July 2025. Glasgow. One night in Glasgow, an expensive one we’ll hear more about later. 10 minutes on the train back from Jordanhill brings you into the heart of the West End, where a room in a flat off Argyle Street like this one; cost £30 at the start of the century. Thinking about it,… Continue reading A CLIMB TO THE BEN NEVIS
A GLASGOW WESTENDER
July (finally) 2025. Glasgow. We leave June with Dad celebrating his 90th in some style, and the next morning I’m at Sheffield station catching the TransPennine to Glasgow. £65.90 return, old folk advance rate, that’s not bad. And in fairness all the trains were on time with actual seats that hadn’t been taken. The Avanti… Continue reading A GLASGOW WESTENDER
CHURCH OF ST ANDREW, BRAMFIELD, SUFFOLK (NCSS 3.5)
June 2025. Bramfield. Suffolk. Just to annoy etu, a break from pubs to admire Suffolk churches. Another St Andrew, too, after last year’s Westhall classic. Bramfield’s parish church, hard to spot on the village tapestry, isn’t quite as essential, but it is Grade 1 listed, as is the rare separate tower, built in the 12th… Continue reading CHURCH OF ST ANDREW, BRAMFIELD, SUFFOLK (NCSS 3.5)
LET’S FINISH SUFFOLK ! THE QUEEN’S HEAD, BRAMFIELD.
June 2025. Bramfield. Suffolk. My Dad reached 90 at the end of January, a remarkable achievement considering his appetite for Chinese food, a mid-life heart bypass, 50 years of manual work and the stresses caused by his son over an even longer period. Some of that stress would no doubt have come on the A1120… Continue reading LET’S FINISH SUFFOLK ! THE QUEEN’S HEAD, BRAMFIELD.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN LANSING, MICHIGAN ?
June 2025. Sheffield. Back from Lichfield and its excellent bod (better opening hours than the cathedral) to find something weird happening on the blog; 20,000 odd blog views from America in a day, half of them from Lansing. Shamefully, I didn’t know Lansing was the capital of Michigan (always assumed it was Michigan), the home… Continue reading WHAT’S HAPPENING IN LANSING, MICHIGAN ?
LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL HONOURS THE MICROPUB HOURS
June 2025. Lichfield. You don’t come to Lichfield and not admire the tri-towered cathedral. Of course, it’s a city more famous for it’s micros these days, though Paul Mudge may have found the odd Proper Pub here. Another town (whatever) notably quieter than pre-2020, but pedestrianisation has helped it retain its calm charms, and we… Continue reading LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL HONOURS THE MICROPUB HOURS
A bod IN LICHFIELD
June 2025. Lichfield. Unable to rest a single day in Sheffield I drove Mrs RM down to Lichfield, pausing at the National Memorial Arboretum one of Dad’s last big adventures with me before dementia. That day I took Dad to a trad pub for faggots and veg in Barton. Mrs RM gets the rather more… Continue reading A bod IN LICHFIELD
CASK v KEG AT CAMBRIDGE BREWHOUSE
June 2025. Cambridge. Scorchio in Cambridge again, as I bravely tackle the train, the tourists and the Marks & Spencers till to buy Dad another pair of trousers and slippers. It’s the only clothes shopping I’ll do all year and it’s not for me. A reminder that Cambridge’s top architecture isn’t the colleges, it’s Lloyds… Continue reading CASK v KEG AT CAMBRIDGE BREWHOUSE
PRIDE DRINKING WELL IN MILTON’S ELGOODS PUB
June 2025. Milton. Cambridgeshire. Back from Newcastle, straight back down to see Dad in Waterbeach, where Chung Hwa has cruelly started closing on Monday. Bloomin’ micro Chinese takeaways. So a mile south to Milton, then. The dual joys of Jaws chippy and Unicorn House have supplied Milton since before I lived there from ’87-’89 (my… Continue reading PRIDE DRINKING WELL IN MILTON’S ELGOODS PUB
HO’WAY THE LADS (AND LASSES). THE STRAWBERRY, NEWCASTLE
June 2025. Newcastle upon Tyne. Right, let’s finish the Big Newcastle Weekender, disappointingly early, but Mrs RM knows my limits and they weren’t as vast as Blackpool Jane and Karen, who was keen to revisit the Strawberry. This is the football pub, within sight of the vast stand where away fans risk heart attacks climbing… Continue reading HO’WAY THE LADS (AND LASSES). THE STRAWBERRY, NEWCASTLE
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