Mrs RM was persuaded by the first bright skies of the year to brave a Rutland walk yesterday. Sadly, the footpaths around Whissendine were a mudpath, and we were confined to a few miles on (very quiet) C-roads. As they say, it’s an area of simple pleasures. Langham, birthplace of Ruddles, is a pleasant small village… Continue reading RUDDLES
TOP 100 PUBS – RED LION, HISTON
While on holiday I finished the Red Lioness, Cathy Price’s recent book of the tour of all the pubs of that name. Cuba at least is a Red Lion-free zone (for now). It’s well worth a read, though I enjoyed the stories of modern travel chaos more than the pub history lessons. I look forward to Pub Curmudgeon’s… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – RED LION, HISTON
CHARLES DICKENS IN RETFORD
Apart from the walking, one of the main attractions of retirement was reading books in pubs, with a pint in front of the fire. Perhaps I didn’t expect the seating to look quite like this, but then this is Retford 2016. My Charles Dickens** still felt like 1866 though. Retford had it’s brief moment at… Continue reading CHARLES DICKENS IN RETFORD
SAM SMITHS OBB SAFE IN STAMFORD
My sympathy is with all those affected by the recent and ongoing floods. The main new item on European news stations while I was abroad over Christmas was the impact on York, and neighbouring Tadcaster, with its iconic Sam Smiths brewery, seems to have been particularly affected. There have been reports about stocks of Old Brewery… Continue reading SAM SMITHS OBB SAFE IN STAMFORD
RICH PICKINGS nr. STOWMARKET
My last new Guide pub in Suffolk didn’t offer much in the way of walking, partly because of torrential rain and partly because it’s in the large area of nothingness between Stowmarket and Diss (think Leigh to Lymm but duller). When folk tell me how lovely Suffolk is, I assume they’ve only ever been to the… Continue reading RICH PICKINGS nr. STOWMARKET
CRAFT & CONTRADICTION IN CLAPHAM
I had a couple of contrasting experiences in Clapham on an enjoyable New Years Day, which tended to sum up the inconsistency of the London pub scene for me. Although it’s got no great attractions, flying pigs apart, the stretch of Battersea leading from the Junction to Clapham central is always an interesting walk, whether via the… Continue reading CRAFT & CONTRADICTION IN CLAPHAM
NEW YEAR, SAME OLD TWICKENHAM
Basing my travels around the Beer Guide means that I have to visit some challenging places, including the home of “Rugby”, at least once a year. Last year my visit coincided with some Rugby Sevens tournament, which meant beer in plastic glasses, over-excited middle-class families. Only the brilliance of the Sussex Arms redeemed Twickers on… Continue reading NEW YEAR, SAME OLD TWICKENHAM
COZUMEL
Our short cruise ended in Cozumel, a large Mexican island famous for its diving. We’d been hoping to take the passenger ferry to visit the sea turtles on the mainland, but rough seas intervened. We ended up snorkelling at the Chankanaab park, which has some good snorkelling and a friendly lizard I’m sure I remembered from… Continue reading COZUMEL
CAYMAN BOCK
Coming towards the end of my Cuban/Caribbean trip now. By this stage I’d just heard the news about the floods in Tadcaster, realised Lemmy was not immortal as I thought, and seen Stoke City play like Barcelona. All bad news, and a 24 journey home to come. I was looking forward to a return to… Continue reading CAYMAN BOCK
GUINNESS IN JAMAICA
Leaving Cuba we made a return visit to Montego Bay, skipping Dunns River Falls this time for a tubing trip down the Great River at Montpelier. Tubing basically means sitting in a tyre and holding on, both to the tyre and to the plastic cups of white rum punch being passed round as you go over… Continue reading GUINNESS IN JAMAICA
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