February 2024. Fakenham. Returning from Battersea on Wednesday morning as Mum had a doctor’s appointment, Mrs RM stayed on for a day to visit Tate Modern and see “Book of Mormon” (great, apparently). I was jealous, and not just because I’d have knocked off a half dozen Guide pubs in what has been an unproductive… Continue reading “You should always keep in touch with your friends”. But stop at Fakenham for a sausage roll on the way.
GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 7 – THE SHIP AND SHOVELL, CHARING CROSS
February 2024. Charing Cross. London. A couple of days overnight in the capital, a cultural Tuesday filled with sewage pumping, portraits of royalty, a venerable Chinese restaurant, and some theatre to come. Should do it more often, we thought, as we walked at dusk through the streets of London at dusk. Like me, Mrs RM… Continue reading GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 7 – THE SHIP AND SHOVELL, CHARING CROSS
A FULL TUM ON WARDOUR STREET
February 2024. Leicester Square. London. Tuesday afternoon in central London, and it’s as busy as I’ve seen it outside Christmas. Half-term in some of the UK might have been a factor, but the trade is all from child-free couples and gentlefolk. It feels invigorating, like Manchester on a match day, and the pubs are about… Continue reading A FULL TUM ON WARDOUR STREET
GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 6 – THE DOG AND DUCK, SOHO
February 2024. Soho. London. This blog is now exactly a week behind with the posts, as we progress our day of London culture from sewage pumping stations to Soho. A mere 25 minutes from Abbey Wood back to central London, and a very rare foray into the heart of tourist land. You’ll recall I’ve noted… Continue reading GREAT PUBS REVISITED No. 6 – THE DOG AND DUCK, SOHO
CROSSNESS – THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SEWAGE PUMPING STATION IN THE WORLD
February 2024. Crossness. Thamesmead. You left us having walked the mile from Abbey Wood through Thamesmead to the entrance to Crossness Sewage Treatment Works, where we joined a gaggle of other visitors suddenly worried we were lost and would miss our slot at one of the occasional tours of the old pumping station. A little… Continue reading CROSSNESS – THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SEWAGE PUMPING STATION IN THE WORLD
THE ELIZABETH LINE TO THAMESMEAD !
February 2024. Thamesmead. Visiting new pubs is great and all, but nothing beats urban exploration (preferably with a new pub at the end). Mrs RM had organised a couple of days of culture in London, centred around Thamesmead, the large area of social housing on the bank of the Thames used in A Clockwork Orange.… Continue reading THE ELIZABETH LINE TO THAMESMEAD !
TEDDINGTON TICKED
February 2024. Teddington. Look, this trio of new GBG entries in South-West and West London weren’t classics, and as flying visits I cam hardly claim to have been won over by the (well) hidden charms of Raynes Park and New Malden, but Teddington looked a proper town, and the 10 minutes from my wee stop… Continue reading TEDDINGTON TICKED
SPENDING A PENNY IN THE PUB
February 2024. Teddington. I severely underestimated Mrs RM. Having suggested she stayed on the train to Teddington while I rush to tick New Malden Spoons, I rather forgot that even at our respective paces she’d be waiting at the Abercorn Arms quite a while if I took 20 minutes out to walk the half mile… Continue reading SPENDING A PENNY IN THE PUB
MRS RM ABANDONS ME IN NEW MALDEN
February 2024. New Malden. Only 5 minutes back on the train from Raynes Park to New Malden, apparently “an area in South West London, England. It is located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Merton“. What happened to towns and villages ? That 5 minutes was enough for Mrs RM to overhear… Continue reading MRS RM ABANDONS ME IN NEW MALDEN
“AC/DC cover bands, Sharps Sea Fury and a large poster of Eric Clapton in a Miami Vice outfit.” The Raynes Park Beer Guide pub.
February 2024. Raynes Park. Wimbledon. Two (2) nights in London. Two nights of culture and the walking that you miss when you’re “looking after” parents (shopping and chat mainly). But three new GBG ticks on the same line west from Clapham Junction was too good to miss. I may never again complete the Guide, no-one… Continue reading “AC/DC cover bands, Sharps Sea Fury and a large poster of Eric Clapton in a Miami Vice outfit.” The Raynes Park Beer Guide pub.
