August 2026. Sheffield. More “Ticking the Tickers” on Saturday, as I finally meet up with one of my favourite bloggers Evo of EvoBoozySaddler fame. I’d been waiting till Walsall got a new entry in the Beer Guide to catch up, but it looks like that’s never going to happen so he had to visit me.… Continue reading FINDING COLONEL MUSTARD
Tag: writing
A WOMBWELL WOBBLE
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
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
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 ?
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
WELCOME TO CHESVEGAS
July 2026. Chesterfield. One more trip to write up and then I’ll do that July highlights post you’re all clamouring for. Mrs RM’s ongoing rehabilitation had meant a postponement of our Big (but largely sober) Trip to Chesterfield with Blackpool Jane, so I popped there myself last Thursday to explore the no/low scene, and to… Continue reading WELCOME TO CHESVEGAS
TOP 100 PUBS – BROAD CHARE, NEWCASTLE
July 2026. Newcastle. Not even lunchtime as I leave the Free Trade for the walk through Ouseburn back into Toon. Actually, it’s a rare walk along a dried up river (I never knew that watercourse was actually called the Ouseburn till today), my first look at this Newcastle cultural highlight since a Julia Jacklin gig… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – BROAD CHARE, NEWCASTLE
“MAINSTREAM MUSIC” AT THE LUBBER FIEND
July 2026. Newcastle. Last week my son told me I had “mainstream music taste“. Let that sink in. “Matthew has to be contrary” says Mrs RM. “I suspect your son enjoys winding you up” says ChatGPT. And you can rely on ChatGPT, folks; it told me so. ChatGPT was helping me to find some mainstream… Continue reading “MAINSTREAM MUSIC” AT THE LUBBER FIEND
retiredmartin 