The contractually obligated Highlights post for April, a month dominated by lambs, snooker (go on Stuart !), unpronounceable Bulgarian food, and the astonishing new Lizzy McAlpine album. My only actual gig was Korngold’s Violin Concerto in Sofia, which probably gets me maximum cultural points. That Bulgarian trip added another pin to Mrs RM’s European tickathon,… Continue reading APRIL ’24 STOCKTAKE AND MAY PREVIEW
MERSEYSIDE HAS FALLEN – 3rd TIME LUCKY IN PRESCOT
April 2024. Prescot. Our plan for a Big Night Out in Chester foundered at the first hurdle, as Mrs RM realised with horror that the Stupid one of us had forgot to put the duvet back in the campervan after laundering the sheets (it’s the domestic detail you come for). I’d packed the blanket and… Continue reading MERSEYSIDE HAS FALLEN – 3rd TIME LUCKY IN PRESCOT
A HEN PARTY IN A BRUNNING AND PRICE ! ONLY IN CHESTER
April 2024. Chester. Yes, I know I owe you an April highlights issue. Soon. First up a couple of late month county ticks, starting with posh Cheshire. It’s not ALL posh, of course; there’s been Crewe and Macclesfield newbies this GBG year, but I end by the Chester walls. We park up the NV200 in… Continue reading A HEN PARTY IN A BRUNNING AND PRICE ! ONLY IN CHESTER
“BACK TO THE 80s” AT THE THORNBRIDGE TAP
April 2024. Bakewell. On rare occasions I judge it prudent to comply with Mrs RM’s arduous demands, which I think is a line from a play based at Chatsworth House. I knew she’d want to visit a new pub in this part of the Peak after walking the Chatsworth estate, and I knew the hotels,… Continue reading “BACK TO THE 80s” AT THE THORNBRIDGE TAP
LAMBING SEASON AT CHATSWORTH
April 2024. Chatsworth. “Can we go to Edensor this afternoon“ asks Mrs RM on Friday lunchtime. “Edensor ?” I said excitedly. Never heard of it, and neither had What Pub, it seems. It’s the estate village for Chatsworth House, which you’ll remember as the place where Keira Knightly reads improving books in Pride and Prejudice.… Continue reading LAMBING SEASON AT CHATSWORTH
TOP 100 PUBS – THE ALEXANDRA, DERBY
April 2024. Derby. I left the Dead Poets after an hour of Bass and The Boss in a happy mood, suddenly aware I had no idea how to get back to Derby for the train home. I have no idea how Simon finds his way home after six seven pints. I decided to walk, 2.3… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE ALEXANDRA, DERBY
NOTHING MUCH BEATS A PINT OF BASS BESIDE THE FIRE IN THE DEAD POETS
April 2024. Holbrook. Belper. I had to run through Belper‘s high street to catch the bus, scolded gently by a lovely driver. “Why’d ya run ?, I saw ya“. The journey to Holbrook takes 10 minutes, passing perhaps a half dozen worthwhile pubs on the way, including the White Hart. But today, at least, I… Continue reading NOTHING MUCH BEATS A PINT OF BASS BESIDE THE FIRE IN THE DEAD POETS
A BELPER BASS BUS BURST
April 2024. Belper. A free afternoon in Sheffield. Zero chance of a new GBG tick; let’s have some nostalgia. I’ve been promising you I’d revisit the Dead Poets since I started this blog, and a hop and a skip via Derby and it’s 13:45 and I’m about to “alight” (weird word, alight) at Belper Station… Continue reading A BELPER BASS BUS BURST
A MILESTONE ON THE A1
April 2024. Cromwell. Newark. I don’t mind the weekly drives from Sheffield to Waterbeach and back, but it is a dull drive, and that’s despite Roger Protz’s excellent guide to the Great North Road. So great joy this week as, thanks to Maltmeister’s tip, I discovered the Milestone Brewery tap at Cromwell. Even more excitingly,… Continue reading A MILESTONE ON THE A1
ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – FOX AND PINE, OLDHAM
April 2024. Oldham. A flying to visit to Oldham to tick two of the entries in Matt Curtis’s epic Greater Manchester guide reached a critical point after the Ashton. The Eternal (post- Louise Redknap) question; Pub or curry first ? I should have said “curry, then beer“, but the Fox & Pine was literally round… Continue reading ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – FOX AND PINE, OLDHAM
retiredmartin 