BRAPA - A Belated April Review / May Preview (2017)

*Piss off, I've been busy.

Apologies for the 16 day delay.  But what a month April was for pub ticking (well, at least the last week of it) with 44 new pub ticks in total.

That is one less than the BRAPA all-time record of 45 set in April last year, but now I have no Yorkshire 'ticks' to act as a safety net, it felt like an even greater achievement.

At an average of 32.5, April is the most productive pub ticking month of the year.

Of course, my Buckinghamshire holiday was the main source of my productivity, though really great days in Southampton, Derby, Cheshire and Darlington meant I don't think the standard of pub has ever been so high.  Top three pub experiences:

White Horse, Hedgerley
Olde Vic, Stockport
Waterloo Inn, Southampton

The first pub of the month was a classic

But so so many that on another month would've "walked into the reckoning", like the Swan at Milton, Brittainia & the Snooker Club in Darlo, Hanley's Victorian Lounge Bar, King's Lock at Middlewich, Lodge at Alsager, Crown at Little Missenden, Armoury at Stockport, George & Dragon, Quainton and Black Horse at Lacey Green, and even that only tells half the story!

I've only been to a very small number of duffers - I can only think of 4 or 5 out of 44 with the rest being "above average" so I think that is an excellent return.  I won't name them but you can speculate.

May is traditionally a much quieter month for BRAPA (average 23) and it'll be even quieter this time with things like birthdays and Hull City trying to lead my down disappointing publess pathways.  But gives my liver a chance to recover, not to mention catching up and all the blogs I've still to write......

By the time you read this, we are already more than halfway through the month and I've had an impromptu trip to Glasgow, a pre-emptive in Hull and a handful of Surrey/South London ticks I'll be reviewing shortly.

The 20th sees me back in Bucks as I head to the east of the county and may be able to get a cheeky late London tick too, probably one of those limp Fullers tourist holes.

And the 27th is a Cheshire or Derbyshire based day as Dad starts his campaign to prove he is still a useful close season chauffeur now that Yorkshire has been completed.

Right, I'm off to write nice things about the men-folk of Glasgow.

Bye, Si

p.s. and you know your blog is doing well when your Mum tells you off for spelling "scrote" incorrectly as "scroat".  Thanks Mum.

Daisy contemplates the 4 or 5 poor pubs I visited in April.