October 2025. Bloomsbury. London. Two nights a week down in Waterbeach visiting Dad for free cups of tea and ’60s entertainment; that also gives me a chance to get to grips with London’s new Beer Guide entries. I may not be competitively “doing the GBG” anymore, but there’s a real joy in pubbing the capital… Continue reading “A SYMPHONY IN BROWN”. THE DUKE, BLOOMSBURY, LONDON
Tag: London
GORDON HILL ! A WALK TO THE JOLLY BUTCHERS IN ENFIELD
September 2025. Enfield. Home from Carshalton, and straight back into London the next day. “Proper” tickers would have squeezed in halves in all three remaining London pubs that Friday night, but post-completion I only deal in pints, and want to take the time to appreciate the culture in places like Carshalton, and Atherstone, and Enfield.… Continue reading GORDON HILL ! A WALK TO THE JOLLY BUTCHERS IN ENFIELD
TOP 100 PUBS – THE EIGHT BELLS, FULHAM
May 2025. Fulham. Putney Bridge looked rather marvellous last Monday night. Perhaps we should get Ray Davies to write a song about it. Mrs RM and I have long loved exploring London, but some parts of the capital have always seemed a bit short of recommendable pubs. Most of Middlesex, Havering, Erith and Belvedere, and… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE EIGHT BELLS, FULHAM
So, THIS is what Landlord should taste like. The Bricklayers Arms, Putney
May 2025. Putney. Two and a half hours after leaving “home” I’d got my rare Putney tick, with my remaining London newbies so spread over the capital I had no chance of a second. So how about some bonus Putney pubbing ? The Half Moon is a famous music venue, the Duke’s Head is your… Continue reading So, THIS is what Landlord should taste like. The Bricklayers Arms, Putney
PRIDE DRINKING WELL, HALL & OATES SUNG BADLY, IN PUTNEY
May 2025. Putney. London The best remedy for monotony is a trip somewhere you don’t know, or know well, and by Monday afternoon even Putney seemed enticing. It was the journey from hell. The train stopped short of Finsbury, the District line gave up before Earls Court, and finally at Putney Bridge the barriers were… Continue reading PRIDE DRINKING WELL, HALL & OATES SUNG BADLY, IN PUTNEY
AOIFE NESSA FRANCES AT THE SHACKLEWELL ARMS
May 2025. Dalston. London. Dalston/Kingsland isn’t a hotbed of GBG entries; nothing at all in a half hour walk between the Pembury and the Mildmay. Plenty of Irish pubs round here, and some tantalising signs of pubs past. CAMRA’s What Pub website is its crowning glory, allowing you to find a dozen keg pubs within… Continue reading AOIFE NESSA FRANCES AT THE SHACKLEWELL ARMS
A DASH ROUND DALSTON
May 2025. Dalston Kingsland. London. I know how to get to Dalston Kingsland from Waterbeach; down the M11 to the North Circular, A12 past the Olympic site, slow bit past Homerton Hospital and the Pembury Tavern in Hackney, then park, anywhere. I hadn’t driven this far into London for an age, reminds be why I’ll… Continue reading A DASH ROUND DALSTON
THE RED LION ON HILLINGDON HILL
February 2025. Hillingdon Hill. Only a pub ticker, or a very weird human, could have been excited as I was heading to the Red Lion on Hillingdon Hill. My photos capture the drama of the 10 minute bus trip from Uxbridge. Never mind “And did those feet, in ancient times…“, did BRAPA drop that soft… Continue reading THE RED LION ON HILLINGDON HILL
BLACKFRIARS BRIDGE
December 2024. London. The now weekly trek back from Rye to Waterbeach takes the same time by rail as car, cause my Mum the same amount of worry, and allows me to get a London tick or two. But not today (well, last Monday, actually), as I caught the first off-peak train from Rye and… Continue reading BLACKFRIARS BRIDGE
(WHITE MAN) IN HAMMERSMITH UNDERGROUND CRAFT BAR
November 2024. Hammersmith. The descent by foot into Belsize Park Underground station is not for the fainthearted, but once on the tube you’ve got a quick trip via Leicester Square to Hammersmith. There’s at least one classic punk song about the tube (were The Jam punk ?), and an obvious pick for Hammersmith, too. The… Continue reading (WHITE MAN) IN HAMMERSMITH UNDERGROUND CRAFT BAR