May 2023. The in-laws had always wanted to visit Beamish, the living history museum just outside Newcastle, and to be honest I’d been keen to see how it’s changed since we used to take the boys a decade ago when it was possible to entertain a pre-teen with a trip down a mine, a tram… Continue reading ALL ROADS LEAD TO BEAMISH
SHEFFIELD BLOSSOMS
May 2023. The last Tuesday of May, a great day to have responsibility for keeping the in-laws out of the house while Mrs RM worked. A great day to visit Sheffield’s free gardens. I was discussing with Mrs RM how little of Sheffield smart southern suburbs we’d actually visited since we’d moved 2 years ago… Continue reading SHEFFIELD BLOSSOMS
APOLOGISING FOR THE IN-LAW WHO ASKS FOR “A NIP”
Bank Holiday Monday May 2023. On the way back from New Mills the Mrs RM clan and myself stopped in Hathersage, the first honeypot village in the Peak leaving Sheffield. All the pub action involved Madri, and we only lingered over an ice cream while being asked whether the animals being led through the High… Continue reading APOLOGISING FOR THE IN-LAW WHO ASKS FOR “A NIP”
NEW MILLS, HANDY FOR THE PILs (PARENTS-IN-LAW)
May 2023. I’d made curated a beautiful list of Things To Do In And Around Sheffield That Aren’t The Blind Monkey for the in-laws ten (10) day visit, and a trip to New Mills was Number 1 on the schedule, if only to allow me to raid the Half Man Half Biscuit video store again;… Continue reading NEW MILLS, HANDY FOR THE PILs (PARENTS-IN-LAW)
QUEUEING AT BEER FESTIVALS
May 2023. As the highlights package showed, May was a busy month, with a quarter of the month spent “home” in Cambridge. It’s purely coincidental that some of that time coincided with the in-laws ten (10) day visit. Mrs RM had the joy of taking the family to Chatsworth House on the last Saturday of… Continue reading QUEUEING AT BEER FESTIVALS
TICKLED PINK IN SHIFNAL
May 2023. Another day, another small pub (NOT a micro) in a Midlands market town. Keen readers will remember Shifnal as the venue for one of the last Proper Days Out before Covid. Half a dozen Old Codgers tip up at a remote train station with 27 different train tickets and visit half a dozen… Continue reading TICKLED PINK IN SHIFNAL
MUCH ADO ABOUT WENLOCK
May 2023. Amazing how many gorgeous towns and pubs there are within spitting distance of Telford New Town. Much Wenlock, who I always assumed to be a Wolves centre-half from Victorian times, gains a second new Guide entry this decade, and an unlikely one in the Gaskell Arms. Old-fashioned looking hotels for gentlefolk don’t tend… Continue reading MUCH ADO ABOUT WENLOCK
FOOMIN’ AT FUNICULAR FAIL IN BRIDGNORTH
May 2023. Press on while the weather is good for blogging. I arrived in Bridgnorth a week after the Southworth clans left. I would have loved to have met them and shown them the town’s cultural highlights, including the actual home that Hector lived in. Apart from Hector and the pub stock, the town is… Continue reading FOOMIN’ AT FUNICULAR FAIL IN BRIDGNORTH
TAKING IT DOWN TO THE WYRE – THE BLAKEDOWN SWAN
May 2023. With Evesham out of reach, the next pub was only a penultimate Worcestershire tick, and the biggest question about the Blakedown was whether I’d actually been to the Swan before and forgotten to record it on The Spreadsheet. For the A456 from Birmingham to Kidderminster (I believe Life After Football used to walk… Continue reading TAKING IT DOWN TO THE WYRE – THE BLAKEDOWN SWAN
Peregrine Falcons at Worcester Cathedral (NCSS 4.5)
Only one way to start this morning. Yes, in Soccer/Sportswashing news, I can now stop worrying about City for a couple of months until the Charity Shield becomes the most important trophy. As promised, I didn’t watch/listen/follow the match last night, despite Mrs RM shouting “Don’t you want to know the score ?“. I looked… Continue reading Peregrine Falcons at Worcester Cathedral (NCSS 4.5)
