retiredmartin

Only one long, long, week in The North to catch up on now. Hurrah! Sadly, even in Bradford there’s no escape from Ed Sheeran and his legion of fans (“Eddies”) Matt had a hardcore gig at Leeds Temple of Boom (capacity c. 200) on the Friday, but unfortunately Ed’s intimate gig in a field the… Continue reading BEEHIVE YOURSELF, BRADFORD

No new GBG yet, as CAMRA continue to focus on the absence of the table dance and proper chips for GBBF volunteers. There’s a young lad in York crying right now, you know. But I reckon I’m done for GBG19, and you can see the counties I finished in this edition in that top pic.… Continue reading SOMERSET HAS FALLEN

Later today Joan and Dave commence another journey to our calm and confident nation, and I take this opportunity to remind them there’s more to the UK than pubs and cricket. There’s also our famous street art, and our fantastic weather, and of course our unfortunate collapsing lettering. All of this was on display in… Continue reading SMILE, YOU’RE IN BURNHAM-ON-SEA

Possibly undeserving of its own post, but unquestionably as attractive as any pub gracing a tin of Devon biscuits over the last 30 years, I finally made it into the Royal Oak, Winsford. Readers of this blog, as opposed to the sensible folk who just look at the pictures, will remember the Regal Tree Royal… Continue reading BACK ONCE AGAIN TO THE ROYAL OAK, WINSFORD

Should you ever find yourself in Exmoor without your trusty Good Beer Guide (any year) just look for a Royal Oak. By law only pubs called the Royal Oak (or possibly ExMoreAle) are allowed GBG status. This one is in Luxborough; it says so on the sign. Though a quick look at the OS suggests… Continue reading YET ANOTHER ROYAL OAK IN EXMOOR

Oooh, a poster for an event you haven’t quite missed yet.  It’ll never catch on. Next stop, Bishops Lydeard, which for the purpose of this post ONLY I’ve decided rhymes with herd or third.  Tomorrow it can rhyme with fish if you want. “Show us the trains, already” says the heritage bore. Not only a… Continue reading ENTERTAINING THE HERD IN BISHOPS LYDEARD

  Yes, I walked up there, from the Bicknoller Inn.  Hero. Apparently I made it to the top of Thorncombe Burrow, in the bosom of the Quantocks. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I felt drowsy at the summit in a field of fernand dozed off 20 minutes, dreaming about GBG delivery day and… Continue reading BICKNOLLER (MAKES ME WANNA HOLLER)

It must be the heat. I actually called that last post “Wantage Is Gonna Get You“, before I noticed my error. I’m tempted to blame it on Spellcheck, and hope that Stogumber doesn’t come out as Stokes cucumber or something. As you can see, my next stop on the venerable (i.e. overpriced) West Somerset Railway… Continue reading NO SLUMBER TILL STOGUMBER

Is there any more alluring a sight than beer in an Otter glass with Gloria Estefan singing “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You” on a big screen in a Watchet club ? Well, yes, Pub Curmudgeon drinking John Smiths Cask in Preston, but you’ll have to wait for that. Back to Watchet for a second tick.… Continue reading WATCHET IS GONNA GET YOU

No idea what it means, but one of you will. Incidentally, I saw a version of my blog translated into German last week and it made me sound really scary.  “Schneller ! Schneller ! Setz dich !” etc  etc. Anyway, this is Zummerzet in Zummer, so less scary than Nathan Lyon. Except that I was… Continue reading PAUVI PANI RAKLO