Refusenik

 On Friday the flat became stupidly hot so we decided to leave a little early. It wasn't quite as hot out as the the day we went to the Cornubia carefully scutting between patches of shade so this fooled us a bit.

We set out, sensibly enough, maybe with the possibility of going to Martha's.  But, instead we towards the Cider Box to check out the work that was happening around the new University buildings.  "Wanna turn around?" he asked as we passed the Cider Box.  "I'm fine,", I said after he had confirmed he wasn't in the mood for cider.

So we walked.

Past the Rhubarb with its sad facade and the chances of it being a pub diminishing by the minute.

It got hotter and the amount of shade diminished.

We crossed the railway (coincidentally I saw an old picture of the area just the next day) and decided to head onto the cyclepath "because it'll be shadier".

It wasn't.

We arrived at the Barley Mow knackered, hot and abolutely gagging for a pint.

Our pints of Notorious disappeared considerably quicker than usual. Even the BBB who almost never goes anywhere without a jumper admitted that it had been too hot and that he was knackered after walking a mere 2 miles.

So yesterday I definitely wasn't going far. We took games to Marthas instead - it was a good move.

We're heading south tomorrow and coastal Sussex promises to be a good few degrees cooler than here.  I can't say I'm sorry.  

Our neighbour messaged today to say she'd done as we'd asked and picked some tomatoes from our front garden.  This means there will be some in the back garden that also need our attention.

It's possible, also, that I've already ordered beer to be delivered...let's hope the aircon on the trains home is working... 

 

Jus' Checking

 Wiper and True taproom is not a place we go to often, despite being only a shortish walk away.

It's not that we don't like their beers, exactly, and it's not that we don't think they've done an excellent job on making a wonderfully inclusive-feeling space it's just that, well...it doesn't quite work for us, for some reason, and then there's the prices of the beers.

There's just something about all of it added together that doesn't make it somewhere we rush to.

I guess if it were as close as LHG, we might go more often on the way to or from some form of errand. But I like LHG a little better than W&T.

Nevertheless, yesterday with a slight reduction in the weather temperature I'd suggested we stroll over there and take a couple of urban grunge photos on the way (I've got the rest of a 24exp film to use, develop and scan before we head back on Monday).  He was happy with the suggestion.

We enjoyed the stroll which wasn't too warm and we took a slightly backstreet route so that was fun.  When we arrived, there was one cask on - fine.  It was called "Summer Ale" (3.8%) with no further description on the pump clip, so without any more ado we ordered two pints of it. (It's possible there was a fuller description on the big board behind the bar, but there's a lot to take in and we were served the second we arrived at the bar.)

Here's a problem with a bar that's a bit tall (it's about the height of my chest) - you can't always see what glass your drink is being poured into so you can't leap in and beg for straights over jugs.  Also, you don't really see your beer until it's lifted onto the bar (especially at my height).  

The beer was BROWN!  So that was a bit of a shock for a beer with "Summer" in the name.

The prices haven't shifted hugely (unlike some places) but at £5.60 for a pint of your own 3.8% beer, it still feels a little on the nose.  £1 or so more expensive than BBF in the BM, and about the same for all the beers in the Cornubia.

Nevertheless, we grabbed our beers and took them out into the garden, grabbed a seat and settled in.  Actually, I was really glad we did order it.  If it had been described as "bitter" or "brown" I wouldn't have ordered it and although I wouldn't want a second, it was really well done, and very enjoyable.  

The place started to fill up with a wide range of people (I love that - mostly) including a couple of families with ankle-biters. They weren't badly behaved but there was a lot of running around between all the tables and squealing with excitement.  It was less than relaxing, it has to be said.

We carried on chatting about the usual shite, I imagine. Then it was time for a second.  We generally like to try different beers to each other, but it wasn't feasible.  From the seemingly large and long list, actually there weren't many second-beers (loads of low and no, 3 different 7%+ IPAs, 2 or 3 lagers, one stout.,,etc) so we had Sundance a really solid 5.6% IPA which was lovely. (2/3rds - obvs).

