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
November 2025. Newhaven. East Sussex. There’s a lot of dashing around at the moment, multiple rail journeys planned, some mobile tickets, some you have to print out (why ?) and then you miss your train. And on the trip from Brighton to...
November 2025. Brighton 2 pints before 12.30, and no breakfast. Bad idea, right ? Time for something healthy like a burger. I could have popped in one of the North Laines GBG pubs for grub, the Nelson or the multicoloured Albert, but the...
November 2025. Brighton. Can’t help feeling that an hour and two pints in Brighton straight back to the station is poor form, I didn’t even see the seaside, but it’s dark by 4 and I had other targets on the Sussex coast. And I did have...
November 2025. Brighton. A few new GBG entries along the Sussex coast, so let’s follow up Eastbourne and St Leonards with everyone’s favourite bit of London-by-the-Sea. Brighton feels a major city these days, with a Top 10 Premier League...
November 2025. Rye Harbour. One of the BIG questions, along with “Why ?” and “Would you like some wine Mrs RM ?“, is “Can you get a good Shepherd Neame beer anywhere ?“. Well, I’ve not found it in a generation, and the Sheps managed...
November 2025. Iden Green. Kent. Our hour of National Trust worthiness at Sissinghurst over by 11, we took the picturesque route through the Weald of Kent, all oast houses and Bloomsbury set country houses and refined dining. On the way...
November 2025. Sissinghurst. Kent. Coming to the end of our year of middle-aged National Trust membership now, but still time for a few late ticks from our temporary South-Eastern base in Rye before we ignore the requests to renew for...
November 2025. Rye. Back in Rye from Lydd, the town was gearing up for the annual bonfire night to mark the burning of the libelous copies of the 1974 Good Beer Guide (the “avoid like the plague” edition). The gate would be locked to...
November 2025. Lydd. Kent. What’s that bit of land a few miles east of Romney Marsh ? “Boulogne” something something ? A small Channel Island presumably. Probably sells Butcombe, must investigate. Just as I got to investigate Lydd (pop....
November 2025. Sheffield. In an era where folk spend £500 watching old Mancunians knocking out meat and potato pub rock in a park in Prestwich, £15 for a night of modern music in a club in Sheffield seems a bargain, though I’m sure one...
November 2025. Sheffield. A night in Sheffield between the statutory two in Waterbeach, just time for laundry, a read of the mail, a gig and a catch-up with James. He’d phoned to ask to catch-up, possibly to make sure I’m not investing...
November 2025. Rye. Waterbeach. Sheffield. While Mrs RM stays down in Rye Harbour till Christmas I’m doing the Rye-Waterbeach-Sheffield trudge (all by rail thankfully), checking on parents and children and cottages. Might even get the...
November 2025. St. Leonards. Sussex. There’s lots of unexpected things you learn about east Sussex after 30 years of ticking pubs and 3 staying in a caravan down there. Rye isn’t as genteel as Mermaid Street suggests, Hastings has an old...
November 2025. Eastbourne. Not a great pub town, bar the Lamb, but Eastbourne has Beachy Head up the road, 2 good Spoons, and a gem of an art gallery. Mind, the exterior of the Towner is better than the interior. Only the exceptional...
November 2025. Eastbourne. Mrs RM is spending a season down in Sussex by the Sea, attending to elderly parents (sound familiar?). Arranging Lasting Powers of Attorney never seemed so urgent. I’m hoping to spend a while down there too,...