retiredmartin

  There’s a real possibility that BRAPA will complete Berkshire before me, and that won’t do at all. Regular readers will know that Maidenhead isn’t high on my list of great towns, though it’s worth a trip to the Conservative Club if you’re an American tourist with too positive a view of our fair isle.… Continue reading LITTLEWICK GREEN KEEPS THE HOME FIRES BURNING

I’m trying to get round all of Cambridgeshire’s 70 Good Beer Guide pubs this year, to see for myself the craft invasion that certain commentators have heralded recently. Already I’ve had terrific beer and cheer in March and St Neots, though finding takers for a Thursday night crawl in Ramsey has proved an effort. Haddenham is… Continue reading HADDENHAM – LOOK SHARP !

Enough of pub toilets.  For a while. The Good Beer Guide giveth.  The Good Beer Guide taketh.  This is particularly true of the new GBG pubs in Greater Manchester.  So after a rare trip to the hitherto unknown Dukinfield out east last month, an even rarer trip west of the M60 to Cadishead. Why this counts… Continue reading CADISHEAD CALLING

PARENTAL  ADVISORY – CONTAINS BRAPA HUMOUR This series of posts is a real labour of love.  I hope you appreciate the effort and danger involved. The quality of pub toilet signage becomes more important as you get older. Just ask Mrs RM. It’s both a matter of finding them (particularly in Spoons), and then finding… Continue reading PUB LOO SIGNAGE – AVOIDING BRAPA DISASTERS

There’ll never be a better day to be nice to Milton Keynes will there ? Early on in this blog I did a short piece summing up the place here.  As I said then; “People who live there defend their town vigorously, which I admire” I used to work with folk who were uprooted from… Continue reading HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MILTON KEYNES

  As I’m sure you’ll understand, I’m taking a few days off the beer before our trip to Dublin on Thursday.  Any unusual recommendations for that city welcome (not Chinese takeaways). In the meantime, here’s a few design classics spotted over the last year.  The top one is actually a closed public toilet next to… Continue reading PUB TOILETS – THE DESIGN EDITION

  After last years excitement, Mrs RM was always accompanying me on my trip to Manchester Beer Fest 17 so I didn’t lose any precious CAMRA magazines on the tram this time round.  That at least she achieved. We had a sensible start, at least.  A Flat White and Eggs Avocado at Leaf on Portland… Continue reading SURVIVING MANCHESTER BEER FEST 17