Saturday 14th February 2026 It was all change on the Grand Central from YRK-KX on this unusually dry, sunny Saturday as Welsh mascot Brekkie the Sheep makes a rare start. As usual, he made zero impact on proceedings. Another substitute came from Sainsbury's, my regular Arctic Coffee replaced by an evil Starbucks Tripleshot Espresso. Creamy mouthfeel. And didn't I need it? Slightly hungover from a Slip Inn / Costcutter bottles / Hull City v Chelsea on TV / Jenny's Fish &

Thursday 12th Feb 2026 Eating mini chicken kievs (sorry, kyivs #WokeSi2026) under a drippy awning in Winnersh station, today is the first trip to Berkshire of the 2025/26 pub ticking season. And our 5,346,782nd consecutive day of rain this winter. I was willing Mrs Hot Pink to get a wriggle on into pub one, she has one of those annoyingly paced walks - not slow enough to overtake, but not quick enough to prevent me from getting stuck behind her backside ....... It wasn't jus

Saturday 7th February 2026 When reflection lad says to his mate "this mobile charger no longer works with my phone!" , then theatrically collapsing face down into the table as you can see above, I feel vindicated. I AM NOT ALONE. I want to hug the lad. 'Hug a Hoodie'. What were all that about Mr Cameron? Never caught on. It is edging 3pm. I've ticked one pub in Atherstone (plus a pre-emptive) and embibed three pints of foaming ale. Oh dear, that sounded very 'Viz'. I'

Saturday 7th February 2026 As the DrossCountry service chugs begrudgingly south to Birmingham New Street for an outlandish day of rural North Warwickshire pub ticking, I'm blissfully unaware that I am without one of the key features of any BRAPA day, the power bank! And I've spent the entire journey wasting charge on Google Maps and BusTimes.org , tapping away at various routes I could take. On the Friday night, I'd settled on Shustoke and a quick getaway to Brum. By 7:45am

Pretty much what LNER station staff said to me on Newark Northgate station, summer 2018 Thursday 5th February 2026 Now I don't want you thinking BRAPA is predictable but these were identical beginnings to my December 2022 'Notts Mop-up', it went something like this ....... York-Newark Northgate train inc. Arctic Coffee and croissant Resist urge for widdle on platform in full view of angry LNER staff Speed walk across to Newark Castle station in the grimmest of conditions Find

Saturday 31st January 2026 Another three points on the road for the mighty Tigers, where I was again able to combine football with four useful pub ticks thanks to the chauffeuring efforts of Blackburn's finest, Ian 'BeyondThePale' Sutton. Not bad considering we've been playing the same boring Championship teams for five billion consecutive seasons. I've had plenty of trips out with Ian in recent years, but this is Daddy BRAPA's first time meeting him. Just after 10am at Bu

Thursday 29th January 2026 Note the addition of 'Hot Mango Immunity' shot to kick off the return of #ThirstyThursdays for 2026. I've been circling the man-flu drain for the entirety of this long cruel January. When my Mackem mate John commented last Tuesday that he's ready for spring time, I know it's bad as he's the most Autumnal/Wintry lover I know. Tyne & Wear today. Just the three ticks to do in the 2026 GBG to complete the county. I'm looking to add two south Northum

Saturday 24th January 2026 If Scottish bridges were Wetherspoon's carpets, I'd be giving this a 9.5/10. The kind of bridge that a wee troll called Hairy McTavish lives underneath and spears unsuspecting Sassenach's on the way across. But not today Mr McTavish, this was one of those days where the BRAPA gods smiled on me from the word go up to the drunken conclusion. How else can I explain making a five minute connection in Edinburgh Waverley station earlier, the hardest sta

Greetings from BRAPA Towers, where I'm pleased to report that the longest of long January's is finally behind us and hopefully February will bring some morale boosting green shoots. Like a pub crawl of Carshalton, you've gotta have Hope. 33 new Good Beer Guide ticks for me this month. Modest by recent standards but not bad for January, especially factoring in my self-imposed Thirsty Thursday winter break and lack of holidays. I managed 7 pre-emptives too. This pushes me ba

Saturday 17th January 2026 Heady times to be a Hull City fan. I've never felt more connected to the club since the 2007/08 season which culminated in us beating Bristol City at Wembley to reach the Premier League for the first time in our history. In the December of that season, we had back to back away games at Preston (midweek) and Southampton (Saturday), just like I'm about to tell you today. 3-0 and 4-0 defeats. We plummeted to 15th. Some fans shout for Phil Brown's he

