August 2026. Wombwell. Greater Barnsley. “You’re weird” says Mrs RM, which I’m taking as a compliment. A week after that foreign holiday in Wales, I’d barely left Sheffield. At Dad’s care home this afternoon, the lovely staff note my absence from Waterbeach for a couple of weeks* and I feel guilty. By Thursday, my brain… Continue reading A WOMBWELL WOBBLE
Tag: travel
STILL NO REAL ALE AT THE ETIHAD
August 2026. Manchester. Your traditional contractually obligated “first game at the Etihad” post you’ve no interest in. AFC Bournemouth at a traditional time, too, 2pm on a Sunday. The August fixture traditionally finds me scrabbling around for “new and shiny” pubs, having long ago completed the Greater Manchester section of the GBG. And there are… Continue reading STILL NO REAL ALE AT THE ETIHAD
REMEMBERING ALVECHURCH’S FA CUP HEROICS
August 2026. Alvechurch. A well-trod three and a half hour drive back from Cardiff to Sheffield, M4/A449/A40/M50/M5/M42/M1, and I got as far as the M42 before I needed to stop (bones not bladder). It’s a quarter of a century since I last stopped (for a Balti at the New Dilshad) in Alvechurch, pop. 6,564, so… Continue reading REMEMBERING ALVECHURCH’S FA CUP HEROICS
CARDIFF BAY
August 2026. Cardiff. A whole day in Cardiff with no plans. No football, no pubs, no Chinese takeaway trail through Splott. A quick look at the market, a triumph of function over form, and a dither at the big clock facing what used to be (in my mind) a run of top Brain’s houses. The… Continue reading CARDIFF BAY
TICKING THE TICKERS IN CARDIFF
August 2026. Cardiff. Well, it was a decent display of pyrotechnics at the Charity Shield, but another damp squib of a City performance against the Gooners, and NO, I didn’t stay for the presentation. But at least I stayed for the final whistle, and still found myself half a mile from the Principality within 15… Continue reading TICKING THE TICKERS IN CARDIFF
A MANCHESTER TAKEOVER OF CARDIFF
August 2026. Cardiff. I’d dragged Mrs RM down to South Wales for a few days to escape the monotony of that Yorkshire-Cambridge-Kent run, and treated her to a couple of nights in the Zip hotel on the corner of David Lloyds sprawling fitness centre that impressed me so much in 2023. £31 a night buys… Continue reading A MANCHESTER TAKEOVER OF CARDIFF
ROSS OR (D)ROSS ?
August 2026. Ross-on-Wye. Surely you’ve caught up on the blog after subjecting us to a torrent of posts, Retired Martin ? Er, no. Last weekend saw a third big trip of the week (nothing compared to the real ticker who cross continents on a daily basis) as we headed down to Cardiff for the traditional… Continue reading ROSS OR (D)ROSS ?
COVENTRY – BACK IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE (OF PUB CRAWLS)
August 2026. Coventry. A decent break from pubs between Frome and my next Big Trip Out, which I used dreaming up alternative blog titles to “Sent to Coventry“. I’ve been struggling with the relentless driving of the last few years (never mind the 30,000 a year of the previous 20), so it’s back to Platform… Continue reading COVENTRY – BACK IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE (OF PUB CRAWLS)
SPOONS OR NOTHING, THEN
August 2026. Bristol. A day in Bath, a day in Frome, two (2) identical Chinese takeaways from Twerton’s wonderful Bamboo Garden, which proves I know how to live. After the Zig Zag beer in Frome, the Zig Zag rail journey home, as a fallen tree (posh version of cows on the line) near Bristol Parkway… Continue reading SPOONS OR NOTHING, THEN
DOOM BAR IN TWERTON
August 2026. Bath. I’d opted for a couple of nights down in Bath, a little luxurious but the student residences on the edge of town were cheaper than a Doncaster Travelodge, Twerton Mill’s riverside rooms near Bath City FC spotless and (most importantly) with high-speed Wi-Fi. OK, they’re also half an hour’s walk from actual… Continue reading DOOM BAR IN TWERTON
