Enforced Sobriety

 Just before we went to Bristol, I started to have a problem with my mouth (or jaw, or ear...or something in short:  it was hurty).

The upshot of this was that a booked an appointment with my dentist for when we got back and on Friday I went.  When I came back I was a down a molar and (at my own request) numbed to fuck.

Actually, the experience in the chair wasn't as bad as I had feared (the dentist I had at age 9 has a LOT to answer for) but the post-op instructions rendered alcohol verboten for a couple of days.

I'm glad the appointment was relatively late in the day on Friday but when I got home I couldn't even really drink water, let alone beer or eat anything.

Yesterday I woke up dehydrated and feeling really grotty but as the day went on I managed to eat and drink a little (but still no beer) and the painkillers made things better.

Today, I'm clearly feeling better...

...there's a pause here because we had an abrupt power cut courtesy of a man, some loppers and proximity to an extension lead (sigh).

...anyhow - as I was saying Sunday I started to feel better although regular pain meds still necessary.  We had a walk to our "view point" in the sun so when we got back, I decided it might be OK to have a little bit of beer (Arbor Breaking Bread in a can, since you ask) and it was glorious.

Then, when I got back from work on Monday having met a few students who are embarking on a work experience programme with us and the boy asked whether I wanted a beer in someone else's beer garden.

We walked to the Crown and, joy of joys, aswell as Gun extra pale they had Oakham Citra.  Oh my word it was good.  So much so we had 3 pints and I came home quite drunk.  I still bypassed suggestion of wine with dinner, switching back to water instead but feeling very satisfied that this unpleasant dental episode seems to be mostly behind me now.

Just now I'm thankful for great brewers and great pubs - but also for modern dentists and dentistry techniques - oh, and shit-hot local anaesthetic. Bye bye tooth, it was nice knowing you...

End of the Week

 Big brother wanted to meet up and spend Friday afternoon moseying around and drinking beer.

We'd been unable to get together for about 9 months so we were looking forward to it.

We started at the Moor Brewery, sitting outside in the mild sunshine.  Bro likes his beer traditional with a good malty hit so viewed a hazy "Revival" with a quizzical eye.  However, having tasted it he declared himself very happy with the choice.

We thought something to absorb the beer was in order but the brewery doesn't do food of any sort at lunchtime so we asked the guy who was serving whether he'd mind if we got some pasties from Oxford Street.  He told us it was absolutely fine, so a foraging party was sent whilst we ordered another round.

I love the pasties but I can't remember having enjoyed them as much, ever.  Sitting outside, with lovely, and lovely family. An absolutely perfect moment.

Bro had heard about an old pub tucked away by the old fire station - obviously the Cornubia - so that was our next stop.  A pleasant amble along the harbour, good seating outside and exemplary table service.  As always the beer was traditional in nature, but enjoyed by all (including an Elland Porter for me which was a weird "middle of the day" beer but worked well).

After a couple of beers, there was a need to pop back to the flat so we decided to walk back that way, and for chaps to sort out the errand whilst Sister in Law and I pootled over to the Barley Mow.

We arrived and we greeted enthusiastically (of course) and we sat in our "usual" seat.

Whilst we were waiting for the chaps to appear, I felt bold enough to order beer for them both.  Bro arrived and accused his wife of taking liberties with ordering - I 'fessed up and we shared a smile.  Of COURSE I'd ordered him Fortitude since I knew that was the beer he would enjoy most.

We all took our leave at about 7.30pm.  I'd almost forgotten what it was like to be quite so sociable.

Yesterday was a quieter day for us so I suggested  we might want to try the Cider Box.  It had been heaving the previous week but we tried anyway.  Beer Buddy wasn't really that keen, he later admitted, because of the previous attempt but we settled in semi-shade, in the back road of a trading estate, listening to some old 45's on a turntable ordering via another different app and it was another version of perfection.

Today?  Around 5pm we'll pop out to the Barley Mow for a last couple, meeting our friend and near-neighbour.  Tomrrow, we're heading back down south to the land of Harveys.  A big culture change for sure but isn't variety the spice of life?

Stop being a curmudgeon

 ...I had to tell myself.

My day-semi-job is running a company which promotes digital skills and seeks to reduce the gap in digital access.

We tinker with all sorts of tech - from IoT projects to accept tweets and display it on an LED array, to helping people with mundane online tasks...and pretty much anything in between.

I remember when the Best Beer Buddy and I baulked at the "card only" policy at Small Bar a couple of years back (both of us liking to pay for beer with cash for...well, no good reason) but how, since the pandemic, we both prefer not having to handle cash.

So it occurred to me that my resistance to setting up a ShopPay account at the taproom at the weekend was the very definition of stupidity, since the Brewery is only minimising touch on devices, which is the logical conclusion to paying electronically.

I gave myself a good talking to and did a bit of "security" investigation of the ShopPay app and it seemed as good a virtual money platform as any to try out.  I attached my credit card to it, confident that not only are credit cards a better paying option online, but that my card provider is REALLY switched onto potential fraud evidenced by them having contacted me a couple of times in the past before I'd even realised I might have been compromised.

It didn't take long but I didn't expect to use it any time soon.

Then on Monday we decided to have a little amble around to the Cornubia for a pleasant pint of cask from a brewery we'd never heard of (and can't remember now) and then we thought that maybe we'd see whether the LHG Brew Pub was open and not too full.  

We were greeted, checked in and shown to a seat.  Order via the QR code, we were told.  Sure enough it was a shopfy shop front offering ShopPay as an option (along with others). I leapt into action, ordered a couple of drinks and my email address, then was given a 2FA code and the job was done.  Beer arrived in a moment or two via a cheery server.

I think we enjoyed being in the brewpub more than we have before but we couldn't quite put our finger on why.  Maybe the relative lack of people so noise levels were manageable; certainly not queuing at the bar was a bonus (I don't know why in this place, I hate their queues), even the relative lack of intervention in ordering was made up for staff who seemed very comfortable at their allocated job and made us feel welcome - I don't know, but I'll happily go back on that basis.

So yesterday in the sudden post-bank-holiday-heat, the boy said he wanted to see some leaves.  We walked along the river, through the new bits of Paintworks, then across the road to Arnos Vale cemetary. We walked up quite a stiff hill, but surrounded by trees and wildflowers and everywhere the sound of loud birdsong.  It was a genius move to make this somewhere not just to venerate the dead, but to amble through. 

At the top, we came out to the Wells Rd and then walked down the hill to the Oxford.  I feared they might not have anything interesting on, but I needn't have worried.  Two different BBF beers were there and we had a couple of each in a real pub with table service (but no online ordering).  We mourned the loss of the Thali restaurant that used to be around the corner so bought mushrooms at the Tesco instead and came home.

It's so good to see so many of our favourite watering holes adapting to change and (for the most part) not complaining about those changes. Bravo!