Saturday 10th January 2026 F.A. Cup third round weekend, the original Daddy BRAPA car day. As a Hull City fan, we've learnt to accept that we'll get a home draw against a fellow long-standing Championship team, and we'll put in an abject performance in front of 6,000 people whilst freezing our bums off. Ain't worth it mate! I called it back in December as the balls were about to be pulled from the hat, look ..... Blackburn at home. You've gotta laugh. It had been moved

Saturday 27th December 2025, 3:30pm With Brighton safely tucked under the BRAPA belt, I decide that I have time to visit two more East Sussex pub ticks before heading back to King's Cross for my regulation ESB. Newhaven isn't a town I've visited before, no need until now but I felt immediately at home due to the echoes of West Ayrshire, Bridlington and Whitley Bay in the winter. Angry skinhead seagulls, a stiff icy breeze, no one alive between the ages of 20-70, and ancient

Christmas 2025 (24th - 27th December) Ho, ho, ho, MERRY CHRISTMAS (retrospectively) from my default position squashed in the armchair behind the Christmas tree at Mummy & Daddy BRAPA's pile and what a smashing seasonal Brew York that was. Gin and Tonic? Dry Martini? Pah! #NonBeerWomen!! I lost the annual snooker tournament 3-1. I'm blaming my 'Enfield Hand'. Still bad, I couldn't grip my cue properly at the back #AlwaysGetYerExcusesReady Fast forward to Boxing Day, and

Saturday 20th December 2025 All aboard the festive Dross Country for the final BRAPA outing before Christmas. A curtailed day, as I'd booked myself a Birmingham-Leeds 5pm train back so I could meet my work colleagues for the back-end of our Christmas night out. Following on from what we'll term the 'Enfield Slip' two days previously, my left knee passed a late fitness test but my right hand wasn't so great. I cannot even lift a full pint, only a half. Conclusion - I must d

Thursday 18th December 2025 Tripping towards the finish line, as I tick four of my remaining six pubs and edge ever closer to the Greater London clean sweep for the first time in BRAPA history. There was another pre-emptive 'Spoons and a late trip to the Parcel Yard thrown in for good measure. It was an opportunity to right the wrongs of the previous Saturday, where you might recall I only ticked a pathetic two pubs on our Millwall away day. It was the first of two BRAPA Chr

Wednesday 10th December 2025 All I've got to show for January 2026 at the time of writing is 11 ticks in the first 16 days, though I'm hoping by the time you read this, Southampton (yesterday) has been semi-productive. Skinny ticking months cause me feelings of anxiety and guilt. Sitting at home thinking about all those times in life where I've been idle when I could've been ticking. Why didn't it occur to me to start this quest at a younger age? Just imagine, I could've c

Saturday 6th December 2025 Having been Tony Gubba'd at home to the Smoggie darlings (0-4 down at half time, but we won the second half 1-0) the previous evening, it was a fragile BRAP soul who travelled down to Kings Cross on the 07:02 the following morning. EMERGENCY HALF TIME GUINNESS SITUATION But the restorative effects of an Arctic coffee and air fryer croissant cannot be underestimated. I gallop to Euston like a beast, have a quick widdle alongside a cross-eyed Spurs f

Thursday 4th December 2025 Sick of the sight of London after too much recent exposure, so I look slightly further afield for my remaining 2025 Grand Central cheapo day tickets. Bedfordshire was the initial hope, but when raining cats & dogs like this, I didn't wanna be stood on a swampy roadside waiting for an unreliable Grant Palmer (bus, not man). And I must not feel cheated every time I see a sign like this ..... .... it (probably) wasn't me who first coined the term. B

Thursday 27th November 2025 With Blackheath, Charlton and Plumstead tucked nicely under my belt, it was time to head more central for today's remaining three Good Beer Guide ticks of the evening. And I had the added twist of being joined by birthday boy and recently inducted pub ticker, Derby Rich. He'd just arrived in t'smoke for a long weekend of ticking, and before checking in at his East London digs, agreed to lug his rucksack around a couple of pubs we both needed. #22.

Tuesday 25th November 2025, 5:30pm Welcome back, I was 23 pubs away from London glory (completing the Greater London section of the GBG, not the Greene King beer), and after Richmond where I left you last time, I reach the wrong Putney station and cross the Thames on foot for my fifth pub on day two. #11. Eight Bells, Fulham (3161 / 6002) Chelsea are at home in Europe, bouncer on the door. The least pleasant 'Hull City badge clockage' of the week occurs. Bouncer looks skept