Low ABV crown

Had one of these over the weekend, it's a low alcohol table beer from Beak (Lewes, Sussex) called "Fjords". Now, I haven't had a Beak beer for a couple of years now, it's quite hard to get hold of and you don't see it much in beer fridges around the place. I managed to snag this one from the Elusive taproom in Finchampstead, they had a couple of Beak beers in their beer fridge this weekend, also known as, the "fridge of wonders"! The ale itself was good, smooth, creamy and full of hop flavour, in this case a mix of Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy a classic combo which puts this beer in direct competition with "People Money Space Time" from Verdant. It's a close run thing but for a low ABV table beer I think Verdant still takes the crown, keep trying though Beak!

Runny Hooters

Out on my daily walk yesterday and noticed these Horse Chestnut blossoms, such pretty things, never really noticed them before, apart from their pollen making my hooter run at this time of year!

Friday Smirk

The boys discussing the rather ludicrous rituals that pervade their respective religions, as we atheists often remark to our religious brothers and sisters. All those thousands of other religions are a bit daft, obviously fake and stupid, but yours, yours is the right one, no question.

Ted's dead baby..

Much sadness in our household as the news that Ted, the Patterdale Terrier on the program "Gone Fishing" has died was released today. Not often you see real character in an animal but this little chap was full of it, much like his two co-stars, so long Ted and don't forget your briefcase!

Sign o the times..

New (Banksy) statue in London, certainly a theme for our times, faux patriotism and (blind) nationalism on the rise (again!)

London Stories

A view of Battersea Power Station (are we allowed to call it that anymore?) looking up from the ground. 

We visited the recently renovated turbine halls and surrounding developments back in March of this year to visit an Egyptian exhibition going on in one of the warehouse-like buildings that are adjacent to the main power station building. Inside the station itself is an upscale (aka posh) shopping centre and various bars and restaurants, it's a nice space, very respectfully done, I believe you can also ascend one of the chimneys for what is probably a spectacular view from 100 metres up, we will return!

Midweek Mirth

Seems reasonable..

Memories

The recent warm weather in the UK reminded me of our trip earlier in the year to South Africa. Such a colourful and diverse place, we had a really great time there and ticked quite a few of our (retirement) bucket list items. I leave you with the view from our hotel room at our first stop Cape Town, it's the back of the famous Table Mountain which dominates the skyline of the city and provides a magnificent backdrop to the place. We vowed that we would return (kerosene availability permitting!) sometime in the next few years, being firmly in the Southern Hemisphere it's a great place to escape the grey, cold Northern Hemisphere months of January and February providing a welcome shot of Vitamin D and a boost to the old immune system when you need it most!!

New old beer

Soundwave is one of the original Siren beers (founded in 2013), I first came across it back in 2014 and at that time it tasted new and interesting as well as bloody delicious! Now Siren has reinvented the beer using bang up to date hop products and adjuncts, some of these include Columbus Cryo, Terpenes and various hop extracts. This translates into a light, dry, crisp and flavoursome beer, this one will be an absolute killer on a hot Summer day IMO, citrus fruits, dank, decent bitterness and a delicious grapefruit backbone running through it, I like it (still!)