Time

I was going through some old photo's the other day and found this blury image. It's from back in the early 80s when I was a student up in London, the chap in the picture was one of my mates back then and we lived in the same block of flats. He was a Welsh lad studying for a degree in Biology and I was doing Chemical Engineering we both liked photography (and a few pints) and spent a glorious Summer in 1982 running around East London snapping random pictures of fairly pointless things! I lost touch with him after we graduated and hadn't thought much about him until he turned up on my TV screen one day several years ago. His name is Iolo Williams and he hosted a Welsh nature show and more recently does Springwatch and that whole wildlife series on the BBC, I always remember him being fanatical about North Wales and nature, funny how the intersection of people, life and time pans out!

Smart Phones

So, today is the shortest day of the year, that time when our ancestors used to have anxioty attacks about whethere the Sun would ever return and warm their crops, or not... These days we know better. To be honest having survived a few years they should have done as well, but to give them their due, they didn't have smart phones so how could they have... (hint, observation)

Friday Smirk

J&M pointing out the last resort of many (usually left-leaning) intellectual blagards, the "ad-hom". The only good thing about it is that when you get to the point of being called a racist (or sexist) you've probably won the argument (unless you actually are racist or a sexist etc.)

Other People

 Love this, totally true, no greater impediment to productivity than "other people"...

New Bond Street

My goodness, some of the shops down New Bond Street go to town with their Christmas decorations! In the picture above is the Chanel effort, pretty decent! Others were even more elaborate, the whole street itself has become a tourist destination, thousands of people walk along it (blocking it up!) simply taking pictures, but not buying anything! I suppose it's good for PR, I can't help thinking that it's not much cop for business though! 

The Dior display was even more complicated, see picture below!

Blue Sky Thinking

We've been having some awfully dull weather in the UK this last few weeks and finally the skys cleared just in time for our trip to London last weekend. The clear up allowed me to take this Winter dusk scene looking out across the Thames from Waterloo bridge, love the slight amber light from the setting Sun reflecting off of the buildings, for me this view never gets old!

London Stories

Snapped the other evening while walking back through Westminster to the tube train. Big Ben looking splendid as ever but WTF is the little green thing next to the main tower, I didn't notice it when I took the picture but it looks to me like some kind of weird "Batman" style projection onto the clouds or possibly a strange optical artifact from the streetlights, anyway, makes an otherwise ordinary photo slightly more interesting..!

Top Beers of 2024 (11-20)

 

The first instalment of my top beers of 2024 runs from number 11 through to number 20, some tricky choices this year as the standard of craft beers in the country at the moment is still up there with the best in the world. A mixture of breweries and styles in the list which is good news for the health of the industry, anyway here’s the list.

11. Mucha Mora Mocha (Siren) - Brewed by Siren for their Barista project this year, MMM is an imperial stout weighing in at 9% ABV. Rich, dark, smooth and layered with chocolate and coffee in spades, wonderful viscous mouthfeel too.

12. Death by CCC (Siren) - Part of the Caribbean Chocolate series this year an amped up DbCCC is as good as it was last year, but more so!

13. Monchsbier (Northern Monk) - Picked up fairly randomly at the Siren tapyard this Oktoberfest lager was brewed by Leeds craft superpower Northern Monk. Lovely crisp and dry Pilsner, with a delicious lime vibe, very good indeed.

14. Soundwave Nectaron (Siren) - A classic around these parts, probably one of Siren's most popular beers this one deviated from the normal recipe through the addition of a different hop, Nectaron. I love the original but this one was even better IMO

15. Leffe Negre (Leffe) - Sampled at a Belgian bar in Seville, Spain this little beauty was new to me but tasted like a combination of dry Irish stout and trappist beer, an unlikely but winning combination, great balance and perfect weight.

16. First Light (Baron, Duration) - Nelson Sauvin, Waimea, Mosaic & Citra come together to create a layered symphony of flavour and aromas white wine, gooseberry, passion fruit, exotic citrus & spruce, with a satisfying dankness, excellent stuff from newcommer Baron.

17. Pale Fire (Pressure Drop) - Bog standard house pale ale but a real banger from Pressure Drop, if this is their default beer then I really must try more!

18. Firebreak (Fell Brewery) - Sampled on the way to picking up my Son from university in Scotland, I dropped into Penrith for a night and visited the Fell Brewery tap room. This pale ale with Nelson hops was the standout beer for me, a real gooseberry bomb!

19. Prism (Wiper and True, Siren) - Blends the full, balanced malt flavours of a great pilsner with crisp, satisfying hop bitterness that adds notes of pine needle and citrus. The beer is moreish, smooth, and very rewarding, a great collaboration, long may they continue!

