January 2026. Blackpool. If in doubt, tell the truth. I was wiped out by the time I’d finished that pint of Acorn Blonde in Bispham, fit only to head back to the warm embrace St Annes Travelodge with a cup of M & S instant coffee and an Eccles cake. But we were meeting Blackpool… Continue reading BLACKPOOL, INNIT ?
THAT OLD “Is it Level 42 or Nik Kershaw ?” QUESTION POPS UP AGAIN IN BISPHAM
January 2026. Bispham. Blackpool. I like this Blackpool tram map so much I’m going to use it in my Rotherham post. None of you will notice. Ah, Bispham. How do you even pronounce it ? And why is Little Bispham so far from Bispham proper, let alone Bispham Green ? This would have been a… Continue reading THAT OLD “Is it Level 42 or Nik Kershaw ?” QUESTION POPS UP AGAIN IN BISPHAM
BATHAMS IN BLACKPOOL
January 2026. Cleveleys. Blackpool. This Blackpool tram map is getting some use. More use than the actual trams that Friday, anyway. Two uncoventional new pubs in the GBG in Cleveleys, but the Wobblinn has one thing that might attract the Pub Men. No, not the seating, or the fire extinguisher; it’s the beer advertised on… Continue reading BATHAMS IN BLACKPOOL
BACKSTAGE IN CLEVELEYS
January 2026. Cleveleys. Blackpool. Dashing from the Beer Shed, I made the Fisherman’s Walk tram stop with 20 seconds to spare. Or actually, 20 minutes, as the trams north seemed to head into Fleetwood and disappear. “Trams every 10 minutes” said the signs, the evidence of our own eyes that Friday rather different. As the… Continue reading BACKSTAGE IN CLEVELEYS
THE 2016 REVIVAL CONTINUES APACE ! A £3 PINT IN A FLEETWOOD MICRO
January 2026. Fleetwood. I’d travelled the length of Blackpool’s tram network for some photos of a noble if faded seaside town and a GBG tick. And, while the Beer Shed looks a bit plain micropub, it’s another exemplar of the model, cheery and chatty and a great advert for cask. First of all, I have… Continue reading THE 2016 REVIVAL CONTINUES APACE ! A £3 PINT IN A FLEETWOOD MICRO
TAKE THE FIRST TRAM TO FLEETWOOD
January 2026. Fleetwood. Not really a cut-out-and-keep guide, and I’d struggle to sell you Fleetwood (pop. 26,232, plus a Football League team) as a holiday destination, but it’s better than Clacton, so there’s that. I had half an hour before my new GBG pub opened, plenty of time really. I’d actually seen the owner setting… Continue reading TAKE THE FIRST TRAM TO FLEETWOOD
STEALING VEGAN BREAKFASTS IN CLEVELEYS SPOONS
January 2026. Blackpool. When you left us Mrs RM was in St Annes Spoons, resisting the onion rings but succumbing to Chardonnay and Cointreau after that Imperial Stout. It may be her only relapse during an otherwise impeccably observed Dryanuary. In consequence, she was in no mood to join me in the chill of the… Continue reading STEALING VEGAN BREAKFASTS IN CLEVELEYS SPOONS
BURNS NIGHT
January 2026. St Annes. Mrs RM decided to leave the Fifteen at Seventeen Twenty-Three. I have no idea why. “A walk along the bracing sea front, Mrs RM ?“ “No, Mr RM. Tea and back to that nice warm room at the Travelodge“. St Annes was looking pleasant by night, with lots of dining options,… Continue reading BURNS NIGHT
“MEET ME AT THE FIFTEEN”
January 2026. St Annes. Two nights in St Annes, with Friday designated as “Tick Blackpool Day”, so we went local on Thursday. St. Tanz is the sort of genius pun that BRAPA would be proud of, in a seaside retirement town that lacks trad pubs but makes it up for it in micros. Lytham has… Continue reading “MEET ME AT THE FIFTEEN”
LACINGS IN LYTHAM. BASS LACINGS !
January 2026. Lytham St. Annes. A confession. The things that stress me aren’t the things that should stress an approaching middle-age boomer. I detest cars. Last Autumn (America – “Fall”) our Citroen’s gears started playing up, the main dealer quoted us £5k just to take the box out, and even with my lucrative sponsorship deal… Continue reading LACINGS IN LYTHAM. BASS LACINGS !
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