Happy new year with a trip to the pubs of St Albans
by Martin Belam, December 31, 2025 Happy new year! As has become a tradition, I will be at the helm of the Guardian’s live blog for NYE later today. Before that we published a First Edition newsletter that I am rather fond of, as myself and my colleague Sammy Gecsoyler spent a day in St Albans visiting the museum and several pubs in order to discuss the state of the British pub industry and, frankly, on my part, to have some drinks. Enjoy!
Read it here: Wednesday briefing – What St Albans tells us about Britain’s changing pub culture
by Martin Belam, December 31, 2025 I do live blogging, news stories and quizzes at the Guardian, and help cover Eurovision and Doctor Who for them too. As a journalist and designer I’ve spent over 25 years building digital products for the likes of Sony, the Guardian, the BBC, the Natural History Museum, Arts Council England and Reach (formerly Trinity Mirror). You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com. Sign up to get my blog posts sent to you via email.