retiredmartin

August 2024. Sheffield. A few nights at “home” this last week, which sounds good but it means next-to-zero chance of exploring new places and pubs. Mrs RM wants to “tick” Budby, a mysterious hamlet not far away in Sherwood Forest; it looks like the least-pubbed corner of the country. We shall see. Last week I… Continue reading A BIG TRIP IN S6

August 2024. Worksop. The tri-weekly trips between Sheffield and Waterbeach aren’t too bad these days, just dull. Apart from the decision on where to stop for coffee (Markham Moor McDonalds or North Muskham Greggs) the main excitement is guessing whether it’s M18 or A57. The latter takes you into the little known Dukeries, home to… Continue reading BEER SCORING IN RHODESIA

August 2024. Rainham. Kent. “If you didn’t use the Good Beer Guide you’d never end up in weird places like Holbeach, and Rainham, and Paisley” wrote Retired Martin on his visit to yet another GBG debutant in yet another low key Derbyshire mining village last year, and it is indeed the visits to suburbs of… Continue reading THE LONELINESS OF THE OUT-OF-DATE RAINHAM SPOONS VOUCHER

August 2024. Milstead. Sittingbourne. I love Kent, even the scuzzy north coast, there’s just so much variety of scenery and pubs. And Tuesday morning’s new GBG tick, the Milstead Red Lion, is that delightful rural pub in the middle of nowhere. metres from the M20, cherries for sale from an honesty box, 10am opening for… Continue reading 10am PINTS IN SITTINGBOURNE SUBURBS

August 2024. Headcorn. Kent. A Monday night in the Weald of Kent, then a slow slog home to Sheffield, via two (2) new GBG pubs. Riches indeed. I’d never been to Headcorn, as the Charlene No.1 goes, perhaps one of vanishingly few sizeable villages to have evaded the Beer Guide in my ticking lifetime. 3,387… Continue reading HEADCORN – LITTLE OLD ENGLAND PERSONIFIED

August 2024. Headcorn. On our way home from the in-laws we stopped for the night in the Weald of Kent Golf Club near Maidstone, which in fairness is a huge diversion but needs must, as Mrs RM never wants to spend the night in her childhood bedroom again. A bit of a surprise that a… Continue reading The 19th hole

August 2024 – Sutton Valence. Trips down south to my parents every week this year, but only a couple of visits to the in-laws, which we remedied with a day in Southborough and a meal for four from the UK’s second-best Chinese takeaway. And than an ultra-rare new GBG tick in a near fallow year… Continue reading IN THE BALANCE IN SUTTON VALENCE

August 2024. Sheffield. Another day, another new pub (re)opening in Sheffield, as the Harlequin bounces back from the departure of Liz. I’ve just read some beer folk claim the Harlequin is a bit of a slog from the Kelham Island circuit; folks, it takes six (6) minutes walk from the Fat Cat and KIT across… Continue reading (NEARLY) NEW IN SHEFFIELD – THE HARLEQUIN

August 2024. Chorley. Matt was in recovery when we arrived back at Buckshaw’s shiny hospital, an advert for health care under a US Libertarian model if ever I saw one*. The receptionist phoned the surgical team for a release time, which we judged it too tight to visit Blackpool but more than sufficient for an… Continue reading ASTLEY HALL

August 2024. Buckshaw. Chorley. An early start on Friday morning, driving Matt the short hop from our luxury Travelodge to Buckshaw Hospital for an NHS contacted out nose job under general anaesthetic. I helpfully reminded Matt there was a 99%+ chance of survival as he booked into Ramsay Health’s swish facility (free parking, WiFi, cheery… Continue reading THE GREEN MAN OF BUCKSHAW