I told you there was loads of this stuff to get through. Back to That South London, as recently discovered in that Deserter book you should buy, and the borough of Bexley, which makes a better blog title than Sidcup, where I left the train in the rain. My hope weren’t high for the Hackney… Continue reading BURST BARREL BROUHAHA IN BEXLEY
Tag: Micro Pubs
BUMPING INTO HIGH TABLES IN WEST MALLING
I’d been bracing myself for Kent‘s fresh onslaught of micro madness in the new GBG, bringing with it high tables, horrific opening hours and pickled eggs. (And those are the fun bits). But I had been looking forward to re-exploring West Malling, a posh village on the edge of Maidstone noted for the fine… Continue reading BUMPING INTO HIGH TABLES IN WEST MALLING
GIDEA PARK – REDEMPTION AT BALGORE’S BEST KEBAB
At times this blog reads just like a diary. Oh, it is. If only Pepys had had micropubs and kebabs to write about rather than sermons and domestic incidents. Back to Gidea Park, It hasn’t changed much since my visit last year, the residents will be delighted to hear. Sadly, that lack of change extends… Continue reading GIDEA PARK – REDEMPTION AT BALGORE’S BEST KEBAB
SCHOOL’S OUT IN WHEATHAMPSTEAD
Hoorah ! for pre-emptive micro pub ticks in rural Hertfordshire ! Hoorah ! for completely inappropriate pictures of Ullage in church graveyards ! And Hoorah ! for places like the Reading Room which serve proper pub food like scotch eggs with posh piccalilli and chocolate cake (Spoiler: We had neither). Pubmeister seems to have a… Continue reading SCHOOL’S OUT IN WHEATHAMPSTEAD
KINDNESS IN TODMORDEN
Only fair that I continue my journey to Manchester via a quick stop in Todmorden, the sane older brother of Hebden. Where HB assaults you with weird smells and key keg seats, in Tod you get kindness. Plenty to admire on the OS extract, particularly for folk with minds as puerile as Russ. Despite the… Continue reading KINDNESS IN TODMORDEN
HEART OF GLASS (OF ALE) – PUB TICKER ACTION MAN IN MARKYATE
There’s been a host of horrors for GBG completists in this year’s Guide. Brewery taps only open 11 days a year, Cricket clubs open for 8pm till midnight on Fridays, and the usual motley collection of micro pubs that open when they feel like it. What would greet me at my penultimate Herts tick in… Continue reading HEART OF GLASS (OF ALE) – PUB TICKER ACTION MAN IN MARKYATE
A FOLKESTONE FLYER
In lovely Dover, we parked up in the Bluebell, an exemplary Guest House in a less than exemplary area on the Folkestone Road. As the view from the bedroom window shows. While Mrs RM and Matt recovered from Punk IPA/Salted caramel fudge cake respectively, I took the Dover Priory train to Folkestone. Just a flying… Continue reading A FOLKESTONE FLYER
TOP 10 HOYLAND PUBS – TAP & BREW, HOYLAND COMMON
Of all the places in the UK that seem to function only as Beer Guide headings, Hoyland is probably the greatest. Unless you can tell me any other reason why Hoyland exists. For context, I know people who’ve never been to Sheffield, let alone Barnsley. They probably think Hoyland is in Holland. But this… Continue reading TOP 10 HOYLAND PUBS – TAP & BREW, HOYLAND COMMON
FROTHBLOWERS
Apart from the fourteen days spent waiting for Mrs RM to give birth to our son James in 1999 (NHS waiting lists), I reckon the last two weeks waiting for the new Beer Guide has been the worst fortnight of my life*. I’m reduced to scrabbling around for certain pre-emptives, like the Frothblowers in… Continue reading FROTHBLOWERS
“SPEAK TO YOUR BEAR HANDLER”
“Hell, hell is for children” sang Pat Benatar, who’d clearly not seen what the residents of Boscombe have to live with. From the Firkin I walked down past the station to the coast (exciting evidence below). You pass one of every chain pub on the walk down Bath Road; passing, oh, zero Beer Guide… Continue reading “SPEAK TO YOUR BEAR HANDLER”