March 2024. Rochdale. Enough culture; let’s do a pub. Here’s the maps I forgot to give you earlier. We met Blackpool Jane at the station (12 minutes from M’cr Victoria), with that half mile walk through a less than salubrious part of town best known for the two dozen Sam Smiths keg pubs Leon ticked… Continue reading THE BEWILDERING, BEGUILING, BOMBAY BREW
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REMARKABLE ROCHDALE TOWN HALL
March 2024. Rochdale. Enough of pubs, let’s return to northern England’s architectural heritage. OK, and some pubs with Blackpool Jane, in “Remarkable Rochdale” (the TIC can have that in exchanged for a rag pudding). I nearly never made it, after a near fatal flesh wound caused by taking Roberta Flack’s classic album out of its… Continue reading REMARKABLE ROCHDALE TOWN HALL
NEEPSEND SOCIAL CLUB HANDPUMP GAIN !
March 2024. Sheffield. Gig night in Sheffield, a trio of shoegaze (ask your Dad) groups at 200 capacity Yellow Arch. Shoegaze is back; Slowdive are headlining End of the Road and those My Bloody Valentine albums I bought in the death throws of vinyl are worth a fortune (well, £20). Sheffield thrives on small venues,… Continue reading NEEPSEND SOCIAL CLUB HANDPUMP GAIN !
NEW IN SHEFFIELD
March 2024. Sheffield. The question I’m most regularly asked, after “Can I have your City v Arsenal ticket ?” is “Can you recommend anything new and shiny in Sheffield ?“. Well, “No” and “Yes, obviously“. The Wickingman aka The Man Who Saved Bass kindly alerted me to the arrival of The Foresters (red marker, middle… Continue reading NEW IN SHEFFIELD
ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK No. 7 – NORTH WESTWARD HO
March 2024. Manchester. I’ve just started marking the pubs I’ve done in the marvellous Matthew Curtis book. Just the ones visited since the book came out, I’m not claiming a tick for a Didsbury boozer (does it have any boozers ?) I popped in 25 years ago. Should I colour them with a pink marker… Continue reading ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK No. 7 – NORTH WESTWARD HO
JETHRO TULL ALBUMS DISSECTED IN THE WELLINGTON
March 2024. Sheffield. There’s two (2) guaranteed indicators that I’m a teeny bit pi**ed in Sheffield. An order for an unnecessary Chinese takeaway from Sang Lung, and an inadvisable pint in the Wellington. Oh dear. Even worse, I convinced myself what I really needed after Bombay mix and a pork pie was the Welly’s £1… Continue reading JETHRO TULL ALBUMS DISSECTED IN THE WELLINGTON
HEAVEN IS A PIE AND A PINT IN THE LEFT HAND BAR OF SHEFFIELD’S FAT CAT
March 2024. Sheffield… Or is it Kelham Island ? The Good Beer Guide sees fit to label the Valley of Beer as a separate entity this year (but not, say, Hillsborough), and who am I to argue with the Good Book. You left me drinking 10% Norwegian Marshmallow Imperial Stout on my return from a… Continue reading HEAVEN IS A PIE AND A PINT IN THE LEFT HAND BAR OF SHEFFIELD’S FAT CAT
HOW MUCH !!!
March 2024. Sheffield. We arrived back at Luton from Lisbon at 01:00 on Thursday morning, had six hours kip in the campervan (saving £120 v the Holiday Inn over the road), and popped to see Mum and Dad on the way back home. Years ago you’d have been expected to bring them something back from… Continue reading HOW MUCH !!!
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 51 – SOUTH YORKSHIRE (excluding Sheffield)
That’s Portugal complete, back to the navel-gazing “Best Of” posts you love so much. Before you get alarmed, I’ve split South Yorkshire in two (2), as the second half of County 51 gets Sheffield all to itself. I’ve nicked BRAPA’s greened in South Yorks GBG page. What does that leave you with ? Well, the… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 51 – SOUTH YORKSHIRE (excluding Sheffield)
OYSTERS
March 2024. Lisbon. Portugal. Our last few hours in Lisbon, and by sheer luck we find its top beer bar (or possibly a branch) a few yards from our hostel baggage dump. Dois Corvois (Intendente) comes at the end of a mile of Asian stores and curry cafes, and has the tiniest of signs to… Continue reading OYSTERS
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