In between dodging barflies in Sussex and posing tables in Leyland (report to follow) I attended the CAMRA revitalisation meeting in Didsbury on Wednesday. I was always going to attend to attend the event closest to Stockport to be fair; opinions are strongly held up here and tickets for the bout were trading for £50 on the… Continue reading CAMRA REVITALISATION -DRINK THE REAL ALE
Tag: Wetherspoons
ON ILKESTON’S MORES, M’DUCK
The mining towns of east Derbyshire have had a hard time, but the reclaimed countryside makes great walking, and a relatively high demand for real ale helps maintain some excellent pubs. Ilkeston, despite it’s proximity to the M1, has always felt particularly cut-off from the world, and being the largest town in Britain without a… Continue reading ON ILKESTON’S MORES, M’DUCK
PHILOSOPHY FOR THE SAISONS IN NEWMARKET
In 20 years time people will no doubt look back on the horror of the last week, aghast that the so-called “Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts” was headlined by a procession of OAP cover bands. And Coldplay (sorry, should have warned you at the top that was coming). A very similar musical fayre is available… Continue reading PHILOSOPHY FOR THE SAISONS IN NEWMARKET
THE FELTHAM HERITAGE TRAIL
No-one believes it, but I can get to Durham quicker (and cheaper mid-week) than West London’s suburbs. Three hours to Sunbury, but of course it’s worth it to see the UK’s fourth greatest city. I felt a bit cheated. Sunbury-on-Thames in the Beer Guide normally means this; A smart dining pub with riverside views and… Continue reading THE FELTHAM HERITAGE TRAIL
SLIM PICKINGS IN BICESTER VILLAGE
There’s a lot of great countryside around the Chiltern counties, some attractive towns, but pretty slim pickings for pubgoers. From Watford to Luton to Bicester, there’s very few urban pubs in the Beer Guide at all, let alone characterful classics. We stopped at Bicester for a coffee. It might have been a beer, but nothing… Continue reading SLIM PICKINGS IN BICESTER VILLAGE
CHIPPING AWAY AT LIFE’S LITTLE PLEASURES
I’ve given them enough praise over the years, but I can’t let Wetherspoon’s discontinuation of draught Punk IPA go without a hissy fit. I’m just glad Mrs RM isn’t here. The anomaly that saw draught available before flights, certainly at Stansted and Edinburgh, was one of the few benefits of air travel these days. Cruelly,… Continue reading CHIPPING AWAY AT LIFE’S LITTLE PLEASURES
WETHERSPOONS – EU DEBATES AND VINDALOO
I gave my remaining Wetherspoons vouchers to the old chap in the Bank House in Cheltenham, so it’s club deals till the end of June for me. I’ve been nipping in the newish Weeping Ash in St Neots for a coffee most weeks I’m there, and it always seems a pleasant enough Spoons. An architecturally… Continue reading WETHERSPOONS – EU DEBATES AND VINDALOO
PORTISHEAD’S NEW SPOONS – A GLORY BOX ?
Wetherspoons may be retrenching a bit, but their new (March ’16) pub in Portishead is a reminder of their ability to deliver what people want. Portishead is a smallish town in industrial, rather than beachy Somerset coast, and the development near the Marina is long overdue. Apart from our Premier Inn there’s a Sainsbury’s, Waitrose,… Continue reading PORTISHEAD’S NEW SPOONS – A GLORY BOX ?
MAIDENHEAD PROVIDES RELIEF
Once you get to your eighties sixties you need fairly regular comfort breaks, and so it was that I found myself in Maidenhead searching for a lunch stop for my parents today. This was by no means a stop of choice, but the need to park fairly close to the lunch venue overrode the need to… Continue reading MAIDENHEAD PROVIDES RELIEF
THE DELIGHTS OF DARWEN
I always thought of Darwen as a lesser Accrington, along a similar “A” Road winding down to civilisation (Bolton and Bury respectively). Like Much Wenlock, it’s a place you have to want to go to a lot, rather than one you pass through. At least Accrington has the Oswaldthistle Mills for old folk to go… Continue reading THE DELIGHTS OF DARWEN
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