January 2025. Manchester. Wednesday brings a train from Rye to Ashford, and then to St Pancras (no pub stop), on to Sheffield (where the boiler has frozen), and off to Manchester for City v Brighton, whose fans have had a similar journey. I’m also here for an overdue cut from Matt in Chinatown’s Helvete, during… Continue reading NEW IN MANCHESTER. THE HEAD OF STEAM
Tag: Vocation
LIFE & DEATH
4th February 2024. Waterbeach. Southborough. Funeral Day starts with this austere view of the A10 from outside the Slap Up where the family spent Monday night. There’s nothing like being the centre of attention at a funeral to make you realise you’re actually an adult, and you really ought to have a rudimentary knowledge of… Continue reading LIFE & DEATH
AVOIDING THE CUP FINAL
May 2024. Sheffield. Where are we now ? May 27th. Only five more posts and I’m up-to-date and we’ll get back to “Half a dozen pubs in every GBG county” and I know you can’t to see my Argyll picks. I know I should really be ploughing round the country like BRAPA, ticking the 300-odd… Continue reading AVOIDING THE CUP FINAL
THE BEWILDERING, BEGUILING, BOMBAY BREW
March 2024. Rochdale. Enough culture; let’s do a pub. Here’s the maps I forgot to give you earlier. We met Blackpool Jane at the station (12 minutes from M’cr Victoria), with that half mile walk through a less than salubrious part of town best known for the two dozen Sam Smiths keg pubs Leon ticked… Continue reading THE BEWILDERING, BEGUILING, BOMBAY BREW
THE DUCK AND DRAKE
February 2024. Leeds Pub Crawl. 11:47 – Brew Society 12:43 – Cardigan Arms 13:37 – Dave’s Pies & Ale 14:39 – The Templar Good, solid, almost sensible progress. Be a shame to go awry now. But it sort of did, as Will and I scooted off towards the Kirkgate markets, arriving at the Duck and Drake bang… Continue reading THE DUCK AND DRAKE
FRIDAY NIGHT IN THE SCOTTISH STORES
November 2023. King’s Cross. London. A night out in London; a very old rare Friday night, too, as most of my trips to the capital post-Covid have been mid-afternoon, mid-week. No sign of the carnage outside as I returned to St Mathias Church for the last leg of my confessional singer-songwriter night. Mrs RM was… Continue reading FRIDAY NIGHT IN THE SCOTTISH STORES
THREE NBSS 4s IN A ROW IN SHEFFIELD
June 2023. Sheffield. Blimey. A mini-post where I just say “Sheffield has great pubs and beer“. I’ve had more visitors asking to catch up for a pint in two years in Sheffield than in twenty-two in Cambridge (Hitchin – zero). Fellow ticker (pubs, World Cups, Pogues gigs etc) Ian visited on a Wednesday night for… Continue reading THREE NBSS 4s IN A ROW IN SHEFFIELD
WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SHAKIN’ STEVENS AND CAROL DECKER ?
May 2023. My last Greater Manchester GBG tick didn’t come till May, which is poor form. But at least it gave me a rare trip into Woolyback country, and a chance to admire the flashy new Newton-le-Willows station. When you live in the scary lands between Warrington and Wigan you get your excitement from new… Continue reading WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SHAKIN’ STEVENS AND CAROL DECKER ?
PIE & PINT & THREE (3) POINTS
Right there. That’s my next avatar. Perhaps I’ve used it already. But which pub am I passing, Dave ? THAT is the question. Here’s another clue; Two pints before a game is never a good idea, I detest those people who go to the loo during a match, so I head for the Etihad, only… Continue reading PIE & PINT & THREE (3) POINTS
A VOCATION IN MANCHESTER
Last Tuesday I decided to brave one of those long train journeys, praying that sitting in front of someone for an hour wearing a mask wouldn’t generate a “ping” to put on hold my ticking. The winged lion of Sheffield looked doubtful. The cheapest advance fares (£5.40 single) take you the slow route (1hr 20)… Continue reading A VOCATION IN MANCHESTER
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