November 2023. King’s Cross. London. A night out in London; a very old rare Friday night, too, as most of my trips to the capital post-Covid have been mid-afternoon, mid-week. No sign of the carnage outside as I returned to St Mathias Church for the last leg of my confessional singer-songwriter night. Mrs RM was… Continue reading FRIDAY NIGHT IN THE SCOTTISH STORES
CHRIS DE BURGH DISSECTED IN THE ARMY AND NAVY
November 2023. Stoke Newington. London. Last Friday was a wonderful night. Three great artists singing about dog deaths and other heartache in a London church, with suitable intervals to nip to the pub between sets. I’d not heard of Leith Ross, but then neither had you 5 seconds ago, which is another example of just… Continue reading CHRIS DE BURGH DISSECTED IN THE ARMY AND NAVY
MAYHEM IN THE LADY MILDMAY
November 2023. Stoke Newington. London. A snatched night out in London in between caring responsibilities. Mum locks the door at 6pm and I have to creep in using the spare key on the way home, all the time knowing she’ll be listening out for me as 11pm ticks past. It’s like being 17 again, except… Continue reading MAYHEM IN THE LADY MILDMAY
ON THE BUSES
November 2023. Stoke Newington. London. With Dad home from Addenbrookes by taxi on the Wednesday night (first time he or I had been in one of those for a while) I decided to stay round my parents for a while to assess ongoing care needs. That’s been very useful, and of course Waterbeach has a… Continue reading ON THE BUSES
TOP 100 PUBS – THE WHITE HORSE, FINNINGHAM
November 2023. Finningham. Suffolk. Well, well, well. An absolute cracker in rural Mid Suffolk, but where has the White Horse in Finningham been all my life ? Well, in Finningham I guess. Nothing spectacular about the exterior, but inside you get the “no nonsense village pub where conversation and good beer are the order of… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE WHITE HORSE, FINNINGHAM
RASCALITY IN TROSTON
November 2023. Troston. Suffolk. “Troston is a little-known village in the quiet lanes between Bury and Diss, purposeful and pleasing” writes Simon Knott on his excellent churches photo stream, and it’s managed to escape my notice for 58 years, tucked between Bury and Thetford in what I’d describe to Dave as “rural Suffolk”. With Dad… Continue reading RASCALITY IN TROSTON
THE OLD TICKET OFFICE
November 2023. Cambridge. Dad moved from a noisy A & E bed to a dedicated elderly ward with 11-8 visiting hours which suggested he was in recovery. After my own recuperative crispy beef and pint of Landlord I decided to make my visit by train the next day, walking the half hour along the guided… Continue reading THE OLD TICKET OFFICE
THE SUN WILL ALWAYS RISE IN THE MORNING
November 2023. Addenbrooke’s. Cambridge. It took me 5 hours to get back from Oldham to Waterbeach, the trip from Sheffield in about 2:20 hours these days, and Dad had already been taken by ambulance to Addenbrooke’s awaiting assessment (alliteration alert). The antibiotics for a suspected infection kicked in quickly, and I spent the next 24… Continue reading THE SUN WILL ALWAYS RISE IN THE MORNING
FROM NIMBLE NOOK TO THE EDGE
November 2023. Oldham. Well, Greater Oldham, really, on a day that turned into a bit of a nightmare. It started with the usual great cut from Matthew at Helvete’s new salon in Chinatown, before a nice, easy tick out in Hollinwood. A metro trip out of St Peters, where Cinderella had left her shoe in… Continue reading FROM NIMBLE NOOK TO THE EDGE
SURVEYING SPONDON
November 2023. Spondon. Derby. The night was still young, but at 4.30pm I’d already ticked the two Derby Guide pubs I needed, which is like getting the two Iranian full backs in your Panini World Cup 1978 sticker pack. Just a Snooker Club in New Mills to finish the county, and I refuse to believe… Continue reading SURVEYING SPONDON
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