Thirsk sits snuggled in North Yorkshire, in the heart of what the tourist board is anxious to call Herriot Country. It’s an old-fashioned market town built around an imposing square and has a population of 4500 which doubles when the neighbouring villages of Sowerby and Carlton Miniott are included. And triples when the races are… Continue reading Thirsk
Perth
Perth has been a site of human habitation for at least 8,000 years. It’s a former capital of Scotland, it has grown to a population of over 50,000 people, and it is with just cause known as “the Fair City”. Because its wealth is based more on agriculture than industry, it is to an extent… Continue reading Perth
Stirling
Stirling, ancient capital of Scotland, where Highlands and Lowlands meet, historical heart of this great nation and home to (most of) the Midnight Plumbers. Again, much is written about this town, but this unique guide will tell you what the other guides won’t. You can be sure, dear reader, that the information herein is derived… Continue reading Stirling
Garrison Savannah
Garrison Savannah is a small town in Barbados, two miles outside the capital Bridgetown. It grew up around the military barracks which gave it its name. A name, of course, shared by the top class chaser which won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1991 and was runner-up in the Grand National the same year. It… Continue reading Garrison Savannah
Hamilton
Hamilton lies just 11 miles south of Glasgow off the M74 motorway and has never really managed to escape from its bigger neighbour’s shadow. The town often displays a grey and depressed mien, although this is belied both by its inhabitants, who are amongst the friendliest and most accommodating in the land, and the fact… Continue reading Hamilton
Dublin
It would be pointless for us to try and write a full guide to Dublin; the bookshelves are groaning with guides to this remarkable city, and any attempt to write a pub guide would be almost derisory. So what we have here is the merest flavour of the city distilled from the bits we probably… Continue reading Dublin
How to Bet
This section goes through everything you need to do to place your bet. You probably want to know beforehand just what type of bet you are going to place so make sure you read the Types of Bet section too. There are four main ways to place your bets and we will look at the… Continue reading How to Bet
Kelso
The Midnight Plumbers guide to the beautiful Scottish border town of Kelso, home to Britain’s friendliest racecourse and a plumbers’ favourite.
Pretty Boy Floyd
Born in Barrow County, Georgia, in 1904, Charles Arthur Floyd, alias "Pretty Boy", participated in the Kansas City Massacre in 1933 when four law enforcement officers, including one FBI Special Agent, were killed. A leading light in the classic age of American gangsters, Pretty Boy was up there with John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde and… Continue reading Pretty Boy Floyd
John L Sullivan
Recognised as the first heavyweight boxing champion of the world, John Lawrence Sullivan was born in Boston, USA, in 1858. Son of a quick-tempered Boston Irishman, he at first attempted to learn a trade, being for a while an apprentice plumber, tinsmith and stonemason. However, as some journeymen colleagues of Sullivan painfully found out, John… Continue reading John L Sullivan