“Will he stop banging on about Doom Bar ?” I hear you moan. Well, no. Having confirmed it can be a tremendous beer three times now, I feel compelled to test that hypothesis for you at every opportunity. Particularly when it’s £1.69 a pint. Actually, £1.49 with my token in Huntingdon Spoons, which suggests some… Continue reading (NEARLY) NEW SPOONS ON TUESDAY
“BITTER MEANS JOHN SMITHS SMOOTH”
99% of my pub visits, i.e. 594 a year, are enjoyable affairs. The odd one, a Conservative Club in Berkshire or a Buckinghamshire gastro with high tables for drinkers for instance, will disappoint. Very rarely do I leave a pub upset, unless they’ve been showing a City CAR decision or have Coldplay on repeat. The… Continue reading “BITTER MEANS JOHN SMITHS SMOOTH”
GORLESTON – KLASS-Y
Yes, it’s the one you’ve been waiting for. A first visit to the Queen of the East Coast since, ooh, before BRAPA started. Wiki tells me it’s a seaside resort, apparently. There were a good few dozen dotted on the beach on a cold Autumn Sunday. And Jehovah’s Witnesses. I confess I always assumed it… Continue reading GORLESTON – KLASS-Y
A NARROW RANGE IN THE BROADS
A few dull ones in Norfolk, now. Perhaps. I’d promised Curry Charles a night in Gorleston to help me complete the GBG here, but frankly accommodation, let alone curry, options were a little threadbare so I’m taking him to Leicester on Sunday. I believe there is curry there. Gorleston was doable by train, and with… Continue reading A NARROW RANGE IN THE BROADS
STALYBRIDGE – NO PERMANENT DAMAGE
The plan was good. Meet Quosh in Stalyvegas for a quick half in the Crafty Pint (or was it a crafty pint in the Quick Half) and be back at my hotel (well, Oldham Travelodge) nice and early to catch up with the blog. But I’m not a ticking professional like Pubmeister, and I get… Continue reading STALYBRIDGE – NO PERMANENT DAMAGE
GONE IN 60 SECONDS – PLUM PORTER IN DROYLSDEN
On the Friday I headed east (or is it west ? Mudgie will know) for a couple of Greater Manchester GBG ticks. And before you complain, I know Greater Manchester isn’t a real place. The metro takes you through a real ale wasteland that unfortunately includes the Etihad. Keg but kute So you can understand… Continue reading GONE IN 60 SECONDS – PLUM PORTER IN DROYLSDEN
A SURMOUNTABLE HITCH IN MICRO PRESTWICH
I spent literally minutes trying to find a Fall track for this post, but sadly M.E. Smith’s “Middle aged Middleton micropub man” remains unreleased. On the tram back from Bury to Victoria I planned an afternoon in West Manchester, and admired the lack of GBG pubs on the route. Ah, the Crooked Man. Wait, the… Continue reading A SURMOUNTABLE HITCH IN MICRO PRESTWICH
FOREVER BURY
Another short post anchored by a picture of healthy food for you. With the trains back up and running into Sheffield, my parental duties for the day were done. I dumped the car in my secret free parking space (Quosh would be horrified) and headed for the trams. Quite a pleasant trip out to Bury,… Continue reading FOREVER BURY
SNAKE PASS TO CHETHAMS
This blog has reached last Thursday, as the floods descended on Sheffield, leaving my son James at risk of being unable to act as Matthew’s model for his barbering finals. Disaster. So I set the alarm for 5am the next morning and set off for Sheffield (again), diverted via the M1 as the A1 north… Continue reading SNAKE PASS TO CHETHAMS
THE BOSTON SAUSAGE
I was umming and ahhing about leading this piece with a picture of bucolic Boston or an actual sausage. Here’s that sausage, encased with onion in a proper pastry filling. But we have a vegan in our house at the moment and I don’t want to upset her. She wouldn’t cope well in Boston, whose… Continue reading THE BOSTON SAUSAGE
