I’m really enjoying exploring Somerset this year, having largely bypassed it (literally) until now. Today, with some morning showers damping down hopes of a trek over Cheddar, we took some friends to Wookey Hole, a name I thought was made up till our first visit. Wookey Hole is a commercialised series of show caves just… Continue reading WOOKEY
FALLING FOR MINEHEAD
Great weather in Somerset today, painting Minehead at it’s best. On a couple of earlier visits it’s lived down to it’s status as a pleasant but nondescript seaside resort, comparable to a Cleethorpes or Ayr, but it shone today. In the sun, the shapes and colours of Exmoor meeting the sea came through, and the walks… Continue reading FALLING FOR MINEHEAD
RICHARD HAWLEY
Last night I went to the Cambridge Corn Exchange with Mrs RM to see Richard Hawley, a rare favourite of both of ours. Like latest LP, Hollow Meadows, the gig wasn’t quite perfect, with gentler stuff (What Love Means) brushing up against the robust rockouts (Heart of Oak) that were a little too close to late-period… Continue reading RICHARD HAWLEY
SOUTH CAMBS LOSSES
With trips to Minehead and then Leeds this week, I stayed closer to home today in the gorgeous Autumn weather. It was a mistake. The area of Cambridgeshire south-west of the city down to Royston, is generally thought of as an ideal place to live, and scores highly in those irritating surveys by the BBC and… Continue reading SOUTH CAMBS LOSSES
A SATURDAY IN E1
Yesterday I took Mrs RM for a leisurely 15 mile walk around the City of London. I think I may have told her 5 miles; sure she’ll start talking to me again soon. I think she’ll insist on the Bermondsey mile next time. Mrs RM is the ideal company when you’re trying to visit several… Continue reading A SATURDAY IN E1
LAXFIELD HIGH AND LOW
I’m not a great fan of Suffolk, finding the coastal towns of Waveney a little staid, the often heralded villages flat, and Adnams less challenging a beer than it once was. I do, however, have fond childhood memories of caravan parks in Leiston and the Ipswich Town team of the late ’70s, and Woodbridge, the Shotley… Continue reading LAXFIELD HIGH AND LOW
AN EMERGENCY VISITORS GUIDE TO TAMWORTH
For the benefit of our Black Country correspondent A quick guide to the many merits of the ancient Kingdom of Mercia, which seem to be lost on the current Rough Guide, Lonely Planet and Fodor’s. I could certainly recommend an overnighter, particularly if the Premier Inn is available cheaply. Ignore Tamworth‘s traditional draws, an attractive… Continue reading AN EMERGENCY VISITORS GUIDE TO TAMWORTH
ELY AS A TOURIST
I rarely visit Ely, even though it’s only a ten minute train ride away. Until 10 years ago it felt like a typical Fenland town stuck in the 1960s, albeit one with a magnificent and unexpected cathedral. It’s old fashioned shops catered for OAPs, and only a famed chippy redeemed it. The same 2 or… Continue reading ELY AS A TOURIST
ROYAL STANDARD REVIVED
Cambridge got one of it’s closed pubs back today as the Royal Standard on Mill Road was reopened, and a fine thing it looks too. The Standard was never one of the city’s great pubs when in Pubmaster hands, but in an area of East Cambridge that had lost several locals in recent times (Duke… Continue reading ROYAL STANDARD REVIVED
TOP 100 PUBS – BUFET KAMZIK, BRATISLAVA
While enjoying my two-thirds of a Cloudwater sour at the Piccadilly Tap after the match on Saturday, I noticed that Bernard Beer was being drunk in good quantities, and was reminded of a classic pub serving Bernard closer to source. Only the one visit but never to be forgotten, in the same way you never forget a trip… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – BUFET KAMZIK, BRATISLAVA
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