A belated highlights package for July, the stand-out of course being the English demolition of the French in Miami. No-cared about the final. With Mrs RM taking a break from exploring the Caucasus, there’s a bit more local travel in July, even a trip (sort of) west to Whitchurch. Sixty-two different pubs in...

July 2026. Chesterfield. An aimless afternoon in Chesterfield, and there’s nothing wrong with aimless. Those two pints in the Rutland Arms and Royal Oak saw a town in rude health, and once it gets that museum open this year it’ll warrant a revisit. The pubs around the market looked particularly lovely with their...

July 2026. Chesterfield. “A Top 100 pub ! ANOTHER one ?“. Why not ? The Royal Oak was the highlight of July, a “Wow” moment that Thursday afternoon in floral Chesterfield. The Shambles may not have the fudge and Harry Potter tat of York, but the Royal Oak has always looked the part, without the beer to justify a...

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...

July 2026. Newcastle. One thing about Tyneside; just like London or Genoa, you’ll always find something new on a trip. This time, it’s Pink Lane and the Catholic cathedral. St Mary’s is a NCSS 4 joy, the highlight the stained glass showing Newcastle’s heritage (microbreweries oddly missing). A rare venue without...

July 2026. Newcastle. A night out in Tyne & Wear, always a joy, but one where it’s easy to overdo it very quickly. With 3 hours till my £33 return back to Sheffield, I left the Posada till next time, saved the museums for a rainy day, and set off west along the Tyne, pausing only briefly for three (3) espressos and...

July 2026. Newcastle. Not even lunchtime as I leave the Free Trade for the walk through Ouseburn back into Toon. Actually, 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 at...

July 2026. Ouseburn. Newcastle. Back from Cramlington by mid morning, with 5 hours till the bargain advance fare return to Sheffield. Not quite enough time to head west to Haltwhistle, or south to Seaton Carew, for another tick. But plenty of time for some aimless exploration along the Tyne. I was only in Ouseburn...

July 2026. Cramlington. Northumberland. When you say “Northumberland” these days you think Harry Potter, posh Cambridgeshire families at the beach, and a small island covered in bird muck. But there’s an awful lot of old mining towns before you get there, I can tell you. I spent ages getting ChatGPT to work out the...

July 2026. Newcastle. Trips to Newcastle produce a wealth of blog material, even when the pace of new pubs dry up and you start to feel you’ve seen Grey Street just a few too many times. That picture from the top of one of the UK’s great streets outside the Theatre Royal is instructive. It’s a place that doesn’t get...

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 music that Monday night...

July 2026. Monkseaston. Tyne & Wear. Whitley Bay ticked, Spanish City gelato licked, I headed for the metro back to the Toon. It’s a problematic map, every stop the gateway to a classic pub that distracts you from culture. I really should have popped back to the Tynemouth Lodge for Bass (patience !), but fell at the...