We took in the variety of plants in the beer garden (vine, apple and fig trees, etc) and mused over food in pubs (he increasingly not wanting to eat in pubs, me still thinking there's a right sort of food at the right time).  We definitely want to go to both a Desi pub and to Bundobust - and we'll sort that out at some point.

Time for one more before leaving to start making dinner, using up the fridge contents.  Half of an 8% DIPA and 2/3rds of a 7.2% IPA.  Again, really well brewed beers which we enjoyed drinking.

And yet, I doubt we'll be going back there for a while - unless it's someone else's venue of choice.

Maybe the size is the issue:  weird when empty and overwhelming when full.  Yesterday everyone was outside and as it got noisier (and hotter) it might have been quite nice to retreat inside, except that we'd then have been outnumbered by the bar staff which always feels weird.

Yeah, I dunno.  I'd recommend it to people without hesitation and yet, it's not quite me. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cornubia

 This is a pub I've been going to on and off for ...eeep, about 25 years???

The first manager/landlady I remember was no nonsense and a little bit scary.  I once took my beer back because it was off, I was quite nervous but she caught my eye and immediately said "oh, sorry, has it gone?" What else would you like?  Before I'd uttered a word.

I vaguely remember that Smiles had taken it on at some point to give them a bit more of a pub "estate" - but I don't think that lasted long. 

Then I remember Luke Daniels (of Bag of Cats fame) being there - I think I also knew him from the Hare on the Hill (same time, different time?  Who knows?) 

I don't really have much recollection of the change to Phil and Jackie - but that's probably because I wasn't working nearby any more but, anyway, it was about the time I first took the BBB to a pub in Bristol.  I'd hoped to take him to the Kings Head but it wasn't open (this is long before Good Chemistry's intervention) so, instead, we popped around the corner.

He was amazed loved it immediately.

This was a long time before our taste-drift towards the "fecking hipster".  But the Cornubia has stayed true to its traditional roots and doesn't seem to have made any radical changes since they sadly lost Phil.

What this means, of course, is that we don't always find ourselves in the mood for their beer - no matter how excellently kept it is (and it always is).

Yesterday it was a tad cooler but the temperature was still rising when we want to go out and so we thought going too far might not be a brilliant idea.  So we went and sat in the garden of the Cornubia.

It's brilliant to see it bustling and lively with maybe 50 or more punters in the garden.

Our first two beers (cask, natch) - straddled the modern-traditional  boundary deftly.  Mine 3.8 "golden" and his 4.2 "Electric...something" (sorry, can't remember the brewery).  We could have moved somewhere else but we were happy enough. He then had Twisted Oak "Quad Hop or something" and I switched to the Citra.  We were very happy.

 Long live the Cornubia (let's hope the "developments" nearby don't seriously affect its character)!

 

Beaking a Habit

 In the end we managed to stay in the flat yesterday longer than we thought.  When we ventured out it was about 34-deg.

Temple churchyard was soothing and tolerable but the church itself had already closed.

After pictures were taken we sought sanctuary in the Kings Head.  I normally wouldn't even look at keg for a first drink if there's cask on the bar but I was really hot and felt the need for cooling keg.

Abbeydale 3.8% was perfect for the job.

I followed this with Good Chemistry NEIPA at 5% and then had a repeat whilst his last one was a De La Senne Saison.

All was good.

We came home via Tesco where cold things were bought for dinner (bread, charcuterie, salad, hummus) which we had a little later than usual, accompanied by decent Italian Red we'd been keeping in the fridge.  The aim of keeping the wine in the fridge is for storage rather than drinking from...but we made an exception and it worked admirably.

Not quite so hot today but we'll still need to escape... 

First World Problems

 When we bought our Bristol flat, within sight of Temple Meads - it solved an immediate problem: a non-driver needing to travel between Sussex, Hertfordshire and Bristol.  When a parent moved into a carehome, it meant trips to Bristol were stressfree and visits could be met pretty easily even without a car (Train from Eastbourne, tube to Paddington, Train to Bath, Bus to Saltford, Parental visit, Bus to Bristol).

What I particularly fell in love with the first time I came to see the showflat was the glass curtain walls which give an all-round view.  Even better when the flat we had to buy as there were few left, was on the 10th Floor.  The view is superb.  When the BBB came to view it, he was similarly minded and wasn't sure why I'd waited for him to see it before making an offer.  

