Real Ale, Real Music

A first visit for several years to one of the country's finest cities gave me the chance to visit some old favourites from back then, plus the opportunity to try out a couple of previously unknown places. Here's what I found in this, my first blog featuring the city.... I was in Cambridge the other week for the first time in several years. It had been a fairly late decision to go, but the opening day fixtures for the 2025-26 football season had thrown up a visit to Braintree Town for Halifax Town had given us the opportunity for an overnight stop there. With the journey by train involving going into London, changing stations, and then taking an infrequent slow train to the Essex town, I had volunteered to drive as that seemed the more practical option. With the route taking us past Cambridge, we decided to stay there on the way back after the football. And why were we going to this city known for its university colleges and tech companies? Well, it happens to be one of the best...

I returned to a favourite part of the country recently for the first time for several years. In and amongst my wanders I visited one or two pubs I had been to before, plus a few for the first time. And here is what I found.... I love Northumberland. I had not been though since before lockdown, whilst back in the 1990's it was a regular place to go for family holidays. So the other week I returned, stopping at the Victoria Hotel in Bamburgh where I had stayed previously and which makes a good base for a day or two of wandering around this still largely unspoilt county. And I was hoping to visit a few old favourites and try a few new places in terms of pubs during my visit.  I made good time on my journey north. I turned off the A1 at Alnwick, and picked up the B1340, but almost immediately questioned my decision when I got stuck behind a caravan for virtually the full distance as we weaved through the pleasant undulating countryside on narrow lanes which made it impossible to overta...

There has been a real buzz around the North West and beyond over the past few days as news has broken that a former iconic Manchester cask beer will soon be making a welcome return to some of the area's pubs and bars.... In recent years, especially in the wake of the 2017 Arena tragedy in 2017, there has been a revival of the use of Manchester's traditional worker bee logo on products, signage, and advertising,  culminating in the roll-out of the Bee Network as the city and surrounding area's increasingly integrated bus service. In the days that followed that horrendous event which shook the city to its core and still reverberates today, the city rallied round its traditional logo like a collective comfort blanket. It became a unifying symbol for all that was good and positive about this proud city, the spirit of which has continued to be embraced by locals and visitors alike, such these past two weekends when the hordes descended on Heaton Park to see those noisy lads from...

I spent another warm evening in Leeds the other week in which I visited a few pubs, had a decent pizza at a place I hadn't visited for a while, and went to see a band at the Brudenell. Here's how the evening unfolded.... It was another warm day, although not actually classed as a heatwave, but after weeks of hot weather they all seem to blur into one. A look back of the last few blogs I have done seems to suggest that; it was hot when I went to Burnley in early May. hot when I went to North Wales in the middle of that month, hot when I went to Hull a couple of weeks later, hot when I went to London to see LCD Soundsystem in June, and hot when I went to York a couple of weeks ago to watch some cricket. In fact I had been thinking of going to Leeds again this last weekend to watch some more cricket, but the incessant heat and the resultant disturbed sleep over several nights had induced a sense of lethargy. But on that warm evening the other week I visited a few of the options fo...