More beer

I have the day off today. I thought it would be for the best as I was at the 30th Norwich beer festival last night with a few mates.
It is held in St Andrews Hall, a beautiful setting usually used for choirs, orchestral works etc but one week a year it is turned over to "Camra" the campaign for real ale.


This is like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory for beer drinkers.
Below is one side of the main double sided bar with a smaller cider bar on the opposite wall.
To the right is Blackfriars Hall with food and the local Norfolk ales. There is also a huge marquee housing all the bottled beers and world beers.

Music is provided by various bands during the week, last night it was The Cawston Band playing everything from The Dambusters March and The Floral Dance to Queen and The Police. Very entertaining. There are also steel bands, skiffle, jazz, a string quartet and organ music, so something for everyone.

We even had bagpipes last night!

No too sure what these two were up to though. Maybe groupies or Scottish super heroes!

My own personal favourite beers were there of course, as Mark the brewer has been charging about running the cellar at the festival for years.

Mark owns and runs Beeston Brewery and when he is not clambering around on the racks changing barrels he tries to make sure we get to taste the best beers in the room. Cheers mate.

The festival made the local news for another reason this year. A sparrowhawk flew into the main hall on Monday when all the bars were being set up and decided to stay, perched quite happily in the rafters.

The R.S.P.B. spent hours with a dead pheasant tied to a piece of string trying to lure the bird out but to no avail. I didn't manage to get a picture but it got headline news in the local rag and no, we didn't get shat on.

Rugger and stuff

Lynn asked what I thought of the rugby World Cup Final.

Well, if someone had told me six weeks ago that we would lose in the Final, I would have been happy considering all the crap people were writing and saying about the "grumpy old men" of the "washed up with no chance of progressing past the pool stages" England squad.

The best team overall in the tournament ended up winning which is the way it should be.

As for the ref and the Australian fourth official, (the one who said it wasn't a try) well there's no point whinging because it wasn't given, well played the Springboks, move on.

Oh and well played Argentina for spanking France in the 3rd - 4th place play-off on Friday evening.

Next stop for England is a new squad with hopefully a few grumpy old men still around with a sprinkling of young talent to take the Six Nations after Christmas but with an eye on New Zealand and the next World Cup in 2011.

I will be blogging on my new i-mac after next weekend if Dive can get it hooked up for me.
No more p.c. for me, I have been converted.
We had some sweary fun on Saturday and Sunday after I bought it and we couldn't get on t'internet because BT are fucking crap and only send out installation packs for p.c.'s.
Never mind, I'm sure Big Bro can get it all sorted this week end.

There is also an impending regeneration on the cards for The Monkey God.
Dr Who does this every now and again and I can feel it in my bones so watch this space.

Waterloo II

So it's Au revoir to "Les Bleus" for this World Cup.

Into the Stade de France went the brave 15. Well 22 actually as there were also 7 substitutes, without whom we could not have beaten France.
They didn't have to face cannon but there was Sebastan Chaball, nicknamed "The Caveman".
I know how effective he is because he plays in the English Premiership for Sale.

14 points to 9 after a bruising encounter.
It may not have been pretty but the passion and commitment was there for both sides.
I'm nearly out of beer now after beating the Aussies last week and now France, with the Final next weekend against either South Africa or Argentina, a trip to the brewery is in order.
France will have their chance for revenge around Feb/March next year when we play them again in Paris in the Six-Nations tournament.
Should be interesting.

What a shame.......Never mind.

As a life-long rugby freak, with Leicester Tigers and England running through my veins, I would like to take the opportunity for a tiny little gloat.
O.K. so Gloucester beat us at home last night but this was just a bit of payback for them because we rather "stuffed" them in the Premiership Final last May. ( I was there, and it was awesome), and they were the better team, so that's one for Lynn.
The big story here is the exit of both Australia and the All Blacks. (that's New Zealand by the way).
There has been a lot of derogatory talk in the media from various parties within the Australia camp about the current World Champions, ( that's England by the way) but maybe eating a large portion of humble pie will take away the taste of their collective feet in their oversize gobs.

I feel for all the Aussies who get tarred with the same brush because I know quite a few from down under and they are all thoroughly good eggs.

I stick by my prediction that South Africa will win but my heart still says England.
Thanks to the French for coping with the "always peaking too soon" All Blacks who have, yet again not taken the pressure game.
With the Aussies it's over-confidence but New Zealand just didn't react to a fired-up France who were fighting for more than just national pride as they are the hosts for this World Cup.

Anyway, as the Aussies are no longer represented, I though I would celebrate.
I need some help from Kate on this as I'm not too sure what recipe is best for Roo.


I also need the perfect Australian (whine) to go with this. Maybe "shatto Mortlock"? definitely best served cold.
Dive, you are invited next weekend to celebrate one northern hemisphere side's guaranteed passage into the final.
I hope it's us but if not, then "bon chance mes amis" because William Webb Ellis should live north of the equator.

She's here !!

This looks kinda cool.

It's by a French born artist called Louise Bourgeois and titled Maman 1999.

It's 9 metres high and made from bronze, stainless steel and marble.

Dive dosn't go to London on Thursdays, now we know why.

Shelob springs to mind.