20. Dream Sensations (Heart of Darkness) - A standout beer from our holiday to Vietnam and Cambodia this year. HoD is based in Saigon that was founded in 2016, we visited their tap room in the city and sampled a couple of beers, this IPA was world-class.

London Prices

You always hear people moaning about the price of beer in London (mainly Northerners) but if you're willing to travel a bit then it's perfectly possible to find a bargain. We found ourselves in Primrose Hill, one of the poshest areas of London, this weekend and stopped off with my Son at a pub called "The Albert" where the above sign was posted. Now, four quid for a pint is pretty decent anywhere in the UK currently and in the centre of London surrounded by Porsche's and Range-Rovers it's a positive miracle! Decent boozer too, nice vibe and good food, they even had Siren beer on tap!

Pearly Queen

More food treats this weekend in London as we visited Tom Brown's new restaurant called "The Pearly Queen" on Commercial Street (Aldgate) We'd tried his food previously back in 2018 at his place in Hackney Wick (Cornerstone) which is now closed and liked it very much, the new spot is just as good, the picture above shows my main course which was "Hake Kiev", essentially a roll of Hake (fish) with a garlic and truffle centre on a bed of pureed artichoke, absolutely fabulous!

Birthday Treats

A birthday treat for me back in October this year. The wonderful Casse-Croute in Bermonsey Street, London, the quintissential French bistro experience. Classic food cooked simply but tasty as feck, in the picture above you can see roasted duck, red-cabbage with hazel nuts and fancy mashed potato, fabulous with a hearty Malbec from Cahors!

London Stories

The seven gates (through London wall) into and out of the City of London, all of which were demolished by the 1760s in order to increase traffic flow (what were they thinking!) Anyway most of these are remembered via streets or tube stations, shame the residents of the City back in 1760 didn't think to move them rather than smash them up, still, I'm not sure we'd be smart enough to do it now..

Sausage Heaven

 

We often catch the train up to town (London) from home and to get to the station we have to walk through the town. Quite often we're leaving early in the morning and one of our favourite things to do is to stop off at a local cafe and neck one of their delicious sausage sandwiches! Locally butchered meat and lightly toasted sourdough bread, the perfect start to any journey!

Friday Smirk

 Bollocks indeed

Sureshot

Remembering my trip to Manchester last month and the superb beer trail that we followed around the city centre. In the picture above you can see the Sureshot taproom, under the arches of Piccadilly station. I'd never sampled their beers before but they were really top notch! I had a classic Westy and the other chaps had a couple of dry-stouts, we only stayed for one as we had to move on but I made a mental note to return at some point and try a few more of their brews, maybe next Summer!

Sport-Washing

I see that Saudi Arabia have been awarded the 2034 World Cup, like Qatar, another "sport-washing" exercise that I won't be watching (no not even if England do well).

In the mood

It's getting alarmingly close to Christmas now, only a couple of weeks to go but I can't say I'm really "in the mood" yet. Still, I picked up a few cans of Siren beer at the weekend that will hopefully help the process (see above), it was a tasty little pale ale too, ho ho ho etc...

Departing butchers

Nice to see that one of the world's worst butchers of innocent people, Bashar al-Assad (left) has finally been removed from power and fled his native country of Syria. It's currently a mystery where's he's gone but any country that shelters him from facing a war crimes trial in the Hague is equally culpable of them in my view, no doubt he'll pop up at some point somewhere warm and sandy (or cold and Russian speaking) with a wad of stolen cash. I must admit though that I fear that there are a few more twists and turns left in the Syria story and the new regime may not be a paragon of democracy or secular common sense that we would all like. The other bloke in this picture also ranks pretty high on the list of the world's butchers, we can only hope that he suffers the same fate as al-Assad.

New Westy

A new collaboration between Duration (Norfolk) and Verdant (Cornwall) called "Essentials" this West Coast IPA is lighter than the usual offerings from these guys, weighing in at only 5% it's a perfectly on point Westy. Ample grapefruit and bitterness with a lovely dry finish, very easy to drink and great with food.

Friday Smirk

This would be funny if millions of otherwise intelligent people didn't believe it's actually true..

Climate swaps

What with the series of Atlantic lows moving over the UK this weekend bringing gale force winds, rain and arctic air it made me think back to March this year and our trip to Vietnam and Cambodia where it was blue skys and mostly 30-40 degrees, if only we could swap, just for a day or two! The picture above is the wonderful Angkor Wat temple complex and an example of how the jungle is slowly moving in and reclaiming some of the buildings after a thousand years, an impressive place.

