BRAPA - January Review / February Preview (2017 Edition)

It's been a liver-busting, kidney aching, bowel crunching BRAPA January, and I'm currently undergoing something of a mini-detox as a result!  37 GBG pubs plus 1 pre-emptive were 'ticked off', which is my third best ever, not a patch though on April or June last year.  I must do a spreadsheet!

With so much quality to choose from, deciding on three to be put forward for the End of Year Awards Ceremony is impossible, but I've had a think and decided on the following six I loved:

1. Rising Sun, Tipton
2. Foresters Arms, Reading
3. Odd Fellows, Shipley
4. Land of Liberty, Peace and Plenty, Heronsgate
5. Red Lion, Penn
6. Little 3, Thirsk.

The wonderful LOLPAP (as the kids probably call it)

Quite a nice geographical split too I think you'll agree and here's hoping the quality stays this high for the rest of 2017.

My overall favourite day out was 14th Jan Outer Reading because I had flu and pushing through the pain barrier was worthwhile come 9pm.

The lowlight was the West Haddesley farce I described recently, though failure to find a way to Little Missenden and Chesham's Black Cat makes 22nd Jan the overall worst day!

Getting the 1,000 up (for good this time) in Brixton was another highpoint though,

The 1,000th pub celebration.

February Preview

Feb begins on the 4th in BRAPA terms with a hopefully momentous day, as I "finish" Berkshire.  It has been a wonderful county and am hoping the final two ticks in Stockcross and Wickham can be achieved swiftly and with style.  And that is because, as you know, I already have one eye on Buckinghamshire and I reckon I can get two ticks in there too if all goes to plan!

A week later (11th), 'family commitments' mean I am not allowed to stray too far (i.e. North London) but I have been granted permission for a low key North Yorkshire replacement service.  This suits me fine as this is the county I've got a real bee in my bonnet about at the moment.

Hull City read the BRAPA script and promptly let Fulham stuff them, meaning more North Yorkshire BRAPA is on t'cards for the 18th as it is now "a blank weekend".  Am not sure Spurs at home would've had me rushing back to The Circle anyway.

And why don't we make it a North Yorkshire hat trick on the 25th?  A home game for the Taargers so it is certainly on the cards that I do my remaining 'train/bus' trip that day.

North Yorkshire is never easy though and there is Skipton (a random Friday) and Saltburn (a random Sunday) to try and factor into the equation perhaps on quieter weekends.

It'd be wrong to neglect West Yorkshire under the circs, so I feel we need to get back to 'gentle' Tuesday ways from the 7th onwards.  Work are STILL putting me on 9-5 (despite a rota now supposedly being in place) so I'll crack on with the 'working my way out of L**ds by mileage' approach.  Drabford, Kirkheaton, Emley, Ackworth are the kind of places crying out for a good BRAPA seeing to.

24.5 is the Feb BRAPA average and I'd be more than happy with 24-25 when I look at the agenda ahead, it looks about right.

I may just be in a position to "near full Yorkshire completion" in late March, which is good in the sense that I wanna crack on with Cheshire (as I keep saying), as well as some Bucks fun.

Si