March 2026. Balham. London. A second London pub tick in quick succession, the Southeastern service presumably making a request stop just for me at Balham, where I had a restorative double espresso in a cute station obssessed with the local football team. Matcha seems the drink of choice. What even is matcha ? What of… Continue reading BALHAM, BRIEFLY
Tag: London pubs
IN THE DOG HOUSE (BEDDINGTON)
March 2026. Beddington. South London. Wallington. Bandonhill. Hackbridge. Beddington, where I head now to explore the vibrant cultural scene. Names to conjure with, as you wander aimlessly west of Croydon and stare back to where the streets are made of gold. Not many pubs round here, at all, just an Arts & Craft roadhouse with… Continue reading IN THE DOG HOUSE (BEDDINGTON)
PRIDE DRINKING WELL IN WALLINGTON
March 2026. Wallington. South London. Another week, another American troubador*, another chance to makes inroads into London GBG, another chance to marvel at the capital’s integrated transport system as I whizz from St Pancras around Croydon towards Wallington, a mile’s walk from Carshalton and The Hope. It’s not an essential visit, even by my meagre… Continue reading PRIDE DRINKING WELL IN WALLINGTON
THURSDAY IS THE NEW FRIDAY
February 2026. London. From Charlton the train takes you back over the Thames, then stops abruptly at Cannon Street. It’s a quarter to six in the City of London; let’s have a look. Not many suits or bowler hats or folded copies of the Financial Times, but young workers pack the pubs. Plenty of pubs,… Continue reading THURSDAY IS THE NEW FRIDAY
CHARLTON, FOR THE ATHLETIC
February 2026. Charlton. Two South London pubs relatively close together, but with no great public transport option that I understood, so an athletic walk west from Plumstead to Charlton through some “unprepossessing” suburbia, where unprepossessing is a posh word for “a bit daggy”. You’re on the edge of the historic Woolwich Royal Artillery Barracks; this… Continue reading CHARLTON, FOR THE ATHLETIC
ANOTHER HOBGOBLIN IN STREATHAM
January 2026. Streatham. London Dad got the full ambulance treatment on Friday night, but made such a miraculous recovery overnight that I felt confident about trekking back to Rye the next morning. 90 year olds have incredible bouncebackability. Time for a couple of London pubs ? Half an hour and £8 from St Pancras brings… Continue reading ANOTHER HOBGOBLIN IN STREATHAM
TOP PUBS FOR WHEN YOU’RE STUCK AT KING’S CROSS FOR HALF AN HOUR. No. 2 – THE KING CHARLES I
December 2025. Sheffield. Ely. King’s Cross. London. You’ll be wondering by now what’s happened to my birthday (22nd December, make a note on your new Retired Martin calendar). That’s coming soon, and rest assured it’s not as bad as last year, but first a long day from Sheffield, to Rye, via long stops in Ely… Continue reading TOP PUBS FOR WHEN YOU’RE STUCK AT KING’S CROSS FOR HALF AN HOUR. No. 2 – THE KING CHARLES I
PUB DOGS OF HAMPSTEAD HEATH
November 2025. Hampstead. London. I’m timing my trips down to see Dad to coincide with the nostalgia music afternoons at his care home (Dave from Chatteris, it’s always a Dave, sings Beatles and Neil Diamond) and my rather less nostalgic gigs in London. Last Tuesday saw my Gig of the Year, if not Decade, as… Continue reading PUB DOGS OF HAMPSTEAD HEATH
THE OLD SHADES, SW1
October 2025. Whitehall. London. While I sat in the Admiralty I scribbled down a few notes, mainly about queuing tourists and naff modern pop, but also “another week another two (2) London pubs two minutes apart“. Should have been 30 seconds to the Old Shades, but something in the space/time dimension where WC2 becomes SW1… Continue reading THE OLD SHADES, SW1
A SURPRISE GBG WINNER IN COVENT GARDEN
October 2025. Covent Garden. London. My first London ticking of the new GBG season, always a joy, and as I leave the corner pubs of Bloomsbury it’s time to “Do the culture“. Five minutes from the Lady Ottoline to Sir John Soane’s house, immortalised by Maria McKee on my melancholy melodies post*. Surely it’ll be… Continue reading A SURPRISE GBG WINNER IN COVENT GARDEN
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