September 2024. Manchester. Matt knows all the best Manc pubs. Or, at least, the cheapest ones. He’d tried to show me The Peer Hat only last month, but 4pm opening denied me, but now one of those “weird gigs by unknown American women” you know me for brought me back to see Anastasia Coope (***),whose… Continue reading PUBS THAT AREN’T IN THAT MANCHESTER BEER BOOK, BUT SHOULD BE. No.1 – THE PEER HAT

September 2024. Manchester. Wasn’t Big Hands a character in Peep Show ? BRAPA is your culture expert. Back in Manchester before my gig. Enough of curry, time for art. And education. Let’s head to the University quarter. The University museum kindly stays open till 8pm on Wednesday, a bit of a shock when everything else… Continue reading ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – BIG HANDS

September 2024. Manchester. Autumn brings back students to the cities, and with it gigs from visiting Americans and Australians, some of whom may secretly be hoping the new GBG drops (ugh) while they’re in Maidenhead or Manchester. I’ve started a spreadsheet listing my slow progress towards ticking the Matthew Curtis guide since its October launch,… Continue reading ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCESTER BEER BOOK – BUNDOBUST, PICCADILLY

Obviously, I know what the Borders are, except it’s difficult to explain why they don’t include Dumfriesshire. Harder to recall where they start and stop. “Anyway, I’ve fallen for the common misconception that Hadrian’s Wall separates England from Scotland.  It doesn’t, you’ve got another big chunk of Northumberland to get through.  How has it taken… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY No. 62 – SCOTTISH BORDERS

September 2024. Larmer Tree Gardens. Wiltshire. Sunday night brings my 12th End of the Road festival to an end, a middling affair with quality and diversity but little drama, a metaphor for something. As is traditional, I succumbed to an 11:30 am pint of the local Sixpenny Best, albeit only because the Summer Lightning had… Continue reading END OF THE ROAD DAY 4 – BALTIC PORTER, ICHIKO AOBA, ENGLISH TEACHER

August 2024. Larmer Tree Gardens. Wiltshire. Back from our off-festival pint at the King John, an exciting walk back over a field reverberating with a between set airing of Julia Jacklin, a favourite of James and myself. Probably too big for End of the Road now. Saturday seemed a quieter day musically, so I took… Continue reading END OF THE ROAD DAY 3 – MERMAID CHUNKY, LOST AND GROUNDED, THREE DIFFERENT WAYS TO SPELL LIQUORICE

August 2024. Tollard Royal. Cranborne Chase. Lovers of tradition will be horrified to hear that I failed to visit Farmham’s Museum from the End of the Road festival this year, and you’ll know I’m a creature of tradition. In truth, the pattern of visiting on Thursday while Mrs RM put the tent up had been… Continue reading BUTCOMBE AND BURGERS IN TOLLARD ROYAL

Ah, Ayrshire, home of “honest” men (though notably Pubmeister Duncan lives just across the Strathclyde border), and a rather lopsided GBG map. If you’ve ever wondered what’s below Ayr, which you haven’t, it’s Girvan. I live in hope that Girvan’s Art Deco cinema will be revived by Brew Dog Twa Dugs. My exploration of the… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY No.61 – AYRSHIRE AND ARRAN

August 2024. Larmer Tree Gardens. Wiltshire. The most noticeable thing about End of the Road is that everyone looks like us. Retired or near retirement folk in campervans, a lad of 25 in a tent. Of course, our little group is far better dressed, more appreciative of new music, and doesn’t sit round in a… Continue reading END OF THE ROAD 2024 – DAY 2 – FRODSHAM ISN’T S**T

Only seventeen (7 Teen), GBG entries in the mysterious Argyll & the Isles section of the Guide, which must include ALL the cask pubs (surely), so picking half a dozen must be a doddle, no ? I love those Instagram reels where American students are asked to name 3 countries outside America and start with… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY NO.60 – ARGYLL AND THE ISLES