Greetings friends from the sanctity of BRAPA Towers, where you find me recovering from my Northumbrian exploits with much strong tea, lemon juice and cheese & onion omelettes.
Here's an accurate depiction of my Good Beer Guide ticking progress in Feb, with me as the cat and the lady as any pub north of Alnwick.
53 new ticks (not to mention 8 promising pre-emptives) signify a good month. Not quite as many as I achieved in 2022 or 2023, but well above the 36.8 Feb average.
In fact, my final tick of the month was my 100th of the year so far. The speediest I've ever reached that target. And even more significantly (for me at least), it was my 2,681st in the current GBG, meaning I'm back in credit after the 2023 'churn', where I was forced to declare on 2680. I don't normally reach this target until early April. This bodes well for the rest of the year.
59.5% of the way through the Guide at the time of writing.
A snowy day on the Lancs/Merseyside border was the monthly highlight
Pub and beer wise, I must confess Feb '24 hasn't been a sparkling vintage. But plenty of highlights. I won't spoil my forthcoming Northumbrian blogs but elsewhere, honourable mentions must go to the Beer EnGin at Whiston, Arden Inn at Accrington, Ship at Lathom and Prince Albert at Westhead, just outside Ormsirk.
Arden, Accrington. Feel the old skool quality.
Dishonourable mentions must include the Trap & Hatch at Waterloo, the Pub in Todmorden, D'Ale House in Rochdale and Hare & Hounds at Bamford.
Shady opening hour shenanigans at the Trap & Hatch
Now for my favourite (and hopefully not boring or self indulgent in any way!) part of the blog, where we break down those 53 ticks into counties, to see how I'm progressing.
85% completion in this fantastic part of the world, just six remain, but I'm planning a #ThirstyThursday (or two) when the weather warms up, plus I'm in advanced talks with Daddy BRAPA about a car day. Rothbury has become the unfortunate outlier I'm not sure I can be arsed with until the 2025 Guide when I have stuff to pair it with.
As mentioned earlier, I won't talk highlights or lowlights because I'm going to do a countdown of 'worst to best' in the coming week, so here's the coast at Low-Newton-by-the-Sea as a clue.
After a couple of years away, I've decided to mop-up the never too onerous GMR in '24, though the standard hasn't been particularly kind to me so far. Credit to Cheadle Hulme's Cross Keys and Stretford's Longford Tap, nod of respect to Manchester's Bundobust Brewery and Beer Shop Heaton Moor too.
86.2% complete, but I think I'll be completing it, to coin an annoying work term, on a 'best endeavours basis'.
Surprisingly warm and homely at Stretford's Longford Tap
No point showing you the map, just imagine a happy scouse green blob! 100% completion on the Mersey for the first time in BRAPA history.
And plenty of Liverpool pre-emptives done too in a (probably) futile attempt to stop me returning to this wonderful pub and beer city in 2025.
Seriously, why isn't Liverpool spoken about in the same regard as beer tourist hot spots Norwich, York, Derby, Sheffield and Gillingham? Too much perceived 'culture and fame' already so doesn't need praising for its beer is my guess.
Our new mate Leanne does the decisive tick at Whiston's Beer EnGin, ably assisted by Colin
I've NEVER had a fully green Lancashire before. Despite years of trying. 2024 has to be the year, I won't get a better chance. (Well, I did actually, last edition before they included a load of rural nonsense on the Preston-Lancaster road, but we'll conveniently ignore that fact!)
But in a happy twist of fate, a combination of Northern Fail strikes, Hull City's brilliant decision to play away at Preston cos no one else wants to, a plus Daddy BRAPA's all round legendness might help us out here.
And later in March, I'm meeting a Twitter/X icon, so the future looks bright for Lancs. 85% complete at the time of writing.
Cheap Old Peculiar in Burnley 'Spoons on a wet Thursday afternoon - strangely life affirming
The eagle eyed of you might be able to spot the one pub I need in Tyne & Wear after my Newburn/Old Ryton mop up, and that is at Whitburn on the coast (ignore some overly enthusiastic highlighting near South Shields which has splurged south into the sea).
Bit of a Rothbury style outlier at this point, not sure if I'll attempt it this year, but never say never.
Saturday evening outdoor drinking 'joy' at the Olde Cross
Another 100% completion, in fact the 9th consecutive year I've managed a fully green West Yorkshire which is no mean feat when you remember those Lockdown Years™
Greetland Club on a hill near Halifax was the decisive pub this time. Daddy BRAPA, assisted by Ivor Panda (below), did the honours here, meaning he is joint first with RetiredMartin (South Yorkshire), Whiston Leanne (Merseyside) and South Cave Bear Bloke (East Yorkshire) for county completions this year.
And there we have it, I'll let you go now. Here's to plenty more ticks in the month of March where Lancashire, the Midlands and plenty of guest tickers are high on the agenda.
The Olde Cross pic is brilliant, can't remember where it is but makes me want to be there now.
I agree with you on Merseyside, better than Norfolk. I think better beer and I know you're not allowed to say that.