retiredmartin
retiredmartin
Martin
Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.
Latest Posts
May 2026. Whitby. A stunning walk along the Whitby coast, arriving back in town to discover Eddi hadn’t been yet. I can’t get my head round gigs 6 months in the future for artists and audience as old as we are. Planning 6 days ahead is...
May 2026. Whitby. Too many pub crawls artisanally curated exploration of public houses over-focus on beer and miss the point of visiting pubs. Always visit a Sam Smiths pub over a pokey micro called “11 o’clock craft bock” or something....
May 2026. Whitby. Whitby was busy enough for a Goth-free Wednesday in May, enough to keep the cake shops, and the pubs ticking over, though of course Sam Smiths pubs close for reasons unrelated to trade. “Still seeking a management...
May 2026. Whitby. Dave “US Dave” turned up just as Stafford Paul were contemplating the merits of the pubs across Whitby harbour. Slightly reduced merits these days in the Duke of York and the Board, as Whitby has gone full-on “small...
May 2026. Whitby. I’d told Mrs RM if she was ready to leave for Whitby at 6am that Wednesday morning I’d take her along. I even threw in the prospect of a campervan overnighter opposite Loftus Police Station, where I parked up, alone, at...
May 2026. Leeds. 3 hours between train in Leeds, time for the Freedom breakfast in Spoons (Becketts Bank), the culture, and a pint in a re-opened classic. Oh, they’ve got rid of the “Family” in the title. Sign of the times. Anyway, the...
May 2026. Leeds. A night in Bradford, then a descent through the ornate passageway in the Midland Hotel to Forster Square station, from which you take the Kirkstall route back to Leeds, not the most scenic. But Leeds is scrubbing up...
May 2026. Bradford. Time flies. Five years ago I was sitting outside the Jacobs Well (aka Beer House aka Jacobs etc etc), waiting for BRAPA to be vaccinated. Afternoon all! Pre vaccine fun at Jacobs Beer House, Bradford. The Abbeydale...
May 2026. Bradford. You can always trust a person who likes Bradford, or Blackpool, or is torn on the virtues of Maidenhead. The Southworths always seem impressed by Bradford’s centenary square; the city hall, the fountains, the...
May 2026. Bradford. We’ve been stalking the Southworths on their 2026 UK (well, mainly Yorkshire) Tour, which inevitably reached Bradford last Sunday. I’m sure Dave really comes for the marvellous street art, recently enhanced by the...
May 2026. Sheffield. I’m no glory-hunter. Not for me the trip to Crewe Alex to see Cambridge United promoted. I couldn’t get a ticket. I chose the last Saturday of the grass roots season to watch “Proper Football”. Bramall Lane, home of...
May 2026. Sheffield. A rare Saturday in Sheffield, and a designated “dry” day, which is quite an effort in my hometown. On a whim, I thought “about time I went to Bramall Lane“, and was a bit miffed to see the Cricketers Arms opposite...
April 2026. Cannon Street. London. I’m always interested in The Honest View on Beer Quality. Chris Dyson and Paul Bailey always give their beers scores; folk on the “We love Bass, us” Facebook page seem reluctant to admit Bass can...
April 2026. Spitalfields. London. I had a sneaking suspicion that Dave had picked the King’s Arms for his post-museum pint as it provided a direct route to the Pride of Spitalfields, one of the London classics on his Pub Bucket List. The...
April 2026. Bethnal Green. London. An afternoon in east London with Joan and Dave, barely mentioning the T***p at all; just culture and cask and the Columbia Road. It helps as a tourist, UK or American, if you like a bit of scruff with...