 2025. Mansfield. I asked ChatGPT if anyone else before had felt emotional upon visiting Mansfield, and discovered that on her 1967 tour (shortly before her death) Jayne Mansfield had been overcome to find a northern town named after her. I was enraptured just by being able to be outside again after 6 months cooped… Continue reading “One Day Like This”. The Pavilion, Mansfield.
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