I’d better get a move on or I’ll never get to my monthly stocktake, and you won’t know how many pubs I beat BRAPA by in January. My second new Newcastle micro may be my Pub of the Month. Which is good, as it’s the local Pub of the Year already. I’d assumed the Town… Continue reading MICRO MURK-MAD MOUSE MAGS
NEWCASTLE – BRIDGES, BALTIC, BOX SOCIAL
Tuesday was my fifth successive trip to Newcastle in sub-zero temperatures, which says something about the cruelty of the Premier League fixture calendar. But you can never tire of the Tyne, or this month’s exhibition by Heather Phillipson in BALTIC, but can you get bored of Tyneside micros ?, I wonder. My usual confused stroll… Continue reading NEWCASTLE – BRIDGES, BALTIC, BOX SOCIAL
STUFF CARTER – GATESHEAD GETS A’HEED
Yes, I really have done a post on Gateshead without leading with the Angel at the top. But don’t worry, she’ll be back. Oh yes. This is a prototype, modelled (possibly) on Mrs Ethel Milburn of Benton. It’s on display in Shipley Art Gallery, where I was the only visitor. You can’t give art away… Continue reading STUFF CARTER – GATESHEAD GETS A’HEED
MAGPIES IN THE MICROS
Nearly finished my January posts now; then I can do one of those big “State of the Spreadsheet” posts showing just how far behind Pubmeister I really am. Last up in Dryanuary was a Tuesday night in Newcastle to watch Citeh take their customary 3 points from St. James Park. Throughout the day the BBC… Continue reading MAGPIES IN THE MICROS
“Who’d be a referee in Radcliffe ?” . “Who’d be a pub ticker ?”
My last Nottinghamshire GBG tick for the year. Please, no applause. It was only 11 new pubs this year. Mostly micros though, must count for something. The final tick gave me some drama which I may explore in more detail on a Channel 4 Despatches programme about opening times and hobby pubs. I tipped up… Continue reading “Who’d be a referee in Radcliffe ?” . “Who’d be a pub ticker ?”
ROOTS MANOEUVRE
“Taskmaster burst the bionic zit-splitter Breakneck speed we drown ten pints of bitter We lean all day and some say that ain’t productive That depend upon the demons that you’re stuck with” Roots Manuva – Witness Clearly Rodney aka Roots has been on a pub crawl with Stafford’s Paul and knows that ten pints of… Continue reading ROOTS MANOEUVRE
AND IT ALL ENDS IN BOLTON…
The completion of the Greater Manchester GBG entries is always a high point in the pubbing year. I know Duncan and Simon have been desperate to see what it looks like; Of course, if you had to choose your last Manc pub you’d opt for a Brunning & Price on the Cheshire border to give… Continue reading AND IT ALL ENDS IN BOLTON…
WAITING FOR A TRAIN
I feel I’ve neglected Mark Crilley of late by forgetting to add videos of classic 1983 UK pop hits. Here’s one I’d long forgotten from our Antipodean convicts cousins. I had 12 minutes to wait for the 19:08 from Wigan North Western to Bolton, scene of my final tick. Time for a quick half in… Continue reading WAITING FOR A TRAIN
A WOBBLE IN WIGAN
After the high of Roger Protz introducing Bad Kitty at Manchester Beer Festival, there’s nowhere else to go. Except Wigan. 30 minutes from Manchester Deansgate, and a few years ago it would have been 30 years back in time. But not these days. “Wigan is Really Great” as they probably say. Now Duncan had set… Continue reading A WOBBLE IN WIGAN
FULLERS TAKE THE BRASS, BRASS CASTLE TAKE THE PLAUDITS AT MANC FEST ’19
I’m no great fan of beer festivals, and not just because they take people out of pubs (I know, I know). And writing about them is much harder than writing about pubs. But Manchester Fest is always great fun, the beer is cool (in both senses), and being Northern people sometimes speak to you rather… Continue reading FULLERS TAKE THE BRASS, BRASS CASTLE TAKE THE PLAUDITS AT MANC FEST ’19
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