Petersfield endured, it was onto a bumper Hampshire derby showcasing the best and worst of the South coast. Starting in Pompey, which isn’t short of pubs. An admission. I was a teenage Pompey fan during the glory years (Div 4); an attachment based seemingly only on a visit to a Chichester convent and Bognor Regis… Continue reading POMPEY ! PRESLEY ! PUMPS ! PISH !
THE PETERSFIELD PROBLEM
A weekend away from the lovely Mrs RM in Portsmouth to clear the ten Hampshire Beer Guide entries, working WiFi and a tenner for Chinese takeaway; that’s my definition of FUN. Shame that one of those ten was in Petersfield. Some towns have a lot more Beer guide pubs than you’d expect, based on size… Continue reading THE PETERSFIELD PROBLEM
ANNOYED RETIRED MARTIN – RETURN VISIT
Those of you who enjoy the torment of us pub tickers finding pubs unexpectedly closed are going to love this. A successful (in ticking terms) couple of days in Wiltshire was to conclude with the attractive sounding Cross Keys in Corsley. Tucked safely away from the Killing Fields of Frome, albeit worryingly close to the… Continue reading ANNOYED RETIRED MARTIN – RETURN VISIT
“EXPERIMENTAL” BEERS IN THE TEST VALLEY
First of all, an apology to anyone who didn’t get to read “An old soak in Basingstoke” before it mysteriously disappeared from my site last night. It was one of my best, probably selling for 88p on the dark net. I blame the Russians. Or Russ. Or Basingstoke Tourist Office. If I can be bothered… Continue reading “EXPERIMENTAL” BEERS IN THE TEST VALLEY
THE ANGEL OF ANDOVER
Take a close look at that glass. That folks, is a half of Old Speckled Hen in the Angel, the new Beer Guide pub in Andover. And whatever else it was, it was also the best beer I’ve had so far in June. Before we get to that, here’s a lovely OS slice of unfussy… Continue reading THE ANGEL OF ANDOVER
COME ON PERU !
Buoyed by our cricket team’s success in taking mighty Scotland to the penultimate over last week, I’ve decided to jump on the sporting bandwagon, before the Premiership starts and I go into hiding. When I handed over my haul of CAMRA magazines to Dave last week, I left a Panini World Cup album in the… Continue reading COME ON PERU !
HURLY BURLEY
I nearly forgot to write about this one. And it’s a corker. Even better, you get to walk past the only Northern place my Mum can name on the way. The Cardigan Arms is a short hop from Burley Park station, better known as the home of Sir Geoffrey, and not too far from… Continue reading HURLY BURLEY
LEEDS – SUNDAY NIGHT, MONDAY MORNING
Nearly at the end of the Big Leeds Bank Holiday Night Out now, as we come to our last Beer Guide pub of the night (F). The Duck & Drake is what we call a Proper Pub, playing proper music for people who should be tucked up in bed by 9pm on a Sunday. And… Continue reading LEEDS – SUNDAY NIGHT, MONDAY MORNING
LEEDS VOL III – FROM CAMDEN TO WHITELOCKS
We could have stayed in the Templar all night, but a crawl’s a crawl. Here’s that map again. Next stop, Whitelocks (E). Even people in London have heard of Whitelocks, surely ? We cut through the Victorian arcade, Paul Mudge charging ahead at the front. He’s quicker than our tour guide in Singapore 20 years… Continue reading LEEDS VOL III – FROM CAMDEN TO WHITELOCKS
TOPING IN THE TEMPLAR
My favourite photo (above) from Leeds tells all you need to know about why pubs are so great. Can you imagine looking so happy sitting in your London flat drinking 330ml bottles of Pumpkin sour in your striped underpants watching Poldark ? Don’t answer that. It took me ages to construct our crawl map… Continue reading TOPING IN THE TEMPLAR
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