BRAPA ...... MONTH END REVIEW : NOVEMBER '22

62 pubs done in November, the second best ever BRAPA total - eclipsed only by my 66 in October this year.  And if we throw in the 16 I've already done in December, that is a liver shattering 144 pubs since 1st October.  Ooof, the Winter Break is looking a better decision the more I think about it!  More on that later.

I write this with England v Senegal on in the background, the second half has just kicked off so I cannot see them losing this now.  Problem is, the thought of that Mbrapa chap ticking off our defence in the next round is frankly terrifying. 

November started in Clitheroe's excellent Beer Shack with a lady trying to staple Christmas decorations to whatever you call that bit that separates wall from ceiling:

And it ended in the smoky fug of Cloisters, one of Edinburgh's many great bars which have a cosier, pubbier atmosphere than many of their English counterparts:

(I'd do a pic but Google Photos and Blogger have stopped speaking to each other .... oh, and England have a third, what drama here!)

Moving my Blog to Wix is looking more appealing by the day, photo uploading constantly times out, adding 20-30 mins per blog.  Not good enuff!

Ah yes, Edinburgh & the Lothians, my first fully green 'county' of the year and what a holiday I had.

<Imagine photo of a fully green Stabilo'd Ed & the Loths>

I really need to do more of this, getting into new areas I've not previously 'conquered' rather than chasing my tail for the umpteenth time around Central London, Cornwall and North Yorkshire.  'They all need ticking though, Si' you might well say, but as I'm only at 49.89% completion of the GBG (yes, I'm almost back to the magic 2250), I feel this is the right strategy for now.

Kent is my ongoing pet project of the moment, and you may see I've been taking my first baby steps in Notts and Lincs.  'Poor baby', you might say (no I'm sure they are both full of lovely pubs & people). 

<Imagine photo of Lincoln's Birdcage being quirky, red and fun>

My favourite five (okay, six, I lost my discipline) pubs of the month in no particular order are as follows:

1. Old House, Ightham Common

2. Little Gem, Aylesford

3. Plough Inn, South Leverton

4. Wheatsheaf Inn, Falkirk

5. Volunteer Arms (Staggs), Musselburgh

6. Kay's Bar, Edinburgh (North)

<Imagine photo of Little Gem interior, with RetiredMartin and Christine looking stoic but intrigued>

Yes, the serendipitous moment of the month was finding that Martin & Christine were in Maidstone at the same time as me.  They kindly drove me round some harder to reach pubs, which incidentally were all great, superb stuff.

BRAPA person of the month was Daddy BRAPA which in no way means he won't be the overall BRAPA person of the year, but if he isn't, the November Shield should offer some consolation:

<Imagine photo of drunk me and happy Daddy B grinning down the lens in York's Fox>

Lowlights?  And I don't mean a pub in North Shields, haha (sorry, just a pub tickers joke there).  The Bay Horse at Market Weighton wins award for most depressing pub of the year to date.  The price I paid for a pint in Sir John Oldcastle 'Spoons in Farringdon shocked me to the core.  Lincoln's Tiny Tavern private members style policy I found jarring.  York's Blue Bell once got booted out for similar.  And there were a few too many poor quality ales pulled in Edinburgh which must be at least slightly linked to the amounts of the Big T being drunk instead.  But overall a great month.

<Imagine a photo of Oscar the Owl necking a celebratory pint of Tennent's in Stockbridge Tap>

I performed a second reconciliation of the GBG with surprising results!  It came about cos this underground pub ticker called Jim (well, he ain't on Twitter) added me to this glorious shared tickers spreadsheet, which makes keeping your stats up to date so much easier than my current system.

Well, I'd erroneously highlighted Wrexham's Royal Oak but I definitely haven't been! But it generally worked in my favour, I gained two in the West Midlands as I'd forgotten to highlight Coventry's Hearsall, plus I'd miscounted by one.  And there were forgettable pubs in Camden and West London I'd forgotten I'd visited.  Oh, and I hadn't realised Ulverston's Gather used to be called Beerwolf.  What drama!  Again.

<Imagine a photo of me crunching the numbers and looking confused>

So onto December, and the final Thirsty Thursday of the year is next up in Notts.  Then I have three days in the South East as I use up my remaining work holidays, before the first ever official BRAPA winter break begins on Tue 13th Dec and is now extended to mid Jan due to train strikes, and what I call the 'pub tickers corridor of uncertainty' (i.e. ticking in early Jan).  I'll recharge my batteries, liver, catch up on blogs, save a bit of money, and come back stronger in the New Year.  Oh, and I might get a couple of 'accidental' ticks done on football days in Hull, Wigan and Birmingham (Colmore anyone?)

<Imagine pic of Colin in a Christmas hat waving wistfully at the camera> 

Right, there we go. Apologies for lack of photos but it is 9pm, full time, and I can't be bothered.

Take care, Si