First up, I do hope LifeAfterFootball‘s latest post marks a break, rather than a retirement from promoting pubs. Aller looked spooky in the morning. I could have been in the Fens. 20 minutes later I was crossing the M5 towards Bridgwater, which has been disappointingly GBG-lite of late. Matt had a friend near here with… Continue reading BREAKFAST IN BRIDGWATER
PICKLED EGG IN ALLER
Wasn’t that an album by Cream ? I spent the night in the car park of the Old Pound Inn at Aller, another place you’ve never heard of before, and never will again. Tucked away in the Levels, looking to Bridgwater for flat whites and frolics, Aller promises a quiet night. Wiki says “It is… Continue reading PICKLED EGG IN ALLER
AN OTTER
No End of the Road Festival for me this year (sob), so no new weird Canadian Americana (?), no vegan murk, so trip along the Zig Zag road in our new campervan to tick Dorset pubs. Pubs like the Blackmore Vale Inn at Marnhull, better known as “Rollivers” in Tess of the Du’rbervilles, a book… Continue reading AN OTTER
SHRIMP SPOTTING IN A GILLINGHAM GENTS
What click bait today. Shrimps, Badgers, Ferrets AND a Buffalo. BRAPA would have come up with a better title from that lot. “Gillingham” would have got the click from my Kent massif, too. Unfortunately it’s not THAT Gillingham (long overdue a new pub THERE). This is the Gillingham of North Dorset (pop. 11,756), a few… Continue reading SHRIMP SPOTTING IN A GILLINGHAM GENTS
GUESS MY 10 FAVOURITE COUNTIES
Prompted by several “conversations with the Southworths” (Netflix, Thrs 4am) I’ve decided to give you my 10 favourite UK counties. Of course, they’re not real counties, ancient or post ’74. They’re the counties in the Good Beer Guide, all seventy three of them. So you get anomalies like “Loch Lomond and Stirling” as well as… Continue reading GUESS MY 10 FAVOURITE COUNTIES
QUINOA UTTOXETER
I felt fine on Friday morning, just like the Beatles song released a month before my birth, but still hung around to admire Preston over too many flat whites before setting off home for a break from beer. Like BRAPA, I know my limits. A stop in Uttoxeter for fuel seemed a good idea, till… Continue reading QUINOA UTTOXETER
TWO PRESTON CLASSICS AND A MICK’S CHICKEN TIKKA
Once you start you can’t stop. After the Orchard I should have gone straight to Mick’s Hut for the curry and called Mrs RM to report on Matt’s Move. But you can’t walk past an open door, can you ? Particularly this one; The Black Horse has perhaps the most recognisable bar front on Pub… Continue reading TWO PRESTON CLASSICS AND A MICK’S CHICKEN TIKKA
A PRESTON PRE-EMPTIVE
A bit of a confessional tonight (don’t worry, not in a Patrice Evra way). After finishing Lancashire near Clitheroe I toyed with the idea of stopping for the night at the Red Pump. But it was a) £65 a night, b) about to close its bar at 8pm. And the Premier Inn at Preston central… Continue reading A PRESTON PRE-EMPTIVE
THE SUN SETS ON LANCASHIRE GBG FOR ANOTHER YEAR
Ah, bucolic Bowland, favourite of Her Majesty AND me. We also share a love for Doom Bar and errant sons, I believe. Here’s some drone photography of Lancashire for you; see if you can spot the areas in enhanced lockdown (no exchange of bodily fluids allowed after 18:45 Mon to Wed, 20:45, Thr to Sun).… Continue reading THE SUN SETS ON LANCASHIRE GBG FOR ANOTHER YEAR
WELCOME TO MANCHESTER
Back up North (A1/M62/M602) on Wednesday night before a day of Moving Matt to Manchester. Yes, the day after we’d moved the entire Salford flat, giant snails and all, into storage* on Ashton Old Road, Matt and mates belatedly had the keys to the city. One last walk round the office blocks of Exchange Quay,… Continue reading WELCOME TO MANCHESTER
