Friday Smirk

Jesus and Mo, on point as usual examining the true nature of God, I heard that he's rubbish with money too, always needs more apparently..

Nominated Drivers

 

So here's another lo/no beer on trial, this time from my favourite UK brewer Verdant. It's an IPA and is loaded up with the usual mix of US and AU/NZ hops and made in a clear style using Verdant's house yeast. It's a cracker, really flavoursome a satisfying drink in it's own right IMO, refreshing and complex, a great effort! A splash of lemonade transports me back to being a kid in the pub garden with my parents nursing a half of shandy, happy days! Luckily I have six cans so will be able to spread it out over the month, this one is a keeper, worth having a couple of cans in the back of the fridge for the nominated driver anytime..

Zero to Hero

We're sticking to our guns and doing "dry January" this month, it's going well and I must say it's not really any hardship at all, there are plenty of alternative options available these days. I'm trying some low/no alcohol beers including some from our local craft brewer Siren, the picture above shows their flagship beer, Soundwave, done in a low alc format. It's good, tastes ok and acts as a perfectly good placeholder for when we're watching a box-set or movie on Saturday evening. My Wife enjoys a G&T at the weekend and we got some no-alc gin from Sipsmith, I haven't tried it as shorts aren't my thing really but she says it's tasty enough. I've puchased a few different lo/no cans to try from different brewers, it'll be interesting to see how much variation there is between them all and if a favourite emerges!

Leopard's spots

 

I was walking past my favourite little pond yesterday and noticed a rather unusual pattern in the ice/frost that had formed overnight, a bit like Leopard's spots I thought. Not sure why that is or what causes such patterns, on the other hand perhaps I shouldn't think so much about things like this..

Glove down!

 

It's that time of year!

Midweek Mirth

Jesus and Mo working out their strategy to populism for the next quarter century?

End of Woke?

Well, it seems that the "Trudeau Era" in Canada has finally come to an end. After a decent innings of 10 years in power Justin Trudeau resigned his position as Prime Minister yesterday and will remain as caretaker leader of the Liberal party until a new one can be found. Trudeau is part of a popular political dynasty including his Father (Pierre) in the 70s and 80s who was also Prime Minister several times over that period and had continued his Father's "progressive" philosphy. 

Justin was well known for espousing progressive views, i.e. left-leaning and sympathetic to hot issues surrounding trans rights and open borders, many people dubbed him "the prince of woke" but perhaps the "virtue signalling" mask slipped somewhat over his term as he became embroiled in financial and social scandals such as pictures of him wearing "black-face" to attend a fancy dress party. He also oversaw the introduction of highly unpopular C-16 laws in Canada, compelling people (by law) to use correct pronouns for trans people, something unprecidented in the history of English common law, many arguing that compelling speech was an anathema to free speech. 

Recently Trudeau has been becoming more and more unpopular within his own party, sparking some high profile resignations lately. Things finally came to a head with the election of Trump in the USA who openly mocks the Canadian Prime Minister and is now suggesting not only that trade tariffs should be re-introduced between the two nations but that Canada itself should be subsumed into the USA!  A view previously considered strictly off the table for past US presidents. Hopefully our Canadian cousins will find someone with more of a spine to elect, someone who will not only grasp the many issues neglected by Trudeau (such as immigration) by the horns but also stand up to Trump, we shall see.