August 2024. Manchester. My creaky back, which I don’t like to talk about*, prevented the exciting walk round Didsbury I’d planned with Matt on Tuesday, so I settled on a guided tour of lesser known Ancoats. I don’t like to talk about the fact Matt knows places in the Eternal City that I don’t, though… Continue reading ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – THE PORT STREET BEER HOUSE
ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – NELL’S PIZZA, KAMPUS
August 2024. Manchester. 8 hours drive back from Southampton to Sheffield via two sets of parents at the end of a frantic weekend, and proof all that sitting down is bad for you as I felt my lower back “ping” on the walk up/down/up to Sheffield station the next morning. But the best way to… Continue reading ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – NELL’S PIZZA, KAMPUS
A SHANDY IN YAXLEY
August 2024. Yaxley. A long Monday, starting in Eastleigh and with stops at both in-laws on the route back to the Blind Monkey, eight (8) hours on the road. “Find me somewhere to stop, Mrs RM“. She found me Yaxley. Kentish Paul writes of villages in his home county that have evaded his attention. Cambridgeshire’s… Continue reading A SHANDY IN YAXLEY
ALTON HOURS
August 2024. Alton. Hampshire. A short (“cheeky”) trip out with the in-laws to Southampton, and a short stop on the way back to Kent in an unsung Hampshire town. The trick with octogenarians is to find a town with a central car park with free disabled spots, a small, walkable town centre, and a stream… Continue reading ALTON HOURS
FRANCIS BENALI FOUND IN EASTLEIGH
August 2024. Eastleigh. We could have driven straight home from Beaulieu to Tunbridge Wells, saving £80 on two Travelodge rooms in Britain’s dullest town, but a) it would have meant another night sleeping in Mrs RM’s childhood bedroom in Southborough, b) I had that pub up the road in Upton to tick and c) it’s… Continue reading FRANCIS BENALI FOUND IN EASTLEIGH
FLOWERPOTS REDEMPTION IN UPHAM
August 2024. Upham. Southampton. Slow but steady ticking last week, following up the obligatory Southampton micro with a more traditional pub in the smart South Downs villages, which probably claim allegiance with Winchester. 616 souls in Upham, but the Brushmakers still took unexpected effort to track down, but ain’t it gorgeous? Bench seating, fresh flowers,… Continue reading FLOWERPOTS REDEMPTION IN UPHAM
CIDER NEAR BEAULIEU
August 2024. Beaulieu. The in-laws said “We’d like to go to Beaulieu“, and my favourite thing in the world after travel, weird America songstresses and Chinese takeaways are folk who say what they want. Oooh, Texas on the blog AGAIN. The well-trodden A21/M25/M3 to Southampton and beyond is a bit of a slog, particularly the… Continue reading CIDER NEAR BEAULIEU
THE RAMSGATE “PUB” – DOES WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN
August 2024. Ramsgate. Let’s bring Kent to a conclusion, so I can tell you about how I got my 86 year old Father-in-Law to drink two pints of cider (not CAMRA approved) in Southampton micros. If I run out of blog material I might return to Ramsgate’s hidden charms, like the gorgeous Addington Street, but… Continue reading THE RAMSGATE “PUB” – DOES WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN
A PORK PIE IN BROADSTAIRS
August 2024. Broadstairs. Just the two pubs to finish the Kent chapter of the Guide for a 12th successive year, but disaster strikes as I walk up to the door of the quaintly named “Pub” on Ramsgate High Street. In honesty, it feels ages since I’d last had a “micro fail”, and I’d quite missed… Continue reading A PORK PIE IN BROADSTAIRS
SMACK BOYS
August 2024. Ramsgate. How lovely to read last night of the BRAPA clan’s outing to Cardiff to see punk legend Billy “Idol” Joel. I reckon Daddy BRAPA is the real punk with his Old Speckled Hen glass. Simon’s latest post took The Longest Time to read. 8 minutes ? An hour, two if you look… Continue reading SMACK BOYS
retiredmartin 