More Woolyback excitement for you as I enter the rarely visited Culceth, the Yarm of the West (checks compass, yes, west). One of the least visited large villages in England, after Waterbeach, and seemingly only famous as the birthplace of Andy Burnham. But look closely just south-west and note “Little Town”, which inspired a famous… Continue reading SOMETHING FISHY IN CULCHETH
A BRIEF HOLT IN BOOTHSTOWN
Onto Boothstown. A rare visit beyond posh Worsley, but the Royal Oak looked familiar. Ah yes, it was my anonymised pub 2 years ago, serving one of the best pints of Holt I’ve had outside the Hare & Hounds. Don’t see much Holt in the GBG these days, do you ? You do see a… Continue reading A BRIEF HOLT IN BOOTHSTOWN
FACEBOOK FARCE IN MESNES
Pubs have been through hell in the last 18 months, and I’m delighted (though surprised) that so many of them seem to have survived into the Autumn of 2021. Of my GBG targets so far, only one (Urmston) hasn’t yet re-opened, and that’s more due to growth than decline. So I remain positive about pubs,… Continue reading FACEBOOK FARCE IN MESNES
DALSTON IN WIGAN
Part II of the Great Wigan Wobble, which somehow squeezes 3 posts out of a lone half pint. In 1937 George Arthur Blair wrote a piece that so infuriated Wigan folk that he had to change his name before releasing that dreadful Eurythmics record nearly 5 decades later. And George didn’t have micropub opening times… Continue reading DALSTON IN WIGAN
A WIGAN WANDER
With Mrs RM wardrobe restored, I could refocus on my day job of finishing GBG counties, starting with Greater Manchester’s hipster central. Yes, it’s Wigan, innit. I SHOULD have popped in the newly-reopened Swan & Railway, shouldn’t I ? But despite it being gorgeous, and selling pies (what else in Wigan) and possibly even Bass,… Continue reading A WIGAN WANDER
The mystery table explained
You’ll remember this table. Mrs RM putting her score for Burton Bridge onto Untappd, I guess. Should have paid more attention to the bag under her feet. Yes, that’s her posh fold-up winter coat (useful this last week) which we finally traced back to the Bird in Hand after numerous phone calls and a forensic… Continue reading The mystery table explained
CONTENTIOUS PRE-EMPTIVE TICKS IN DARTON
“Shall we find a beer garden” said Mrs RM, after our exhausting 2 hours exploring Damien Hirst and sharing a Toblerone ice cream at the Scuplture Park Cafe, which in itself was an art piece. No new GBG ticks for about 137 miles, of course, but do I spot a potential pre-emptive in delightful Darton,… Continue reading CONTENTIOUS PRE-EMPTIVE TICKS IN DARTON
A DIVERSION IN YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK
WARNING : no pubs, but Damian Hirst. This was the day that Mrs RM was going to drive me round some tricky ticks (is there an artist called Tricky Ticks ?) in Lancashire. We never made it past Wakefield. Yes, a horse on the motorway meant 3 flashing red crosses just before Junction 39 and… Continue reading A DIVERSION IN YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK
POTTERING ABOUT
I met Citra legend Mick last night and he confessed under torture (an attempt to get him to drink Doom Bar) that he doesn’t read ALL my posts. So that’s him out of my 2021 Awards issue, then. That Crilley fella will walk it. Here’s another post, mopping up the Newcastle-under-Lyme pics. I wanted to… Continue reading POTTERING ABOUT
MELLARDS, M’DUCK
This post features one of those great “Woman drinks pint of murk” shots that you come here for. All women should automatically be served pints in pubs to destroy the patriarchy or summat. This is Mellards, my FINAL (last) Staffs tick for the year. An easy year for me in Staffs with just half a… Continue reading MELLARDS, M’DUCK
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