retiredmartin

August 2026. Bath. I arrived back at Isambard’s (quite  good) statue with 5 minutes to spare, and half an hour later was clambering the Paragon steps on the edge of central Bath. You must know this one. A symphony in brown dark red, where Stafford Paul awaited with the sacred jug of flat Bass. I’d… Continue reading THE TRADITIONAL SHARING OF A JUG OF BASS IN THE BATH STAR

August 2026. Bristol. My train to Bath left in 50 minutes time; Google reckoned 54 minutes walk from the Port of Call to Temple Meads, which gave little time for dawdling on the descent through Cotham Hill. And so, once more, I could only pause at the Highbury Vaults, and marvel that they still have… Continue reading ONE OF THESE DAYS I’LL ACTUALLY GO IN THE HIGHBURY VAULTS AGAIN

August 2026. Bristol. I’ll show my deep ignorance of suburban Bristol now and admit I don’t really know the difference between Clifton Village and Clifton proper, about 50p on a pint I guessed. Yes, there are buses I could have taken, but then I’d have missed the closed zoo, Clifton Down looking like a scorched… Continue reading ALI G, OTTER, AND A RAPID DESCENT FROM CLIFTON

August 2026. Bristol. It’s been a while, but I finally managed a trip outside that brutal Manchester-Midlands-Cambridge-Kent corridor last weekend. A choice of routes down to Bath, and the one stopping at Oxford would have been ideal except the pub there didn’t open till 2pm and I needed to be at the Star for 4.… Continue reading NEW (IN) BRISTOL

August 2026. Skegness. Lincolnshire. We stayed at The Vine, as we did back in 1999 when our 6 month old cried through Roger Protz’s dinner in the oak panelled dining room. A week later we found out James had a hernia, bless him. I’m not sure if this Best Western even is the smartest place… Continue reading BATEMAN XXXB AT THE VINE. THE ALTERNATIVE SKEGNESS

August 2026. Skegness. Lincolnshire. Obviously Skegness isn’t the most newsworthy east coast seaside resort this week, what with alien bins* competing for our attention, but I was genuinely keen to discover why the trains from Sheffield and buses from Lincoln seemed so packed in Summer. Previous visits I remember had been Autumn ’94, Winter ’99… Continue reading VIVA SKEG VEGAS

August 2026. Skegness. Lincolnshire. A Sunday night in Skegness, my first ever Summer visit, and no better time to see the real heart of the seaside choice of the entire East Midlands. I’d been looking at a train from Sheffield but a) it’s £54 before railcard, b) takes over 3 hours, c) the carriages are… Continue reading THE JOLLY FISHERMAN

August 2026. Skegness. Lincolnshire. As you’ll know I’m not intending to complete the Beer Guide again, once in a lifetime is scary enough, as David Byrne sang. But I still like visiting the new GBG pubs, and colouring in the maps, and a lone micro had prevented me licking Lincolnshire for too long. So, after… Continue reading LINCOLNSHIRE HAS FALLEN

A belated highlights package for July, the stand-out of course being the English demolition of the French in Miami. No-cared about the final. With Mrs RM taking a break from exploring the Caucasus, there’s a bit more local travel in July, even a trip (sort of) west to Whitchurch. Sixty-two different pubs in thirty-one days… Continue reading JULY ’26 STOCKTAKE + AUGUST PREVIEW