Ah, Oxfordshire, a curate’s egg of a pub county for a county of curates. You might be wondering how I pick five pubs from the thousand in a typical GBG chapter. Well, I could use Artificial Intelligence. Here’s what Bing’s version of AI suggests; Yes, Irish-inspired food, super soft drinks, and “tranquillity” are the key… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 35 – OXFORDSHIRE
WELCOME TO PRESTON
January 2024. Preston. On the Friday Blackpool Jane had bravely visited Preston properly for the very first time, and lived to tell the tale (just about). We arrived just after lunch the next day ahead of a gig that evening at the Ferret, and without a clue how to spend the next 7 hours, but… Continue reading WELCOME TO PRESTON
APPLEJACKS – ALL YOU NEED IN LONGRIDGE
January 2024. Longridge. Perhaps the shortest post* since the Golden days of 2015, as I nip in a Lancashire micro for a quick half. Just like in 2022 when I was frantically finishing the Guide. The West Lancs small pubs, in particular, are virtually indistinguishable from each other in style and I don’t say that… Continue reading APPLEJACKS – ALL YOU NEED IN LONGRIDGE
EVERY OVER-INDULGENT DAY STARTS WITH MILLIONAIRE’S SHORTBREAD IN CLAUGHTON-ON-BROCK
January 2024. Claughton-on-Brock. Catteral. As Carmel once sang, Saturday was a bad day, though we didn’t know it at the time. If only we’d read Blackpool Jane’s post before it was written. It started gently enough, with a GBG entry on a new (2020) retail park on the A6 north of Preston. This is rarely… Continue reading EVERY OVER-INDULGENT DAY STARTS WITH MILLIONAIRE’S SHORTBREAD IN CLAUGHTON-ON-BROCK
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 34 – NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
Like Northants and Essex, a solid pub county, with perhaps higher expectations on the county town than it can actually deliver these days, I’ll be honest, I’ve picked five from places that you wouldn’t necessarily visit on your tour of the UK; mining villages, suburbs nicknamed Stab by locals, and remote villages impossible to access… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 34 – NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
HOP SHOPPE – RESIST THE TASTERS ! RESIST !
January 2024. St Annes. I took Mrs RM back her bag of Maltesers from the Travelodge vending machine (£1.30, inflation), and headed straight out to my second tick. A word on St. Annes (is there a full stop after the St. ? Never know). You can trust a place whose sports shop has more City… Continue reading HOP SHOPPE – RESIST THE TASTERS ! RESIST !
I AM ST. ANNE’S PIER’S ONLY VISITOR
January 2024. St. Annes. Greater Blackpool. £31 your Friday night Travelodge in the posh bit of the Fylde where Blackpool Jane lives, with free parking and a Marks & Spencer food hall underneath the rooms selling our poke bowls and honeycomb chocolate for tea. Such a shame that it was so bitterly cold at the… Continue reading I AM ST. ANNE’S PIER’S ONLY VISITOR
KIRKHAM BIERHAUS – FYLDE UNDER “OK”
January 2024. Kirkham. Fylde. By a massive stroke of misfortune we’d managed to pick a day to visit Blackpool just as Jane was escaping to Preston. We were destined to repeat all of Jane’s errors the very next day. One more tick on the way to the sea, with the Kirkham Bierhaus the latest GBG… Continue reading KIRKHAM BIERHAUS – FYLDE UNDER “OK”
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 33 – NORTHUMBERLAND
Worryingly, some folk have been agreeing with my county selections so I’ll put a stop to that by not picking that nice pub on the seafront and the wrong pub in Hexham. Only 40 entries in the Northumberland Guide chapter, but I’ve 14 newbies to do this year; that’s the worst completion rate of all… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 33 – NORTHUMBERLAND
“LOOK. IT’S YOU !”
January 2024. Chorley. We had to cancel our trip to Jordan on Thursday. Well, didn’t have to, but it seemed a bit risky after we realised that Jordan was a country in the Middle East rather than a suburb of Cannock. Never mind, Chorley shares two letters with Jordan, and was only 20 degrees colder… Continue reading “LOOK. IT’S YOU !”
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