May 2023. Worcestershire’s handful of Guide new entries (a half dozen in GBG23) always delight. Expect somewhere posh in the hills below the A456, a heavily timbered town pub recently acquired by a small home brewer, a new Black Country Ales opening as they achieve world domination, and a micro pub in a Worcester suburb.… Continue reading THE MASONS ARMS, WADBOROUGH – THE TRADESMENS’ CHOICE
ALE-CESTER
May 2023. Own up. How many of you could place Alcester (pop. 6,273) on a map ? Probably only Mark Crilley, who reads all my posts thoroughly and saw the map in my 2017 post. Except I see that I only gave you an extract of the town itself 6 years ago, so here’s a… Continue reading ALE-CESTER
DROITWICH SPA – THE SALT OF THE EARTH ?
May 2023. A decent number of new entries in Worcestershire in GBG23, and an ultra-rare newbie in Droitwich Spa. I was convinced I’d been to the Talbot before, but apparently not, and it’s a pleasant enough town of 25,000 souls to spend an hour if you like your black and white buildings. This one from… Continue reading DROITWICH SPA – THE SALT OF THE EARTH ?
BAPS IN BROMSGROVE
May 2023. Cobs in Cannock, Barms in Brownhills, Sandwiches in Sutton etc etc. Mrs RM went into crisis mode as late May brought a visit of the in-laws for ten (10) nights and I was tasked (ugh) to sort out the garden. I still have no idea what this device does; But my efforts seemed… Continue reading BAPS IN BROMSGROVE
A Kelham Get Together
20th April 2023. Back in Sheffield after 3 days in Waterbeach (1 Chung Hwa, 1 Beach Kebab) for a £35 one day festival in Kelham Island’s newish venues. James joined me; he reckons Sheffield is catching up with Leeds and Manchester in the new music stakes, but I’ll let Chris Dyson be the judge of… Continue reading A Kelham Get Together
MATILDA MANN MESMERIZES AT THE JAZZ CAFE
May 2023. Four London ticks was nice, but I was really in town to see a rare Matilda Mann (sold-out) headline gig at the Jazz Cafe. Just enough time in Hackney to walk the mile south along Mare Street to the Five Points Tap, not to be confused with what I assumed to be their… Continue reading MATILDA MANN MESMERIZES AT THE JAZZ CAFE
HI-VIS HACKNEY
May 2023. My first venture back into the rich world of UK pubs came four days after touchdown at Luton Airport, and with four (4) new London ticks I almost felt I’d got this Guide ticking lark sussed again. In truth, only London really offers such an abundance of ticking joy so close together, and… Continue reading HI-VIS HACKNEY
GREEN STREET TICKING
May 2023. Well done West Ham. David Moyes is finally a football genius. Couldn’t happen to better fans. UEFA ought to introduce a returnable deposit on those plastic pint glasses, though. Four weeks ago I was in West Ham land, taking two (2) new ticks from what has been a bit of a beer desert,… Continue reading GREEN STREET TICKING
COME ON YOU HAMMERS !
Manchester City fans are rooting for West Ham in their European final against Fiorentina tonight. Hammers fans share with City a sense of humour rarely seen in Liverpool or Trafford, as a quick look at our relative forums will prove. Upton Park was one of my favourite away grounds; the crowd tight to the pitch… Continue reading COME ON YOU HAMMERS !
Bye Bye Kaunas.
May 2023. Right. Let’s finish these Baltic posts and get back to Blighty. But I can’t leave without urging you to visit Kaunas and drop in to the Kiemo Galerija. You begin to see why the city was a Capital of Culture last year. OK, it’s not quite Bristol, but it’s tasteful and uncommercialised and… Continue reading Bye Bye Kaunas.
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