It's really energy effcient - rarely needs the heating on until November and it's usually off again by March and we can leave it alone for a few weeks and, generally speaking, it's unchanged when we return.

There is one downside - sunny summers.  

Today another heatwave is about to peak and, without any form of aircon, in an hour or so it'll become unbearable as the sun swings around.

We have a plan, though, we wandered to Temple Churchyard a few days ago and had a brief visit inside the church.  The gardens there are beautifully shaded and there's seating.  We need to take a few more film photographs so in a bit we'll amble around there making the most of the shade from street trees and try and keep sane for a bit.

What's that you say?  Is there beer near there?  What do you think? 

 

Don't be a Dick

Been reading a few things about whether beer festivals are fit for purpose in terms of making sure attendees feel safe and welcome.

This post from Boak and Bailey pretty much brought all the threads together for me.  It led me into a breakfast rabbit-hole following all the links.

I'm an introvert but no longer overly shy, as such.  I'm a part-time pensioner, still part-time working - I'm of Hobbit-like proportions and, not unlike one of the writers down that rabbit-hole, scruffy (jeans, t-shirt, slightly unkempt hair, you get the idea). However, I did also inherit my mother's withering "I beg your pardon?" look.  Let's face it, I was never someone who men would have looked at as a "first choice pull". I'm also (now, at least) immensely glad of all of this.

I'm mostly disappointed that sexism when it comes to drinking establishments is still a thing.

A good few years back, when I still lived in Bristol full time, I was coaxed into being the Bristol Beer Festival set-up manager for a few years. My pal from work was the treasurer, and said 

"look, you're a good project manager and that's what set-up needs".  

What he meant was 

"no one else likes doing that job because you have to tell people what to do, and they don't like it much"

It meant going to regular planning meetings with the rest of the committee.  Thankfully, the Bristol and District group were, on the whole, a good bunch and there were some brilliant women in the group - some alongside their partners, others on their own.  I was single at the time I started doing the role and, to be honest, it was a manageable way to at least pretend to be sort of sociable.

I mean, obviously it was still a bit of a boys' club - but I never really felt anything other than part of the team.  I also had my pal looking out for me to an extent.

Also, for context, I should say I worked in insurance in a niche area and project-managed with the IT dept.  Sufficient to say I had to deal with all sorts of men A LOT - some in positions of power, others in sales, others in roles junior to me - also straddling that "project manager" can mean something very specific an with a slightly grudging "you're not my line-manager, you can't tell me what to do" stuff.

Insurance was (I've been out of it for 15 years so who knows, now) a very patriarchal, hierarchical industry so women do have to learn techniques for dealing with stuff.

Anyhow - my first day on-site for a 3-day set-up was hard. I had a checklist and my pal had given me a list of "here are the documents you HAVE to make sure you get".  

All that said,  I really didn't know what it took to set up a medium to large festival and the timing that was needed to get everything on site in the right order - with getting the beer ready being the highest possible priority. 

In retrospect, I would have done better if I'd volunteered without a specific role before taking that on - but hey, I didn't and I'd agreed to do the job - so I just had to get on and do it.

 I think I was pushing 50, at the time.  Even so, a little younger than the mean age, I would guess.

Several of the folk who were actually doing the set up tasks had been doing the role for a few years and that made some of it a bit easier but there were far more "general helpers" who are there to do whatever is needed and it was my job to point them to an appropriate team to help, whilst fielding the "when is the xxxx arriving" questions and chasing suppliers, etc.  

The vast majority of the folk in the room were really fun to work with, it was impressive they were willing to give up so much free time to put the festival on.  Most were also gracious when asked to explain a particular thing when we were trying to work out how to overcome problems.  They also liked my willingness to get my hands dirty and help move the casks in when they were late arriving.

There were a few, however, who seemed to mostly be there for the "free staff beer" and staff t-shirt -  they were less than ideal, I remember general irritation (on both sides).

