retiredmartin

July 2026. Manchester. I drove into Manchester on the hottest day of the year to help him clear his Piccadilly flat (mainly a guitar and early editions of Kerrang!), a month after his move to the Promised Land of Stockport. I could have parked opposite the flat at CitiPark, but saved £7 by stopping on… Continue reading I (STILL) MISS THE JOLLY ANGLER

July 2026. Bradford. Back from the Ginger Goose, Mrs RM said she didn’t want anything to eat, which I took as instruction to head out immediately and come back with a healthy tea. I headed out into Little Germany, a part of Bradford with unrealised potential, expecting to find a dozen pizza/kebab places on the… Continue reading VISITING THE CORN DOLLY JUST TO PLAY BOB AND OLIVIA

July 2026. Bradford. Back from Bingley at half-five last Monday, Bradford looked a little too quiet. The 10 minutes walk from Forster Square Station to Holiday Inn Express is a row of “value” pubs, one of them offering sandwich, crisps and a pint for a fiver. As I walk past the Ginger Goose I hear… Continue reading YOUNG (AND OLD) HEARTS RUN FREE AT THE GINGER GOOSE

July 2026. Saltaire to Bingley. A late (9:30) start to Day 5 of the Cask Camino on Monday morning meant we missed the best of the Holiday Inn Express (i.e. the scrambled eggs), which came as a shock after missing breakfasts in Armenia because they didn’t start till 9am. We resume at Saltaire station, the… Continue reading CASK CAMINO DAY 5 – SALT MILL TO BINGLEY

July 2026. Bradford. I see Corby has been shortlisted for UK Town of Culture 2028, and rightly so. Who could deny a place with “hot piping action” ? It faces tough competition from Basildon and the lesser lights highlighted by the BBC in a typical sneery article. I can recommend ALL of those places, particularly… Continue reading CULTURE ? I’LL SHOW YOU CULTURE, SAYS BRADFORD

July 2026. Saltaire. Mrs RM had scoured the internet for advice on what to do in Saltaire at the end of our (very short) leg of the Cask Camino and found 1) Salt Mill and Hockney galleries, 2) Roberts Park, 3) SALT Beer Factory. Not much mention of the characterful grid of cobbled streets built… Continue reading SALT. THEN MORE SALT

July 2026. Saltaire. Bradford. While the organist played us hymns modern and ancient in Saltaire’s United Reformed Church I devised a plot to get Mrs RM to visit a pub (she’s a reformed character this last week). “Mum loved those Fanny Crosby hymns that the Salvation Army band played, especially Blessed Assurance” I tell her.… Continue reading FANNY’S BY GASLIGHT, SALTAIRE

July 2026. Saltaire. Bradford. Shame on you for thinking we’d abandon the Cask Camino within a month.# No, we are true pilgrims, committed to the cause of bringing you exciting pub stops along the Leeds-Liverpool canal, which we resume at Gallows Bridge in Shipley. The stretch to Saltaire takes barely an hour, but once you… Continue reading CASK CAMINO DAY 4 – SALTAIRE BREWERY TAP TO SALT MILL

July 2026. Sawley. Derbyshire. The pint of Abbot in Pub 5 was a mistake. I sensed a dash to the station and a return to the warm embrace of the Sang Lung was called for. But our last pub was just across from the trains, and I ought to save my casketeers a table in… Continue reading SAWLEY SUPPING – (6) SAWLEY JUNCTION