I really didn’t want to write about Reigate. Much better you read BRAPA (here). “I don’t know if rain is particularly acidic in Reigate” wrote Si in 2020, and I’ll leave it there. Mrs RM groaned when she heard we were finishing Surrey in its dullest town (and I’ll defend Redhill, just make me), but… Continue reading SURREY HAS FALLEN
Tag: Surrey
CHOBHAM WITH AN “H”
I always despair at the lack of geographical knowledge of the UK by us Brits. Listen to the BBC coverage of County Cricket and marvel at the BBC Yorkshire correspondent who has never heard of Bewdley, or the Essex correspondent wondering where Aigburth is. And you must NEVER ask a Londoner where The North starts*.… Continue reading CHOBHAM WITH AN “H”
“TOM SAWYER COVERS” IN STAINES SEA CADETS HALL
A third Surrey tick from last Sunday, another chance to reward Mrs RM with more taxi duties to unfashionable South Eastern towns like Staines. The highlight of Staines is the tree on the bridge over the Thames with a plastic bag over its branches to stop you bumping into it. I still bumped into it.… Continue reading “TOM SAWYER COVERS” IN STAINES SEA CADETS HALL
THE SUN SHINES ON THE RIGHTEOUS DOOM BAR DRINKER IN SUNBURY-ON-THAMES
Sunbury-on-Thames is one of those places that both irritate and uplift the GBG ticker with an annual new entry seemingly plucked from nowhere. The Admiral Hawke would be my sixth (6th) Guide entry in a decade, and the best, but it very nearly never happened. Look at the route I’d devised for Mrs RM taxis;… Continue reading THE SUN SHINES ON THE RIGHTEOUS DOOM BAR DRINKER IN SUNBURY-ON-THAMES
HERSHAM BOY (& GIRL)
Sunday means Surrey, and Mrs RM joined me on a trio of tricky ticks in that quaint corner of that mysterious county between London and the M25. We start an hour round the M25 in Hersham, the Leighton Buzzard(s) of the South, named after the Sham 69 classic. I genuinely had no idea Jimmy Pursey… Continue reading HERSHAM BOY (& GIRL)
EAVESDROPPING ON HOUSE HUNTERS IN HOLMBURY ST. MARY
Yes, finally, the report has been cleared by our lawyers and I can bring you unexpurgated details of our trip into Hurtwood Forest and Mrs RM will just have to face the consequences of wearing inappropriate footwear that morning that meant the extent of our walking was a trip to the Royal Oak. We’d parked… Continue reading EAVESDROPPING ON HOUSE HUNTERS IN HOLMBURY ST. MARY
A SHERE DROP INTO HASCOMBE
I drafted a post entitled “My Strategy To Complete the Good Beer Guide in 2022” but I haven’t been able to finish it, which may be a metaphor for the GBG conquest itself. But a key part of the strategy is one big trip each week to bag a dozen outliers, now I’ve exhaused all… Continue reading A SHERE DROP INTO HASCOMBE
GUESS THE PUB GOES TO SURREY
I’ve given Surrey short shrift over the years, it was No. 93 in my Top 75 GBG counties, but there’s no doubt that it’s not all Brunning & Price and slow-moving Ranmore Ale. Our mystery pub is in a small town which rotates its GBG entries based on the quality of the jukebox and CAMRA… Continue reading GUESS THE PUB GOES TO SURREY
“PADDY HASN’T BEEN IN FOR TWO DAYS”
9th January 2020 None* of the Surrey GBG entries will appear in my long-delayed book, “101 places every American should embarrass themselves in“. But they’re certainly more picturesque than the “Tap & Turtle” or “Hop Cellar“, and often look like free house even when, as with the Barley Mow in West Horsley. they’re owned by… Continue reading “PADDY HASN’T BEEN IN FOR TWO DAYS”
THE WORD THAT DIVIDES REIGATE
My last Surrey GBG pub was the Blue Anchor in Reigate. Every year I make the train journey to the town expecting something new and exciting, and leave bewildered. Last year, the Bell promised craft but gave us a Greene King identikit dining pub, and a classic Bieber v Coldplay argument. This year the Bell makes… Continue reading THE WORD THAT DIVIDES REIGATE
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