The world might be a scary, uncertain and depressing place at the moment (the cancellation of Neighbours obviously hits us all hard), but a productive month on the pub ticking front at least offered some solace.
I sit here with a cold compress to the head, cucumbers on my eyes (virtual ones, or I wouldn't be able to see the screen). I'm currently living on a diet of prunes, strong sweet tea and carrots with hummus dip, after an epic BRAPA holiday saw me complete the very difficult county of Hampshire. But that didn't happen until March so technically, I shouldn't be writing about it yet. Spoiler alert!
54 new pubs for the month of February, plus 2 pre-emptives moved my current GBG tally onto 2083, getting closer and closer to that magic 2250 figure which will signify 50% of the Guide, halfway to completion. I wonder which pub that will be and if it'll be thoroughly despicable?
Feb started outside Whitby Brewery Tap trying in vain to enjoy the sun and views of the Abbey .....
...and it ended in one of Southampton's more aesthetically pleasing pubs, the Fox & Hounds in Bitterne where the lovely landlady did the honours ......
Gains in Hertfordshire, North Yorkshire and Durham have put me within touching distance of finishing those counties too, but Herts won't happen til May and Durham not until at least April. A bit of a waiting game. I do feel though like I'm making genuine progress with the whole BRAPA quest, which I reckon goes back to the lack of 'churn' during the last cross-ticking.
Let's take a look at four favourite pubs of the month, the ones that left me smiling .....
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| Bay Hotel, Robin Hood's Bay |
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| Little Tap, Spennymoor |
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| George Inn, Widley |
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| Queen's Hotel, Gosport |
And four, which by the time I left, I was questioning whether pubs, life and humanity should bother continuing ......
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| Arch & Abbey, Whitby |
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| Cherry Tree, Woodbridge |
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| Wheelwright's Arms, Havant |
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| Wheatsheaf Inn, Shedfield |
In other BRAPA news this month, I 'launched' (well, privately created and didn't tell anyone) the new 'Pub Tickers Playlist' which I'll try and put somewhere public if you want to have a listen, here's a snapshot .....
And with #AllamOut and #AcunIn, and an almost exciting January Transfer Window, I went to only my 2nd, 3rd and 4th Hull City games of the season. They yielded a grand total of one point, one goal (which was a meaningless consolation own goal), but plenty of classic 'revisits' , and Donny 'Spoons......
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| Whalebone, Hull |
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| Kelham Island Tavern, Sheffield |
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| The Crow, Sheffield |
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| Rutland Arms, Sheffield |
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| Alexandra, Derby |
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| Gate House, Doncaster |
So what have we got to look forward to in March?
The completion of Hants. I can fairly safely say that as it has already happened unless something goes a bit awry with the space time continuum.
The completion of North Yorkshire? I'm going to have to do something a bit crazy for that to happen, but as the Pub Tickers WhatsApp group said this morning before I'd even got out of bed, having all four Yorkshire counties done in the same year is a great achievement for any ticker.
Thirsty Thursday are a bit skew-whiff this month, but with Spring around the corner, I think we are going to start seeing my first serious forays into Lancs and GMR. We'll have a bit of cheeky West Mids too, but on the whole, I think the final three weeks of March are going to be fairly low key.
More pressing, I've got plenty of Hants blogs to write up, so I'll back same time tomorrow for my Pompey beginnings. I'm even cancelling this week's Thirsty Thursday for the same reason, but also to give my liver rest and get my appetite for the boozers back. All pubbed out!
Thanks for reading, Si
Luckily, your West Lancs ticks are pretty much all on the same 2A bus route from Preston. Apart from the Dolphin in Longton, which will probably require a taxi sometime.
ReplyDeleteBamber Bridge and Leyland are awkward to do together as you're reliant on the one bus that serves them both. They're not even on the same train line.
Unless you are counting the City of York as a separate entity, there are only three counties of Yorkshire. The South Riding is a figment of the imagination shared by Barbara Castle and Winifred Holtby.
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