BOROUGH – BEAUTIFUL BROWN BEER & BEARDS

Part 2 of our Borough Bender (lightweight edition, clearly) as I weighed up the competing attractions of the Wheatsheaf, Sheaf and the Globe. But you’ll know my thoughts on shorts. Time to put some more strain on Mrs RM’s heel. For nostalgia, I sought out Kaplan Financial Training, day trip of many an NHS Accounting Trainee over… Continue reading BOROUGH – BEAUTIFUL BROWN BEER & BEARDS

BACK TO BOROUGH (PART 1)

Reports from York, Filey, our garden and Littlehampton to come, but a short break from strict chronology now to bring you a report from Borough Market. Feeling Duncan’s pain, I woke up Sunday realising how difficult it would be to achieve a new GBG tick with Mrs RM. “Fancy a day out Mrs RM.  I’ll drive”   “How… Continue reading BACK TO BOROUGH (PART 1)

ON THE HOP IN NEWPORT, SALOP

My last Staffordshire GBG tick came just outside Newport, Salop.  As is traditional, this is what a completed Staffs looks like, Mr BRAPA (I expect Pubmeister first completed it when it was still called Ye Middle Mercia). The last tick was the Red Lion in Sutton, another place name that pops up in multiple counties. Another… Continue reading ON THE HOP IN NEWPORT, SALOP

CHASING CANNOCK CHARM

Staffordshire is an underrated county, tainted by association with scandals (Mid Staffs Hospital, the Julian Cope cover for “Fried”, a short pint in Tutbury etc) and some fairly poor social housing (the Tamworth towers, the Kinver Caves). Scandalously, some pubs only serve one beer. Like this one. But it has Bass, it has the toilet museum… Continue reading CHASING CANNOCK CHARM

BARTON-UNDER-NEEDWOOD – PEDI HANDLED WITH CARE

After finishing Derbyshire, thoughts turn naturally to Staffs, where frankly there’s an even better chance of Bass/Pedi and of being called “M’duck“. That’s pretty much all I really need from pubs these days. Barton-u-L, as the kids call it, is handily placed between the National Arboretum and that place where they brew Bass. Since Lord Buckethead… Continue reading BARTON-UNDER-NEEDWOOD – PEDI HANDLED WITH CARE

SOUTHWOLD – ALWAYS CHANGING, ALWAYS THE SAME

There’s a lot to be said for and against sisters, I’m sure, but having one who invites you down to her holiday cottage in Falmouth and Southwold in successive years is hard to beat. It doesn’t make up for what she did to my Action Man in 1973, mind. Sis had used her Birthday presents to pay… Continue reading SOUTHWOLD – ALWAYS CHANGING, ALWAYS THE SAME

IS IT REALLY MY JOB TO TEST THEIR BEER ?

Alternative title: (Framlingham) Castle on a Hill Some more shameless raiding of modern pop culture today. My son Matthew was disgusted with yesterday’s effort, but it’s harder to work the LP he got for his 16th birthday into my post. Here’s a sample of his Lorna Shore album. So he gets the next best thing, the… Continue reading IS IT REALLY MY JOB TO TEST THEIR BEER ?