I fear that if I fail to give you your daily instalment of “Half A Dozen Pubs…” before midnight then something dreadful will happen, so here’s Dorset. A very lovely county, but not always a great one for pubs, particularly since the fall from grace of a certain pub in Wareham. I’m sure there used… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY COUNTY. No. 10 – DORSET
YOU SHOULD ALWAYS GO FOR THE BEER WITH THE FLASHING PUMP CLIP
Christmas Eve 2023. Tonbridge. Finally, at 20:24, (almost) appropriately, we headed back to our Premier Inn ahead of the ordeals of a family Christmas. Blimey, don’t some folk make an effort ! It looks like Mrs RM almost wandered into the Somerhill by mistake. I remember that fondly from the short-lived Hooden Horse chain that… Continue reading YOU SHOULD ALWAYS GO FOR THE BEER WITH THE FLASHING PUMP CLIP
THE PUNCH AND JUDY
Christmas Eve 2023. Tonbridge. An impromptu Christmas Eve crawl with the lads reached its crescendo (?) as we headed back to the Tonbridge Premier Inn for an early night ahead of “Ordeal by Turkey”. So on leaving the Station we resisted the undoubted charms of the Constitutional Club (Abbot, I think). But, on turning the… Continue reading THE PUNCH AND JUDY
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 9 – DEVON.
A special treat, with your first five from all corners of Devon. In truth, I could have picked all five from Plymouth, which is really a suburb of Bristol, isn’t it ? But I start in the M5 corridor with the Properest of Proper Pub. Cullompton – Pony & Trap (last visited in 2022) Blimey,… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 9 – DEVON.
TONBRIDGE’S BRO-COUNTRY PUB
Christmas Eve 2023. Tonbridge. You learn something new every day. On Christmas Eve I learnt my two sons were quite capable of choosing a third Tonbridge pub of the night without my steer, though the only possible reason for picking the Station House would have been that it was there. Unmistakably a Craft Union place,… Continue reading TONBRIDGE’S BRO-COUNTRY PUB
TOP 100 PUBS – THE NELSON ARMS, TONBRIDGE
Christmas Eve 2023. Tonbridge. The great Taylor Family Christmas Eve pub crawl headed aimlessly south from Fuggles, their tummies full of toastie and “hot dog”, without a clue what to now we weren’t hanging about for a family curry. Harvey’s in a Tudor hotel ? Looking after suspicious packages outside the fun pub ? Nope.… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE NELSON ARMS, TONBRIDGE
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY COUNTY. No. 8 – DERBYSHIRE.
I should have told you before I started this little series that there are actually seventy-three (73) GBG counties, so we should be finished by 2027, by which time 98% of pubs in Derbyshire will be selling superlative Bass and it’s ALL Wickingman’s fault. Sadly, the Bass wasn’t on when I visited Ian in his… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY COUNTY. No. 8 – DERBYSHIRE.
It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank
Christmas Eve 2023. Tonbridge. Our days of being abroad at Christmas are probably on the back burner for now, and it seemed more important than ever to be with both sets of parents this year after extended hospitalisations. The 24th in Waterbeach and Tonbridge, the 25th in Tonbridge and Waterbeach. At least the A1 was… Continue reading It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank
CHRISTMAS EVE, EVE IN GAINSBOROUGH. EVERYBODY’S IN THE SPOONS.
December 2023. Gainsborough. On the way back from the Humber we stopped in Gainsborough for a peep. Those North Notts/Lincs towns like Bawtry, Scunthorpe, Retford and Gainsborough haven’t had a Retired Martin visit for a few years, with a static pub scene and the boys being too old for Sundown Adventure Land. I’m not implying… Continue reading CHRISTMAS EVE, EVE IN GAINSBOROUGH. EVERYBODY’S IN THE SPOONS.
HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY COUNTY. No. 7 – CUMBRIA.
Another selection from the GBG’s “counties” to delight and infuriate you (“What ! No Broughton in Furness !“); five from me, one from you, please. Like Cornwall, I only really got to grips with Cumbria late in the charge to GBG glory. I’m sure I’ve missed out loads of picture postcard places in the Lakes,… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY COUNTY. No. 7 – CUMBRIA.
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