Midweek Mirth

Can't beat a bit of magic..

Meaningless

The technology industry is full of people like this, usually hired by people who don't know the first thing about the technology their companies create and who are supposedly in charge of those technology companies.. (it's more common than you think!) If I've learned anything over the last 30 years in software it is that I'll never again work for a tech company that's run by someone from sales, marketing or finance, but then again I learned this lesson too late, I'm retired now.. (doh!)

Tuesday Titter

 

I loved Dr. Seuss when I was a kid, must have missed these editions tho..

Saturday wine treats

 

We treated ourselves to one of my old Bordeaux bottles on Saturday evening and opened this 1998 Ch Leoville Lascases. It's a wine I bought back in the early 2000's and I remember paying around £400 for a case of 12 bottles, I thought this was expensive at the time (£30 a bottle) but these days you'd struggle to pick up a case of this wine for less than a couple of thousand. Still, the wine was on top form, singing from the glass no signs of any deteriation, inky, red and black fruits with great body and concentration. A top wine from a less than top vintage, still well and truly alive after a quarter century in bottle.

Firsts

I visited my mum for a spot of lunch in Farnham on Friday afternoon and at the same time achieved a couple of firsts! 

First time I'd taken the train rather than drive which was revelatory. I always imagined that the train would be torturous as it involves a change at a little place called "Ash" but in actual fact it was easy, the trains linked up perfectly and the whole journey only took 40 minutes which is quicker than driving (and less stressful!) My second first was visiting the new craft beer bar in the centre of town called the Borough Beer House (picture above) it was a nice space and the beers were excellent, I had a pint of London Black while waiting for my return train it was very well done (see picture below) correct glassware and tasted great, all in all, a successful afternoon in deepest Surrey!

Criminal?

I see that long time Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace has been suspended by the BBC over "historical misconduct" (of a sexual nature) allegations. I could never see what the attraction was with Wallace, a green grocer who's done alright for himself, we usually turn the channel over if we see his perma-grinning face on the TV, but, each to their own I suppose? Anyway, having heard some of the allegations against him all I can say is that, so far what I've heard is clear-cut, he's a complete dick-head (no surprises there then...) but perhaps not a "criminal". It'll be interesting to see what emerges over the coming weeks.

Friday Smirk

Jesus and Mo in touch with the zeitgeist as usual, although, I know about baking too??

Best Ad Ever?

Could be..

Midweek Mirth

When travelling up the country by rail last weekend I had two of my planned trains cancelled on me, there seems to be a trend at the moment of our rail service getting worse and worse, the patience of travellers is being pushed more and more to the max, at some point I feel someone will say enough is enough and nationalise the whole thing again. I'm not sure that will solve all the issues but I guess it's a decent stick to beat the operating companies with while it lasts..

Tech Support

I must admit I do feel like this when I call Virgin Media support because my internet connection has gone pop, I usually end up doing what they tell me though, eliminating the obvious problems tends to be quicker that way..

Too polite

Always worth taking a look back to see what Hitch said about things, I find you can't go far wrong with most of it, whenever I'm told I must "respect" a religious view I think of this quote (even if I'm too polite to say it!)

Moving Tudors

I had an hour or so to kill before my train home from Manchester yesterday so I took a wander around the city centre, being Saturday morning it was pretty deserted, the shops were only just opening and people were hurrying to their destinations through the classic "Manchester drizzle". There's something odd about a city with no people in it, anyway, I snapped this photo of one of the few remaining Tudor buildings in the city. Built in 1552 it's had many functions over the years and was famously raised up by 5 feet in order to fit in with the redevelopment of the square in the 70s, apparently there's very little remaining of the original building as it was rebuilt to meet modern building regulations prior to being moved to it's current location.

Manchester Mission

 

I took a little trip up North to Manchester on Friday to meet up with some mates and to tour the breweries and craft beer bars around Piccadilly Station and the Northern Quarter. I was a bit worried travelling up there as the weather reports were a little alarmist and once we got onto the Cheshire plain (see picture above) it was quite evident that they'd had a lot more snow than we have down South! Anyway, Manchester itself was fine and the day was bright and sunny (mostly) but freezing cold.

We kicked off preceedings at the Track Brewing Company tap room in the industrial estate round the back of the station and what a wonderful place it was, large and airey with a fabulous selection of beers. I opted for an old faithful, Sonoma on cask, it was great and hardly touched the sides after my 3 hour train ride! I snapped the picture below of their beer board, in fact this is exactly half their beer board, if you can find something you like here then the problem is most definitely you!

