The Pub Years: 1983 When it all Began

I took a solemn vow on January 1st, 1983, a vow honoured to the present day. It was that I would list every pub visited. Reader, I married the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. We were both young and foolish. Well the Guide was ten years old but in human years that made it twenty so……

Turning the Lights Off

One last throw of the dice. I left you in Bishop’s Stortford over a week ago, on the day people were advised not to go into pubs. Four days later this became mandatory as all pubs were required to close. This virus has got a lot to answer for. My plans to finish Suffolk and……

Keeping the Lights On

Monday 22nd March The net is closing. Not the internet but that will come. In anticipation of imminent government advice I headed south for a few final pub visits. Those Peterborough CAMRA types always find a new pub in Whittlesey. It’s a place that spells its station in a different way to the town. See……

Cumbria’s Phoney War

I was in Cumbria only 5 days ago but it seems like a lifetime. We were still at the ‘mass gatherings are fine’ stage, and 48 hours shy of the “avoid pubs” message from the UK government, and the rather more nuanced approach by the Scottish government. Cumbrians, who have been governed by both at……

Tales of Beer Cocktails in Derbyshire

The entirely altruistic pub ticking community has been bravely pressing on despite the coronary virus (is this right?- Ed). A contingency meeting of Tickers agreed to enforce a no drinking other people’s slops rule (you know who you are) and, more controversially, placed a ban on intravenous injections of Draught Bass. This is going to……

Doing the Guide: 2020 Mid Term Review

The end of February marks the halfway point of the Good Beer Guide season. A time to self-isolate and take stock of progress towards completion; to renew contracts of your drivers – at least those who have met performance targets – and to select a few highlights that missed the editor’s cut in previous blogs.……

Surrey, Lewisham by Night and a Picture Quiz for You

I thought it wise write a blog before the economically inactive amongst us are forcibly sent to pick potatoes in Lincolnshire. There are plenty of economically inactive people in Surrey. You can tell by the number of Bentleys and Jaguars in people’s drives. But despite its proximity to Smart-on-Thames, the town of Ashford is not……