The blog returns to that endless month of July 2022 (101 GBG ticks); will it ever end ? A signature tick next, the London in Ottery St. Mary having thwarted me at least once with it’s whacky opening hours (per What Pub); Ottery St Mary (pop. 4,898) is your quintessential faded east Devon town (see… Continue reading STEAK OR SAUSAGE FOR TEA ? IT’S A BIG DECISION IN A TOWN CALLED OTTERY ST. MARY
364 SLEEPS TILL INDYMAN ’23
Clearly no-one is interested in IndyManBeerCon in 2022, it’s as old hat as the Arctic Monkeys or financial prudence, but Matthew is heading there tomorrow for the first time and it’s TRADITION, dammit, that I bring you a report from my sixth (6th) successive Mancunian celebration of high strength thirds in refurbished Victorian baths. But… Continue reading 364 SLEEPS TILL INDYMAN ’23
SEPTEMBER ’22 STOCKTAKE + OCTOBER PREVIEW
It was the best of months, it was the worst of months. September was by some way the most stressful month of my adult life, a month that started in a field in Wiltshire Dorset and saw some of the most manic journeys imaginable, even by my standards; In the August Stocktake telling you I… Continue reading SEPTEMBER ’22 STOCKTAKE + OCTOBER PREVIEW
BBB (BUCCANEER ON BABBACOMBE BAY)
It had been 27 years since I last set foot in Torquay. Back in 1995 I bought the Lemonheads album on cassette (honest, it was a thing in 1995), and watched a basement league 3-3 draw with Chesterfield while Mrs RM bought shelving, a theme for our marriage. The Hole in the Wall was the… Continue reading BBB (BUCCANEER ON BABBACOMBE BAY)
NOBODY GONNA BREAK MY STRIDE (to GBG glory). NOT EVEN STOKE FLEMING
The task ahead seems endless, but I shall press on, if only to see if Mark Crilley is still reading (I haven’t read all the great BRAPA posts so don’t feel guilty). Perhaps a reader from Zaire will one day find this post on Stoke Fleming of use, who knows ? Just beyond the gorgeous… Continue reading NOBODY GONNA BREAK MY STRIDE (to GBG glory). NOT EVEN STOKE FLEMING
SHARING PRAWN COCKTAILS IN SLAPTON SANDS
First things first. A first ever blog view from Burundi overnight. The world’s unhappiest country, apparently, but surely a visit to tick all Burundi’s bars would cheer them up ? This is Lacosta Beach Bar, an Amstel stronghold in Bujumbura; I see sand. Really, not much different from Slapton Sands in Devon. Except for the… Continue reading SHARING PRAWN COCKTAILS IN SLAPTON SANDS
THE DAY THAT CORNWALL FELL
I’m still in July, which means when I bring you an excitingly pointless September Stocktake on Friday night (after IndyMan !!!!), I’ll be two and a half months behind. Perhaps my new mission is just to get to Orkney on here, and bring the Blog Map up-to-date. The dash to the GBG finish line was… Continue reading THE DAY THAT CORNWALL FELL
HEY, BUDE
I needed three attacks on Cornwall to finish the GBG entries, due to one of them “not having a chef” and one of them being a micro and all. But at least that micro was in Bude, one of the few UK towns I’d never stopped in. No idea why, I must have whizzed by… Continue reading HEY, BUDE
A DOOM BAR CHECK-IN FROM INSTOW
No, NOT a check-in on Un****d ! What do you think I am, a beer blogger ? I’m not even a fan of Doom Bar, really, but it is a useful measure of beer quality between pubs. I’ve had really good DB, as well as a lot of under-conditioned sweet nothingness in Spoons. Whenever folk… Continue reading A DOOM BAR CHECK-IN FROM INSTOW
NO TRIP TO LYNTON IS EVER WASTED, EVEN WHEN THE PUB IS UNEXPECTEDLY CLOSED
During July I spent over a week parked up in Devonian campsites (mainly council car parks near Crediton) completing the South-West, and realised how much beauty there is in North Devon. I mean, look at the mushrooms on toast and haricot beans at Eggesford Crossing Cafe, a gem. As is Lynton/Lynmouth, which provides one of… Continue reading NO TRIP TO LYNTON IS EVER WASTED, EVEN WHEN THE PUB IS UNEXPECTEDLY CLOSED
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