What excellent windows Dublin has. I stopped to look at a dozen, at least, yesterday morning while Mrs RM’s coffee needs grew greater. We must have passed a gazillion Starbucks, Costas and Harris + Hoole variants before settling on Clement & Pekoe, whose excellent filter wins a point for being hot. Mrs RM put milk in… Continue reading DUBLIN – ONE PUMP PUBS, POWER-WALKS & TIN WHISTLES
TWO TOURISTS AVOIDING CRAFT IN DUBLIN
Dublin isn’t all cask and craft, of course, although following the helpful advice of the Beer Nut might give that impression. His helpful link to Irish craft beer is here. We’re primarily here for the traditional music festival around Temple Bar, which is better than you might believe if you’ve ever spent a lost weekend there. Last… Continue reading TWO TOURISTS AVOIDING CRAFT IN DUBLIN
IRISH PUBS IN GOOD BEER GUIDE NOW !
It’s been a good start to our sober trip to Dublin. No beer on Ryanair, and just the usual in the Spoons (Windmill) pre-flight. You’ll know the world is about to end when Mrs RM doesn’t have her Punk IPA at Stansted. I tried to tell her that it’s not as good now that it’s… Continue reading IRISH PUBS IN GOOD BEER GUIDE NOW !
“A HALF OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN”
I’m off to Dublin shortly, but don’t expect a string of posts comparing the craft keg against the Guinness*. I’m still recovering from Manchester. Thanks for your sympathy. Instead we’ll be doing the cultural trail, centred on University College Dublin with its famed literary alumni of Joyce, Flann O’Brien, and Kevin Moran. Flann (Brian to his… Continue reading “A HALF OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN”
LITTLEWICK GREEN KEEPS THE HOME FIRES BURNING
There’s a real possibility that BRAPA will complete Berkshire before me, and that won’t do at all. Regular readers will know that Maidenhead isn’t high on my list of great towns, though it’s worth a trip to the Conservative Club if you’re an American tourist with too positive a view of our fair isle. I’m… Continue reading LITTLEWICK GREEN KEEPS THE HOME FIRES BURNING
HADDENHAM – LOOK SHARP !
I’m trying to get round all of Cambridgeshire’s 70 Good Beer Guide pubs this year, to see for myself the craft invasion that certain commentators have heralded recently. Already I’ve had terrific beer and cheer in March and St Neots, though finding takers for a Thursday night crawl in Ramsey has proved an effort. Haddenham is… Continue reading HADDENHAM – LOOK SHARP !
CADISHEAD CALLING
Enough of pub toilets. For a while. The Good Beer Guide giveth. The Good Beer Guide taketh. This is particularly true of the new GBG pubs in Greater Manchester. So after a rare trip to the hitherto unknown Dukinfield out east last month, an even rarer trip west of the M60 to Cadishead. Why this counts… Continue reading CADISHEAD CALLING
PUB LOO SIGNAGE – AVOIDING BRAPA DISASTERS
PARENTAL ADVISORY – CONTAINS BRAPA HUMOUR This series of posts is a real labour of love. I hope you appreciate the effort and danger involved. The quality of pub toilet signage becomes more important as you get older. Just ask Mrs RM. It’s both a matter of finding them (particularly in Spoons), and then finding… Continue reading PUB LOO SIGNAGE – AVOIDING BRAPA DISASTERS
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MILTON KEYNES
There’ll never be a better day to be nice to Milton Keynes, will there ? Early on in this blog I did a short piece summing up the place (here). As I said then; “People who live there defend their town vigorously, which I admire” I used to work with folk who were uprooted from… Continue reading HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MILTON KEYNES
PUB TOILETS – THE DESIGN EDITION
As I’m sure you’ll understand, I’m taking a few days off the beer before our trip to Dublin on Thursday. Any unusual recommendations for that city welcome (not Chinese takeaways). In the meantime, here’s a few design classics spotted over the last year. The top one is actually a closed public toilet next to the… Continue reading PUB TOILETS – THE DESIGN EDITION