A poignant birthday for me, if not Matt (above), as Dad lost his last teenager to the terrifying twenties last Tuesday. There’s loads of great teenage songs, heh ? Well, not much beats the already classic one released last month; Dave “all music stopped in 1979” Southworth had never heard of Olivia, but then I… Continue reading I WANNA BE TEENAGE
WITH APOLOGIES TO THE LIBERALS
An uneventful 18 minutes from the (closed) black pudding stall out to the Elton Liberal Club, with just the furnace builders and B & M home stores to lighten my day. I fancy myself an expert on UK underpasses; please send me your own recommendations. But I have Newport, Bradford and Coventry down as 3… Continue reading WITH APOLOGIES TO THE LIBERALS
TAKE THE FIRST TRAM TO BURY
Last Tuesday was Matt’s 20th birthday, and he invited me and James over to Manchester to celebrate in the Northern Quarter. I don’t know about you, but at his age I was planning a night drinking Polish vodka in Footlights after my Certified Accountants Costing exam and asking my Dad to join me never crossed… Continue reading TAKE THE FIRST TRAM TO BURY
“Yes. Of COURSE we know how to eat Eritrean food”.
Having your in-laws over for fourteen (14) days leaves you on edge, as you have to be available at all hours to hoover, clean and provide taxi services. I’d been encouraging Mrs RM to take them out to Sheffield’s many authentic ethnic restaurants serving pie and chips or fish and chips. On Monday evening, after… Continue reading “Yes. Of COURSE we know how to eat Eritrean food”.
The Bessemer, No.1 pub in Sheffield (on What Pub)
Tonight’s bonus blog post is about search engine terms. I always wonder how some folk reach my blog through Google. Do they type in “Great pub blogging“, or “DIY tips“, or “unlistenable modern music suggestions” ? Apparently not. These are the four largest discrete search terms on retiredmartin this month; I like the idea of… Continue reading The Bessemer, No.1 pub in Sheffield (on What Pub)
MACCADONIA THE GREAT IN BISHOPTHORPE
The blue skies were back when I made my next venture forth into the nether regions of North Yorkshire; Bishopthorpe (pop. 3,237) may well be equidistant between Chez BRAPA and Chez Daddy BRAPA, and has enough pub and pomp for either of them. Plans to convert the Archbishop’s Palace to a Brunning & Price/True North… Continue reading MACCADONIA THE GREAT IN BISHOPTHORPE
SELBY IN THE DOGHOUSE
Is Selby the new Ely ? Or the new Southwell ? Or the new Selby ? That’s the question on my mind as I make my long-awaited return to the irritating place that gets stuck on a little insert box on the North Yorks page of the GBG. Looking at that map with all those… Continue reading SELBY IN THE DOGHOUSE
SAWLEY TEMPTED
More encroachment into Life After Football territory, as I approach the ACTUAL border between Derby and Nottingham, the very point at which Clough switches from Ram to Tree. Yes, it’s Long Eaton, again. The town you’re guaranteed an annual GBG trip to that will NEVER quite result in a stay long enough to make a… Continue reading SAWLEY TEMPTED
LOOK WHAT YOU COULD HAVE HAD
This week I told you I was finding it hard to get back into the routine of ticking, like Chris Tavare struggling to recover his dogged resistance after a week of ODIs and 20/20s, I guess. My next tick in came in the Junction, a micropub 2 miles from Burton only open Friday and Saturday… Continue reading LOOK WHAT YOU COULD HAVE HAD
DRESSING UP TO GO TO THE PUB IN DERBY
Sometime I don’t think my readers realise how difficult it is, making a micropub in a dull Midlands suburb sound remotely interesting. 18 months ago I visited the beer festival at the Pot Hole in Allestree, making much of it being a micro in what was one of Europe’s largest shopping centres. I didn’t expect… Continue reading DRESSING UP TO GO TO THE PUB IN DERBY
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