Trafalgar

It was the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar yesterday (21st October 1805) I remember as a kid visiting HMS Victory in Portsmouth on a school trip and it making a big impression on me at the time, I made sure that I took my kids to see it when they were old enough (a great day out BTW). In recent years I've also visited the Maritime museum at Greenwich and there they have a painting by JMW Turner of the battle (similar to the one above), it's an impressive piece, well worth a visit if you're ever out that way.

Bostonian Memories

Back in 2022 we took a trip to Boston (USA) we stayed there a couple of days and then toured around New England and even had a day trip up to Montreal in Canada, it was a great holiday. On our second day (July 4th) we saw representatives of the city read out the famous declaration of independence (yawn!) from the old British customs house (note the lion and the unicorn on the top of the building) in the middle of the city, I snapped this picture of the event (above) The speech itself was mildly interesting but like the Bible soon descended into petty parochial nonsense, mainly whining about having to pay tax, much like many right wing politicians do these days in the UK.

Water's back

It's been raining a lot here in the South East of the UK and on my walk today I noticed that my favourite little pond (see above) is starting to fill up with water again! I was worried that it had permanently dried out as it hasn't had water (or life) for many months now due to the drought we've been experiencing over the Summer. Hopefully it's back now and the little critters can return to brighten up my lunchtime strolls!

Sharks

Consumed a couple of weeks ago now, one of my favourite Verdant beers, the rather unusually named "ESNW" (which stands for Even Sharks Need Water", a classic Verdant IPA choc full of Citra and Galaxy hops that I've blogged about several times before. This example came as part of a birthday present from my Son who kindly bought me a subscription to a new Verdant product called "Books and Beers" where every two months you get sent a box with six beers (randomly selected) and a book to read. A novel idea (see what I did there..) 

Maltese Weekend III

 

There's a burgeoning wine scene in Malta, they still import most of their wines from Italy and France but there are a couple of producers on the island that I reckon could compete with mid to upper tier continental offerings. The first is a winery called "Ta' Betta" whose wines regularly score over 90 points (on the Parker scale) We had one of their wines "Philippe Villiers" at our hotel restaurant, it was delicious, a blend of Syrah and Cab Franc, it's a robust red, but has notes of tobacco, chocolate, graphite and green peppers (much like a good Southern Rhone or perhaps Cru Bourgeois from Bordeaux) It's seen some oak, and has very smooth tannins. I was impressed, and compared to the prices of equivalent French or Italian bottles on the same menu it was a steal (half the price), a very well crafted drink.

The other producer that's worthy of mention IMO is Marsovin, probably slightly more industrial in production than Ta' Betta but at the top end very good indeed. We had a bottle of their Chardonnay with an evening meal one night and it was super! Crisp, fruity with good finish and length, would easily outshine many cheaper Burgundies or new world examples at the same price point.

There are also a couple of noteworthy craft beer bars in town (Valletta) I snapped the beer board of one of them "67 Kapitali" which features (mainly) beers from a producer called "Lord Chambray" who are based in Gozo (the other island in the Malta archipelago) and beers from Huskie who are located nearer to Valletta in Qrendi which is just the other side of the airport from the city. The bar isn't limited to local beer though it also has a number of other European offerings including some from the UK including Verdant and Tiny Rebel as well as Spanish and German brews, you could easily spend an evening in here and not try the same beer twice.

There are also 7 Michelin starred restaurants in Malta, including a two star in Valletta (ION Harbour) by Chef Simon Rogan, famous for founding L'Enclume up in the Lake District (Cartmel) we didn't try it but the location and food looks outstanding. I guess that in addition to a few "kiss me quick" pubs in Valletta there's also a decent amount of cash on the Island (it is a tax haven after all!) and those folks love a star or two for dinner!

Eventually it was time for us to leave, we were quite sad to go, we'd had a good time and left feeling like there was much more to this little island to be discovered. As our flight was climbing out of the airport I snapped the picture above, it shows the Grand Harbour and Valletta  gleaming under the Mediterranean sun, goodbye for now, I'm sure we'll return someday.

