August 2026. Manchester. Your traditional contractually obligated “first game at the Etihad” post you’ve no interest in. AFC Bournemouth at a traditional time, too, 2pm on a Sunday. The August fixture traditionally finds me scrabbling around for “new and shiny” pubs, having long ago completed the Greater Manchester section of the GBG. And there are… Continue reading STILL NO REAL ALE AT THE ETIHAD
Tag: england
A MANCHESTER TAKEOVER OF CARDIFF
August 2026. Cardiff. I’d dragged Mrs RM down to South Wales for a few days to escape the monotony of that Yorkshire-Cambridge-Kent run, and treated her to a couple of nights in the Zip hotel on the corner of David Lloyds sprawling fitness centre that impressed me so much in 2023. £31 a night buys… Continue reading A MANCHESTER TAKEOVER OF CARDIFF
WELCOME TO CHESVEGAS
July 2026. Chesterfield. One more trip to write up and then I’ll do that July highlights post you’re all clamouring for. Mrs RM’s ongoing rehabilitation had meant a postponement of our Big (but largely sober) Trip to Chesterfield with Blackpool Jane, so I popped there myself last Thursday to explore the no/low scene, and to… Continue reading WELCOME TO CHESVEGAS
TOP 100 PUBS – BROAD CHARE, NEWCASTLE
July 2026. Newcastle. Not even lunchtime as I leave the Free Trade for the walk through Ouseburn back into Toon. Actually, it’s a rare walk along a dried up river (I never knew that watercourse was actually called the Ouseburn till today), my first look at this Newcastle cultural highlight since a Julia Jacklin gig… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – BROAD CHARE, NEWCASTLE
ST. ALKMUND’S CHURCH, WHITCHURCH (NCSS 4)
July 2026. Whitchurch. Shropshire. You can generate a mass of blog material in a 4 hour visit, even with 5 pubs and a 10 minute indecision about cheese purchase to interrupt your cultural exploration. As with pork pies, cheese is best heated up. Don’t @ me. I wondered what else the internet would reveal about… Continue reading ST. ALKMUND’S CHURCH, WHITCHURCH (NCSS 4)
THE WORLD CUP FINAL, TATER TOTS AND TEMPER TANTRUMS
July 2026. Sheffield. Back from Darlington and a disappointing Chinese takeaway (life lesson : never go back) I popped next door (ish) to see how many folk were going to watch the World Cup Final at our local. The Blind Monkey had decent crowds this last month for the England matches; I even heard people… Continue reading THE WORLD CUP FINAL, TATER TOTS AND TEMPER TANTRUMS
CASK CAMINO DAY 6 – BINGLEY TO RIDDLESDEN
July 2026. Bingley, Bradford. Yes, Day 6. Some folk would have finished the Leeds to Liverpool Canal walk by now, especially with a tailwind. Like me, Mrs RM knows it’s about the journey, not the destination (even if that is the Azvex Taproom at Stanley Dock), so we booked two (2) nights at the rundown… Continue reading CASK CAMINO DAY 6 – BINGLEY TO RIDDLESDEN
A DESTINATION KENTISH PUB FOR MICHAEL’S 88th
June 2026. Somewhere near Tonbridge, Kent. In truth, I’d been looking forward to the usual “Meal for Three” from Southborough’s Meows for Michael’s birthday, Mrs Meow is my second favourite lady in the whole world and it’s not even close. But arriving at the door of the in-laws at half-eleven we’re greeted with “Michael needs… Continue reading A DESTINATION KENTISH PUB FOR MICHAEL’S 88th
STANDING AT THE BAR
May 2026. North Yorkshire. There’s been a lot of Yorkshire on this blog this year. I won’t apologise; Yorkshiremen never apologise (I assume, having listeded to Geoffrey Boycott on Test Match Special all those years). Am I a Yorkshireman yet ? This year’s “pub just outside Northallerton” is one of those that will split opinion,… Continue reading STANDING AT THE BAR
THE CASK CAMINO
May 2026. Leeds. Just as we get back from Transylvania, Blackpool Jane rejoins the blogosphere with her own tales from the Balkans (here). Mrs RM is in full flow on her own blog, earning commission from the sale of bags that will fit in Ryanair’s hand luggage sizer. Most of her posts are “Undiscovered Europe… Continue reading THE CASK CAMINO
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