October 2026. Rye. Dad’s death sent me into action mode on Monday morning. Meeting care home staff who’d come to love his smile over 2 years, contacting funeral directors, letting relatives know and urgently clearing out a rather spartan room and taking four bin bags of clothes to recycling, leaving one of photos to sort… Continue reading ON A DAY WHEN YOU REALLY NEED TO FEEL NORMAL, WE HEAD TO THE GLOBE
Tag: family
RETIRED MARTIN GOES SHOPPING IN HASTINGS
October 2026. Hastings. East Sussex. The six hour trek down from Sheffield to Rye Harbour continued on Monday with a check-in on Dad and his former next door neighbour (and cousin*) Mick, who’s just joined him in the care home. I was keen to see if they’d recognise each other after two years apart, but… Continue reading RETIRED MARTIN GOES SHOPPING IN HASTINGS
CATS CALLED GRACIE AND CELLOS ON BIKES – BACK TO BUNTINGFORD
October 2026. Buntingford. Hertfordshire. The last time I wrote about Buntingford I got some right abuse for this line “One of the Scouse dads was burping loudly to impress his young daughter”. It wasn’t, in fact, his dad, it was his uncle, and he was, in fact, from North Wales, not Merseyside. These things matter.… Continue reading CATS CALLED GRACIE AND CELLOS ON BIKES – BACK TO BUNTINGFORD
That moment after 4 pints when someone sings “What’s going on” and the worst pub in the world is suddenly the best.
October 2026. Rye Harbour. Back at the holiday park from pubbing in Rye last Saturday, having abjectly failed to buy fresh groceries from Jempson’s for tea, we’re resigned to the emergency rations in the harbour shop (mainly crisps and tins). “How about a pint in the William” says Mrs RM. YOU try saying no to… Continue reading That moment after 4 pints when someone sings “What’s going on” and the worst pub in the world is suddenly the best.
WHY STOP IN LUTTERWORTH ?
August 2026. Lutterworth. The Great British Bank Holiday never disappoints; our trip home from visiting Dad wrecked by bumps at Grantham and, after a switch from A1 to M1, Leicester. We paused at Lutterworth, not as exciting as Shepshed or Rothwell I grant you, but it’s only 5 minutes off the motorway, and has a… Continue reading WHY STOP IN LUTTERWORTH ?
SPOONS OR NOTHING, THEN
August 2026. Bristol. A day in Bath, a day in Frome, two (2) identical Chinese takeaways from Twerton’s wonderful Bamboo Garden, which proves I know how to live. After the Zig Zag beer in Frome, the Zig Zag rail journey home, as a fallen tree (posh version of cows on the line) near Bristol Parkway… Continue reading SPOONS OR NOTHING, THEN
CASK CAMINO DAY 3 – THE GEORGE AND DRAGON TO THE SALTAIRE TAP
June 2026. Bradford. You left us outside the George & Dragon in Apperley Bridge, where a couple of pedestrians had just used the horsey crossing rather than the human one in contravention of some ancient by-law or other, which was possibly the most exciting part of the next 3 hours along the Leeds-Liverpool canal. But… Continue reading CASK CAMINO DAY 3 – THE GEORGE AND DRAGON TO THE SALTAIRE TAP
YOUR FRIEND IN DIFFICULT TIMES
An excellent read, as always, from Boak and Bailey about the state of the pub this week. I recommend reading this BlueSky thread; The comments reflect on the vital role of the pub as a social space, something very much on my mind this morning. I didn’t really talk about “life” in my 2025 reviews,… Continue reading YOUR FRIEND IN DIFFICULT TIMES
MRS RM SETTLES IN FOR THE BIG HASTINGS N/A BEER CRAWL
January 2026. Hastings. The end of Dryanuary for me as we hit Day 3 of 2026, but Mrs RM has ambitions to “go low” and seek out all these exciting non-alcoholic alternatives we keep reading about. Let’s focus on one street, All Saints in Hastings, historic and affluent and a good bet for folk abstaining… Continue reading MRS RM SETTLES IN FOR THE BIG HASTINGS N/A BEER CRAWL
A NERVOUS PINT IN GASTHAUS ALTEPOST
October 2025. Sighisoara. You left us in our astonishing £36.27 Sighisoara guest house wondering where the catch was. A few reviews had mentioned that the breakfast didn’t include drinks, “you’ll pay extra for coffee at Paris prices“. wrote one traveller. Few folk mentioned the cat that woke us at 9am, the prescribed breakfast hour. No-one… Continue reading A NERVOUS PINT IN GASTHAUS ALTEPOST
