16th February 2020 Another day, another GBG county falls to the flood-dodging retiredmartin juggernaut (Aygo). An underrated county, is Warwickshire, though of course Stratford is our most overrated tourist attraction (after Stonehenge). From bucolic Bedworth, affluent Atherstone and naughty Nuneaton with their £2.30 Pedi, to languid Leamington Spa with its £4 Purity, and thence to… Continue reading SHIPSTON-NOT-DOUR
A QUIET PINT IN THE SUN
14th February 2020 Back home, where Mrs RM is working on a huge IT project that makes 5G look like the installation of Supercalc at the village social club (they’re not really that advanced). I fancied a proper pint in a Proper Pub, and with Storm Derek on her way that meant the local. I… Continue reading A QUIET PINT IN THE SUN
ARCH LIFE – RUNCORN ROARS
13th February 2020 What a great way to complete Cheshire GBG20, in a place I don’t really know, in a bar with uncertain opening hours and three possible names. Later that night I coloured Runcorn in with great care on the map. First trip to Halton Borough since a lively Widnes fun pub in 2017… Continue reading ARCH LIFE – RUNCORN ROARS
NORTHWICH VICTORIOUS
13th February 2020 My penultimate Cheshire GBG tick, leaving the very best ’till last (says reader Lady K Walker). People who read this blog, rather than just looking at the pictures as advised in the instructions, will remember a visit to Northwich barely a year ago, when I did a fair job of making the… Continue reading NORTHWICH VICTORIOUS
CHESTER – A LITTLE DEVA
12-13th February 2020 Later today you’ll get tourist Northwich and tourist Runcorn, but first here’s tourist Chester. Yes, it’s my holiday snaps. I know you love them. The Limes B & B comes highly recommended at retiredmartin Towers. Chatty staff, clean rooms, hot shower, good WiFi, free sweets, ten minutes walk to the station and… Continue reading CHESTER – A LITTLE DEVA
WAITING FOR THE FLOOD BUS
12th January 2020 Never been to Edgerley before. Or Pentre. Or Wilcott Marsh. In fact the triangle between Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Welshpool in unknown border territory. Though it did provide a basket meal bonanza in Criggion in 2016. Passing the Nesscliffe Army Training Centre (no micropub) I arrive to find the Royal Hill facing an… Continue reading WAITING FOR THE FLOOD BUS
LEARNING THE ROPES IN IRONBRIDGE
12th February 2020 Slightly out of sequence, these next two. But then one of my readers, probably called Derek, would no doubt have studied the next photo and declared “Sir, Jupiter looks particularly high in the sky for a visit after 8pm on a Thursday“. That’s the view over the flooded plains above Buildwas Abbey… Continue reading LEARNING THE ROPES IN IRONBRIDGE
VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR
12th February 2020 (yes, it was a good night) One more in Liverpool, another one that features on nobody’s list of Mersey masterpieces, except mine. I could justify nipping in the Augustus John, again for the first time since the 2003 McKee gig, as; a) it’s a Uni bar that doesn’t open on weekends and… Continue reading VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR
“THERE’S A PUB ON THE CORNER…”
12th February 2020 It’s seventeen years since I saw Maria McKee play at Liverpool’s Academy 2, an incendiary full band gig I’ve only seen equalled by you know who since. The highlight of that night was this epic with its classic opening line. “There’s a pub on the corner” That night my pre-gig pint (possibly… Continue reading “THERE’S A PUB ON THE CORNER…”
THE PHIL – A GRADE I LOO STOP
12th February 2020 Only this blog could get a whole post out of a trip to the Gents, you might think. Type “loo stop” into the search facility on the left and be amazed. My general rule is to stick to about 400 words and a dozen images per post, that being the extent of… Continue reading THE PHIL – A GRADE I LOO STOP