“I think it’s off” says Mrs RM. “No, it’s supposed to be a bit tart” I say.

April 2023. I’ve been skipping the GBG completed chapter pics because, well, my heart’s not in it. But I still can’t look at a page of the Guide with unticked pubs with anything other than unease, and it was good to put (the entirely fictitious) East Yorkshire to bed. The Bosville Arms is the annual… Continue reading “I think it’s off” says Mrs RM. “No, it’s supposed to be a bit tart” I say.

ALL THE TABLES WITH A “RESERVED” SIGN; WHAT WILL MRS RM DO ?

April 2023. We loved this little trip to North Lincolnshire. Said no-one ever, except us. Two new GBG pubs to tick (IF I am ticking the Guide), starting with the Heneage Arms in Hainton, which you’ve never heard of, even if you live in Market Rasen. The Heneage Arms has been brought into community ownership… Continue reading ALL THE TABLES WITH A “RESERVED” SIGN; WHAT WILL MRS RM DO ?

CRISP NIGHT AT THE COCKERMOUTH COMMUNITY PUB

The drive from tourist Lake District through Ambleside and Keswick and Bassenthwaite Lake to Workington, the jewel of the west. “Jewel” as in Jewel Kilcher, faded beauty from Payson, Utah, of course. I think it fairest to say Mrs RM “tolerated” this trip to Workie on the basis that I could clear the two later… Continue reading CRISP NIGHT AT THE COCKERMOUTH COMMUNITY PUB

COMMUNITY PUB, BEESTON (NORFOLK NOT NOTTS !)

As Johnson said, a man who is bored of Norfolk has every right to be. But I press on with Curry Charles, to a pub on the edge of dashing Dereham recently acquired by “the community”. Here’s the legal paperwork… Like micros, I’m rarely as impressed by community pubs as CAMRA. They often seem to… Continue reading COMMUNITY PUB, BEESTON (NORFOLK NOT NOTTS !)

EASINGTON – NO JEDI KNIGHTS OR POPES, BUT EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

I’d parked up just south of Sunderland on Durham’s mining coast. It was a vibrant place before BRAPA went to the University of Sun’land in the late ’90s. This is the coast that pashmina’d Guardian readers DON’T go to, instead heading on to Northumberland with its Potter castles and smoked kippers. I’ve stopped off here… Continue reading EASINGTON – NO JEDI KNIGHTS OR POPES, BUT EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

“WARNING: This is a Proper Pub”

Well, we’ll be the judge of that, won’t we ? First stop in Sussex (West) is that intriguing breed, the community-owned pub. Balcombe’s Half Moon could be one of those all-out gastros that guarantee gentkefolk a supply of £7.95 sandwiches, or one of the drinking clubs where middle-class pashmina wearers block the bar and the… Continue reading “WARNING: This is a Proper Pub”

LIPSMACKIN’ CHEPSTOW

You’ll be delighted to hear that, following discussions between myself and our readers in Kent and Ireland, brokered by Kofi Annan, I have agreed to discontinue the weird “paint effect” filter. Instead, I bring you Chepstow in black and white, which I hope you like. Actually, it looked like a black and white town in… Continue reading LIPSMACKIN’ CHEPSTOW