After track we struggled through the ice and snow a massive 50 yards across the road to the Cloudwater taproom (it's on the same street as Track!) where the vibe was less industrial and a little more "Jazz Funk", a great little space and another wonderful selection. I opted for a half of their Piccadilly porter which was lovely, malty, dark and rich (see below)

After Cloudwater we walked back towards the station to the arches under the main platforms where the Sureshot taproom resides. I had a nice Westy and the other chaps stuck with the dark beers, a slightly smaller selection that the others and I'd never tried Sureshot before but I can recommend them, it was good tasty brewing!

The afternoon progressed and we sampled beers in the Piccadilly Tap, the Port Street Beer House and then the Marble Arch (which I've previously visited) We ended up at Bundobust, an Indian street food and craft beer joint for a nice curry and a couple more beers, we finished the evening off at around 8pm and I headed off to my hotel for the night with a full belly and happy heart, suffice to say I slept like a log!

Saturday Smiles

When you just have one job...

Memory Drain

Who remembers the year 2020? During that Summer the severe lock down that started in March was eased and we were allowed to go out and buy things from shops as long as we stayed 2m apart from each other! The photo above shows the queue at our local craft brewery on a Saturday morning of people waiting to purchase cans of beer for the weekend. Only one customer was allowed in at a time, the whole process took about half an hour, strange times!

The Full Set

The full set of CCC beers for 2024, I've tried them all now and my favourite is still the chocolate orange one. "Death by CCC" is also great but at 11% ABV it's lethal, fortunately it only comes in little 330ml cans and one of those is plenty!

Power of the Pun

 

Love things like this...

Setting Sons

Released on 16th November 1979 (45 years ago!!) this album was very pivotal in my life. I saved my Council grant up and bought it during first year at University and played it non-stop with the girls I shared a flat with, we loved it. It sounded so modern and clean with brilliant lyrics by (mostly) Paul Weller that we all sang along to, Eton Rifles became a classic.. Happy (uncomplicated) days.

Rocky Road

The second of my CCC 2024 beers, enjoyed on Saturday evening. This one is a more classic dark (stout) beer, flavours of chocolate, coffee and a nice sweet backnote, not too cloying and smooth as you like, another winner from the CCC release this year, I still prefer the Chocolate Orange one though!

CCC time

It's that time of the year again, CCC (Caribbean Chocolate Cake) and Siren have delivered another four fabulous dark beers, perfect for the season. This one (pictured above) stood out for me this year, it's a spin on the idea of a chocolate orange (one of my favourite kinds of chocolate) it's not that dark but tastes just like a stout style beer, the orange comes through really well and marries perfectly with the chocolate flavours from the Cacao nibs a really nice drink.

Big Moon

Went for a cheeky pint with my Son in Farringdon (London) yesterday evening, snapped this rather splendid super-moon while walking back to the tube station, amazing how much bigger it looks when viewed at a shallow angle like this!

Friday Smirk

Jesus and Mo pointing out the downside for believers to omniscience and it's obvious contradiction with an "all loving" God, as famous Atheists have pointed out in the past, why did a loving God make us so that we don't believe... (hint: a more obvious conclusion is that it's all man-made baloney) 

Wind yer neck in Wes

There's an interesting debate going on within political circles at the moment regarding the upcomming vote on assisted dying. Obviously there are differing views on this highly emotive subject, it's an ethical minefield and unfortunately I fear that emotion (and magical thinking) may get the upper hand on reason, again! 

The Health Secretary Wes Streeting has been running around doing media spots and making his views very clear, he's a Christian (not sure what flavour?) and is against the bill. While Wes is perfectly entitled to his view, secular leaning people (like me!) are also entitled to be a) suspicious of his motivations and b) not keen on the idea that a cabinet member of the Government (who are supposed to be neutral on this issue) is running around offering his strident (and narrow) view to anyone that will listen (without any counter). 

I see that today the Cabinet Secretary (Simon Case) has spoken to ministers and told them that they should "exercise discretion and should not take part in the public debate". On a free vote like this, that's the way it should be, so my view would be that perhaps Wes should wind his neck in!

Full Swing

Autumn is in full swing here in the SE of England, as you can see in the photo, it was a perfect day yesterday as I went for my constitutional walk at lunchtime, a nip in the air but blue skys and sunshine..

Midweek Mirth

This gag will be completely meaningless if you've never seen the recent TV series about the feckless spooks of Slough House run by the unforgettable (and gross) Jackson Lamb, played by Gary Oldman. One of our favourite binge-worthy shows (now into series 4) of the last few years, excellent stuff!