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.
July 2026
August 2026
September 2026
Top Words
- pubs
- pint
- sheffield
- spoons
- bass
- cask
- beer
- stocktake
- preview
- night
All posts (712)
February 2026. Gleadless Townend. Sheffield. I suppose it’s best to accept the inevitable…in 2026 we’re just not going to get any new Victoria/Edwardian multi-room heritage pubs. But there’s an infinite number of one room shop conversion micros to be developed in otherwise underpubbed suburbs. No more so than in...
February 2026. Banner Cross. A rare trip out to posh (but not snooty, oh no) Banner Cross in Sheffield’s West End, to get Ian his new GBG tick. He wasn’t rushing to leave for the bus back, with the terrifying prospect of a pint with BRAPA at the end of his journey. I feel obliged to find something new, if not shiny,...
February 2026. Banner Cross. Sheffield. Approaching middle-age, I feel less and less inclined to turn down any offers of a pub and a chat, even if it does mean staying in Sheffield rather than a slog to Shetland. And the pub tickers are the best of men, always positive despite that setback in a micro miles from...
February 2026. West Didsbury. I left Matt back at Piccadilly, no doubt to attend to housework, and added a rare Greater Manchester GBG newbie before City v Fulham. This year’s Manc ticking has been a bit of a slog, with brewery taps in Wigan and Timperley only opening weekends, craft bars not opening at all, and...
February 2026. Stockport. Hah ! Clickbait. Not a new local for me, though Mrs RM is already tired of Sheffield as our house has a garden that she now regrets buying. Why can’t you make an increased offer to buy a property without a garden. Youngest lad Matthew is looking to leave the rents of central Manchester and...
February 2026. Turin. And finally from Turin, a redemptive afternoon exploring the western half of the city, a half almost entirely ignored by the internet. ChatGPT had summarised the internet and listed ten (10) highlights, somehow omitting the indoor markets, both the historic fresh food hall visited by Pope John...
February 2026. Turin. I always say, in a confident way that brooks no argument, that you need to visit a place at least half a dozen times to get the measure of it. And that applies whether it’s Tamworth, Toddington or Turin. I wouldn’t wish six trips to Totnes on my worst enemy, mind. Three nights in Turin, but...
February 2026. Turin. We woke up on that first morning in Turin feeling a bit like this; I felt sorry (not sorry) for Mrs RM, who had gone pint, pint, half litre of white wine, pint of Leffe. Luckily I Reali Bed & (sort of) Breakfast had a coffee machine, but even after five espressos neither of us felt like doing...
February 2026. Turin. In 1985 the New Musical Express gave a legendary review of The Jesus & Mary Chain, berating them for no longer having the energy to play the twenty minute sets, slipping in their into the “rockism” of hour long shows with encores. Similarly with blogging, it’s harder (for me, anyway) to write...
February 2026. Turin. You left us in M** Bun at 6pm after a very late lunch, largely liquid, and it was time for an early night back at I Reali and a catch up on our respective blogs. But central Turin on a Friday night was just about to liven up, and Mrs RM insisted, insisted I tell you, that we popped in the...
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