A rare pub visit where there is little exciting to tell you about the surrounding area, so I won’t. In fact this would have been consigned to the bin if not for the unfortunate mini-trauma of asking for a pint to be changed. I won’t name the GBG pub, and don’t go looking in the photos… Continue reading TAKING YOUR PINT BACK – A WARNING
CHEAP AS CHIPS IN CHESLYN HAY
Staffordshire is in my Top 3 counties for proper pubs; traditional seating, old codgers drinking Bass and Pedi, a lack of pretension. It’s also one of the cheapest counties, producing that virtuous circle of high turnover, high quality and low waste. That applies as much to food as beer. I’ll wager few folk outside of South… Continue reading CHEAP AS CHIPS IN CHESLYN HAY
BRIDGNORTH – NEARLY PERFECT
Some folk seem to think I have a nice life, travelling round the country visiting pubs and listening to female folk singers. Don’t be fooled. My good friend Charles gets to stay in the Black Country a night or two a week, have a curry with me, and go to Audit Comittees. That’s livin’ alreet,… Continue reading BRIDGNORTH – NEARLY PERFECT
BANKS’S AT SOURCE
The demise of Boring Brown Bitters, replaced by a sea of exotic craft, is much overstated. Particularly in the suburbs of the Black Country. What Oxley lacks in architectural interest it makes up for with an ability to get you lost, always a bonus. The Claregate is right on the border with Staffordshire, except of course… Continue reading BANKS’S AT SOURCE
A REQUIEM FOR CHERRY HINTON
The one downside of meeting old work colleagues (apart from them blaming you for the collapse of the NHS) is that they always want to meet in dining pubs. Not that there’s many dumpy old men’s pubs left in Cambridge for a pint and scratchings anyway. The closest boozer to work used to be the… Continue reading A REQUIEM FOR CHERRY HINTON
A COUPLE IN NOTTS
(Two points if you can guess the reference to a classic No.56 album) Two excellent pubs on the A60 heading towards the “New Beer City” of Mansfield for you today, but more importantly evidence that going out for a midweek pint with your mate(s) is alive and well. It’s a rewarding walk from the station… Continue reading A COUPLE IN NOTTS
PILGRIMAGE TO THURSFORD
When I retired I didn’t have a bucket list, at least beyond the one in the annual 1032 pages of the Beer Guide. I do however, have a “Don’t Go There” list of things I will never do. This includes things like Prosecco, Coldplay, polite society and Thursford Christmas Spectacular. Perhaps to keep the peace… Continue reading PILGRIMAGE TO THURSFORD
GOOD BEER IN LONDON SHOCKER
Contrary to what you might think, I’ve nothing against London. It’s one of the top ten cities in the South, with a musical heritage stretching from Adam Ant to Gary Glitter. Music drew me there on a super off-peak slow train on Sunday; a rare one-off gig by alt-country legend William Tyler and a very… Continue reading GOOD BEER IN LONDON SHOCKER
WESTHOUGHTON WETHERSPOONS
Pub Curmudgeon has been exploring Britain’s real ale deserts on his blog. It’s a good read, and like him, I’d rather see a busy keg pub providing an essential service to old folk than an empty ale emporium. Westhoughton is one of those suburbs of Bolton (or Wigan) that in my mind I’d expect to… Continue reading WESTHOUGHTON WETHERSPOONS
THE NEW WIGAN, THANKFULLY JUST LIKE THE OLD WIGAN
I wasn’t the only City fan secretly happy when Wigan nicked the FA Cup in 2013; it’s hard to dislike a town that gave us Stuart Maconie, Limahl and pie on a barm. As I’ve wrote before, it’s a beautiful town with proper shops, unlike one close to home I could name. It’s also fast… Continue reading THE NEW WIGAN, THANKFULLY JUST LIKE THE OLD WIGAN
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