My 15 year old son has acquired a taste for death metal. Nothing wrong with that; I was into The Fall and Joy Division at his age. On Tuesday we took Matt and his mate to Nottingham to see Architects, a metalcore (?) band actually younger than me. Pleasingly, also an opportunity to tick off the last… Continue reading RITES OF PASSAGE IN NOTTINGHAM
DEVONSHIRE ARMS, CAMBRIDGE
Mrs RM and I are working our way through the Cambridge Beer Guide entries, purely for research purposes. At 11.55am we were hovering outside the door of the Devonshire looking very suspicious. This is one of our favourite Cambridge pubs, being a few steps from the shiny but dull station and with a shiny line-up… Continue reading DEVONSHIRE ARMS, CAMBRIDGE
WONDERFUL WELLINGBOROUGH
As you can probably tell Mrs RM has sorted out my laptop. John Lewis wouldn’t help, but Lenovo were happy to talk through their unique TIOTIOA solution. This means I can post on Wellingborough‘s surprisingly attractive centre at last, and put my comments on the Coach & Horses in context. I searched for something interesting… Continue reading WONDERFUL WELLINGBOROUGH
FRENZY IN NORTHAMPTON
Decades of dull but solid progress in Northampton, and suddenly it’s become a must-visit pub destination. The Nuneaton of the civilised world, perhaps. Not since the County Ground stuck up Meccano stands and duckboards for “big” games, just before their move to Sickfields, have I seen such a building frenzy in the county town. First… Continue reading FRENZY IN NORTHAMPTON
THE REAL THEALE
As the song goes, “For each pound of joy, there’s an ounce of regret“, and for every trip to Newbury there’s one to Theale, one of our most bewildering large villages. You might assume West Berkshire is all horsey racing, drama societies and Good Old Boys. Theale, though, would be more at home as a… Continue reading THE REAL THEALE
OXFORD v CAMBRIDGE REVISITED
There’s an assumption of a great Cambridge/Oxford rivalry. It doesn’t exist, anymore than Uttoxeter and Doncaster are daggers drawn because both hold horsey races. I don’t know anyone who watches the boat race, and even on trips to the Manor or Kassam Stadiums I doubt many United fans bothered to set foot in the centre.… Continue reading OXFORD v CAMBRIDGE REVISITED
IPSWICH CONFIRMS ITS CRAFT CREDENTIALS
The firm time I realised the poetic genius of BRAPA was when Simon described Ipswich as “a cross between Ely, Knaresborough and Monaco“. Like Andy Murray winning Wimbledon, that would have seemed “ludicrous” a few years back. But now I have the confirmation of Mrs RM that this is absolutely true. You really need to… Continue reading IPSWICH CONFIRMS ITS CRAFT CREDENTIALS
A RESTORATIVE FOR MRS RM IN THE ELM TREE
I’m falling behind on the posts, believe it or not. Reports on Ipswich, Theale, Melton Mowbray and the Spennymoor suburbs exist as scribbled notes and unfathomable photos. The collapse of my trusty laptop last week hit me hard, and Mrs RM has had to interrupt her despair to get it fixed. Yesterday she had a… Continue reading A RESTORATIVE FOR MRS RM IN THE ELM TREE
NEW IN NEWBURY
I’m not saying Newbury is irritating, but its new (GBG-wise) micro was my only unticked Beer Guide entry within a thousand mile radius in the wild west of Berkshire. It is irritating that even BRAPA has been to the Cow & Cask before me. Simon was unusually kindly about it too, perhaps because the errant children had been… Continue reading NEW IN NEWBURY
TOO MANY BEERS !
I’ve been commenting on the impact of very large beer ranges on quality since the start of this blog, and this post by Pub Curmudgeon also tackled some of the realities of choice, a thread entertainingly developed in the comments. My immediate reaction to the assertion that most pubs had a dozen beers of varying… Continue reading TOO MANY BEERS !
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