17th February 2020 WARNING : ESSEX On Monday night I met up with friends on the edge of Chelmsford, which hasn’t graced this blog since 2016, amazingly. With a couple of hours to kill I had time to do the county town justice. No-one told me it was now a city. One of Nick Clegg’s… Continue reading CHELMSFORD – SWEARING ON THE WID
Tag: Essex
LEIGH-ON-SEA, IT’S LOVELEIGH
My very last Essex tick* for GBG20 came on the first Saturday of October. Just as well I got it done, opening hours are Connoisseur-esque. Now, I come to praise Leigh-on-Sea Brewery not to bury it, but it really isn’t in Leigh. As you see, very definitely in Eastwood, which made a sterling job of… Continue reading LEIGH-ON-SEA, IT’S LOVELEIGH
COLCHESTER – PURE AND SIMPLE
My eldest son James has been serving pizza on his break from Sheffield Uni. Barring a lads trip to Rugby (don’t laugh) to play computer games, and that walk up the tower he hasn’t left the house other than to do his 8 hour shifts at Pizza Hut. Not that the deep crust Marinara isn’t… Continue reading COLCHESTER – PURE AND SIMPLE
FEARLESS IN FRINTON-ON-SEA
I thought I’d visit Frinton while I was down the Naze; not like anyone dies, there, is it ? Apart from everyone. What Pub tells us the Lock & Barrel is the only pub within “The Gates“. These were the gates until 2009, when the introduction of modern lifting barriers saw fighting in the streets.… Continue reading FEARLESS IN FRINTON-ON-SEA
A WIVENHOE WOBBLE
Off to the seaside, North Essex style, to one of the last GBG ticks reachable by train without a sleeper (I appreciate infinity would not be long enough for some Northern Rail journeys). Wivenhoe is one of the smarter small towns (7,000 odd) between Colchester and up-and-coming Jaywick. It’s a real throwback to the good… Continue reading A WIVENHOE WOBBLE
SAVING GREAT OAKLEY
As you’ll know, I love Essex. Particularly estuary Essex around Tendring. So a trip to the Maybush in Great Oakley was always going to be one of my GBG18 highlights. Regular readers will recall our last trip down here at Christmas. The great ” Recovery of Mrs RM’s Handbag episode“. Back then, I wouldn’t have guessed… Continue reading SAVING GREAT OAKLEY
ROCHFORD RUMBLE
Just occasionally, you need to do a post just because the pun is staring you in the face. The Rochford rumble is the sound of aeroplanes taking off from Southend airport, or my tummy as I look for an independent bakery and fromagerie before ending up at a Sainsbury local. This is the new GBG… Continue reading ROCHFORD RUMBLE
SE15 COMES TO SOUTHEND
While some GBG obssessives completists finish off Loch Ness or Swaledale, I focused on Essex. There’s a hundred and thirteen GBG pubs in this most underrated county, and according to my unique scoring system, only three of those had duff beer. There’s some gorgeous pubs in Old Leigh, but newer Southend isn’t a hotbed of… Continue reading SE15 COMES TO SOUTHEND
MICRO-PUB QUIZZES IN MALDON
It may be due to snobbery that Maldon is so underrated as a coastal resort, compared to Southwold or Heacham. Folk from Cambridge, let alone North London, rarely make the much shorter journey south-east, compared to the slog along the A143 or A10. You’ll know what I think of estuary Essex. Maldon is very popular with urban Essex… Continue reading MICRO-PUB QUIZZES IN MALDON
MISTLEY TO MANNINGTREE
Some of you might think I pick on Mrs RM on this site, but you’d be wrong. I applaud her decision to leave her handbag under the chair in the Waggon at Wix, as it enables me to ask The Question. WHY CAN’T WOMEN WEAR CLOTHES WITH DEEP POCKETS LIKE MEN DO, INSTEAD OF CARRYING AROUND… Continue reading MISTLEY TO MANNINGTREE
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