Am I having a midlife crisis ? I can’t even get excited about the imminent arrival of the new Good Beer Guide (where “imminent” = “no idea when”). Novelty books are a good idea on pub shelves as they make excellent props when there’s nothing else to comment on apart from the Curried Parsnip soup,… Continue reading The Gargunnock’s “Soup of the Day” is Curried Parnsip.
A STIRLING EFFORT (SLIGHT RETURN)
If I did a blog post on GBG oddities, it would obviously focus on daft opening hours, pubs only selling Doom Bar, and bars that (permanently) don’t serve real ale. But I’d also tell you about sizeable places that haven’t had a new entry in what feels like 20 years. Like Walsall. And Tring. And… Continue reading A STIRLING EFFORT (SLIGHT RETURN)
IN FOR A PENNY, INN FOR A DOLLAR
My bed for the night on the first leg of the August Assault on Alba (?) was in a carpark in the hills high above Dollar. About £105 a night cheaper than anything in town. Of course Dollar was originally named Sterling, but when officials realised this risked confusion with the similarly named city to… Continue reading IN FOR A PENNY, INN FOR A DOLLAR
ALLOA – ROCK “n” ROLLS AND 80/ AND KILT HIRE
Every morning when I wake up (hey ! great song !) I take a look at what old posts have been read by some bemused soul in Uzbekistan or Saudi Arabia, hoping I’ll one day get views in Greenland and Lesotho. And occasionally I’ll re-read one of those old post like this one from Wilburton… Continue reading ALLOA – ROCK “n” ROLLS AND 80/ AND KILT HIRE
BO’NESS SELECTER (for the GBG)
“Have you up to date with the blog yet ?” said Mrs RM today, implying I’m a skiver. Well, the Rye post at least closed out a July when I only spent seven (7) nights at home, a situation which from memory may make me a tax exile. August proved to be even worse/better with… Continue reading BO’NESS SELECTER (for the GBG)
All the pubs in Rye that AREN’T the Ypres Castle – No.1 – The Hope Anchor
The Ypres is a great drinking house, it really is, but it’s not the only pub in Rye, and I suppose I need to do all of them now Mrs RM has a caravan down there. Perhaps best not to do them all after 3 pints in the Ypres, but I did attempt to walk… Continue reading All the pubs in Rye that AREN’T the Ypres Castle – No.1 – The Hope Anchor
LUNCHTIME AT THE YPRES
36 minutes walk from the caravan, our closest GBG pub, and one of the best in England. Run by Jeff and a highly motivated team, it’s one of the best places to sample cask at its best. My trip coincided with the late July heatwave, so the garden was heaving and the inside quiet. I… Continue reading LUNCHTIME AT THE YPRES
ENDING DORSET WITH A DOOM BAR BANG
I know many of you were disappointed, nay devastated that I couldn’t close the Devon chapter of the Good Beer Guide with a pint of the nation’s favourite, but I was able to make up for it the next day in Laymore’s Squirrel, at Dorset’s end. I’ve included a helpful OS extract to show you… Continue reading ENDING DORSET WITH A DOOM BAR BANG
DEVON KNOWS I’M NOT MISERABLE NOW (I’VE FINISHED THEIR GBG CHAPTER)
I always like to finish a Good Beer Guide chapter, with a pint of something brown, bitter and boring in an Old Man’s backstreet boozer. But you can’t always finish with Doom Bar in Wetherspoons, and Devon fell in a modernish brewery tap-cum-burger bar on the road out of Exeter (hard to find, tucked away… Continue reading DEVON KNOWS I’M NOT MISERABLE NOW (I’VE FINISHED THEIR GBG CHAPTER)
QUEUE JUMPING IN HENNOCK
And here’s another one from Dartmoor in July, a penultimate Devonian tick. Can you guess the last one ? Hennock is hard to hard to place, “Teign Valley, up the hill between Bovey Tracey and Chudleigh“, I guess. Till, you realise that you’re the only person in Sheffield who could place Exeter on a map,… Continue reading QUEUE JUMPING IN HENNOCK