Strange Loop

New Verdant beer on Saturday evening, a pale ale called "Strange Loop" which is a collaboration between Verdant and Big Scary Monsters. Classic Verdant murk hopped with Eclipse, Mosaic and Nectaron giving masses of ripe tropical fruits, sweet with a touch of dankness, delicious beer! (not sure about the label though?)

Maltese Weekend II

 

One rather macabre attraction of Valletta is a pub called (rather unimaginatively) "The Pub" (see above) it has become a shrine to actor Oliver Reed who, in 1999, while filming the blockbuster "Gladiator" with Russell Crowe stopped here for a drink. Reed (aged 61) who was an infamous alcoholic and hellraiser was apparently "off the booze" at the time but unfortunately for him was goaded into a drinking and arm-wrestling competition with some Royal Navy sailors taking shore leave from their ship (HMS Cumberland) docked in the harbour. 

It didn't go well for Reed, after 8 pints, a dozen shots of rum, half a pint of Whiskey and multiple shots of Cognac he suffered a massive heart attack. His fellow drinkers attempted artificial respiration but he died in the ambulance on the way to hospital. Inside the pub you can purchase a tee shirt marking this self-destructive drinking feat with the various libations listed on the back of it along with the word "Legend", I resisted the urge to buy one. 

Many of the drinking establishments in Valletta have a strong UK influence, several are simply London pubs transplanted to the Mediterranean island. I think this is why the place is so popular with a certain type of "Brit". I mentioned in the previous post that I felt the town had a certain "Benidorm" vibe to it, what I mean by this is you see a lot of places that appeal to the middle aged bald, tattooed, vaping English bloke who will be sporting a ManU football shirt and Adidas trainers. There are plenty of examples of such style icons wandering about and quite a few staggering about later in the evening. I suppose a place like this with guaranteed sunshine, cheap booze, English as the official language and a history that's steeped in British pub culture will be an attractive proposition for those looking for a Sunday Roast in 40 degree heat. I thought this side of the city was less appealing, but don't let that put anyone off the place, wander a little off the beaten track and you will find some real gems, local, authentic and friendly, it just takes a little research.

We booked a food tour for one of our days in Valletta and dutifully assembled with other foodies at 9:30am in the main square in front of the Parliament building. It was a nice little tour, about 4 hours along with cultural and historical sites in between the food stops. We learnt a lot about the city from our really friendly Maltese lady tour guide, she was also a keen home chef and was able to suggest interesting associations between food and culture as we went along, for example the way in which different influences have left their mark on popular island dishes. In the photo above is one of our food offerings on the tour. It's a rabbit terrine, that particular mammal being a very common source of protein in Malta however rabbits aren't native to the place, they were introduced by the Phoenicians back in 750BC as their sailors started to use the island as a strategic maritime hub, their rule lasted until the Romans took over in 218BC they introduced olives, the British introduced (predictably) curry!!

Valletta is surrounded by water, on one side you have the "Grand Harbour" (pictured above) and on the other Marsamxett Harbour, these bodies of waterfrontage were home to the British Mediterranean fleet and suffered terribly during WWII as the island is only 60 miles from Sicily and within easy bombing range of Italian and German planes of the time. Malta was awarded the George Cross by King George VI (see below) in 1942 in recognition of Maltese resilience during the Siege of Malta by Italy and Germany in the early part of the war. Some of the older buildings still bear the scars of shrapnel on their walls and the shadows of concrete gun emplacements and pill boxes are evident everywhere. There are many WWII museums and sites in Valletta, it's probably a mecca for WWII buffs, no doubt Al Murray visits regularly (probably)

Malta is also a source of some rather nice food and wine, industries that have been developing in the last few years and have become something of a upmarket alternative to the "pub" scene already embedded, more about this in part III

Friday Smirk

The boys discussing the various ethical and moral interpretations often applied to the different "holy texts". The amusing thing is that we all know what those Bronze Age story tellers were on about, it's only the passage of time and much vesting of interests that warps the words into "allegory and metaphor"..