Only one incident really sticks in my mind: a bloke a few years older than me and an almost CAMRA cliche, when I'd had to ask him more than once to finish a particular job in a particular way because he was holding other people up,  did a bit of a "what do you know about any of this, anyway - you're a woman".

I can't actually remember what I said but I definitely channelled my mother in my "I beg your pardon?" look and he got on with it.  No one stepped in (in either direction) and it left me shaking.

There was no one in the room that I knew well - my pal wasn't on duty that day, so there wasn't anyone I could go and let off steam with, or ask whether that particular person was always a bit of a dick. 

I found out after, via my pal and one of the blokes who witnessed it that the other guys were impressed how I'd dealt with it and that he got on and did it, since no one else had managed to get him to do so.  And, yeah, everyone knew he was always a bit of a dick.

Younger me probably wouldn't have gone back.  I might even have left there and then - being single at the time, with only a recently empty home to go back so no one to talk it over with, might well have put me off doing anything similar ever again.

This is the thing.  An incident like this can stop someone ever participating again - in whatever it is.  You probably won't know, as an event-organiser or pub landlord, that it ever happened.  

Whether it's someone in your personal space (an insurance colleague - much taller than me - sniffing the top of my head and asking what shampoo I used - oh, do fuck off!); or a bloke in a pub trying to start a conversation with you by saying "what you reading there, girl?" (an ebook on microcontrollers for electronics and , no, I'm not explaining what a microcontroller is); or someone not getting out of your way when you're carrying three pints through a crowded pub because they think it's amusing (it isn't).  It's tiresome.

I'm lucky, I've never felt threatened or in danger and I think my age now gives me a weird form of protection but were I still younger and shyer I'd just stay away from your venue/event and I'd take my economic power, my project management skills, and volunteering effort with me.

Single-gender dominated spaces are always difficult - you ask any bloke whose first job in a large company back in the 70's/80's was to take stuff to the typing pool (yeah, I told you I was old).

This means if that space is under your control, or your livelihood depends on people using that space - then it's in your interest, as well as your responsibility, to make it fit for purpose.  Why would you choose to do otherwise? 

I'm probably repeating myself when i say I work with young people - mostly young men, most of whom are socially somewhat awkward and at risk of missing social cues.  We have an extensive "Code of Conduct" which everyone has to read and understand.  

"So what you're saying is - don't be a dick - in essence"?  Said one lad.  

Yeah, that's it - and everyone knows really what it means - they don't really need a list.  I don't believe any poor behaviour is because they don't understand the rules.  They understand, but they choose - for whatever reason - to ignore or flout them.

So, is that the reason I don't go to beer festivals any more?

Nah, it's much more mundane - I prefer pubs and there is more than enough really good beer available to me in Bristol (and to a lesser extent in Sussex) to try whenever I want.  I no longer need the festival to serve that to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talking Shite in the Pub

 Couple of little errands yesterday afternoon and a passably sunny day (for one of the errands was using up film in a vintage camera) meant we tootled out through Temple Church and found, to our joy, it's now open for public access.

Pictures duly taken, and architectural details noted, we headed to an Amazon locker to pick up a couple of little parcels.  From here, whilst there are in theory several possible pub destinations...in practice we usually go to LHG.

We grabbed a couple of pints of cask beer (theirs) and settled in.  The number of punters was perfect, as was the beer (pale, hazy, modern hops, 4% ish).

We were also delighted to see XII by Tiley's on the bar.  At 6.2%, definitely not a cask beer to start.

Often, when we go to the pub we don't have a huge amount to talk about since we often are in the same space for the day so we already know what's happened. However, for some reason we were pretty talkative (for us, that is) and, looking back, we covered a lot of range...

 - how the monthly monitoring of work targets was going and where some clarification ws needed (I think we nailed it and the monitoring is well underway today)

• Whether a particular track was Lou Reed solo or Velvs (no firm decision)
  
  
• How Nico (solo, not on teh Velvs album) had an interesting but strangely monotone delivery style.
  
  
• How, now we know some B&W film qualities better, might specify how we use particular brands also, how some cameras really can't hack 36 exposures but that 24exp often isn't avaialble.

• How the selotape roll I'd picked up from the Amazon locker was the perfect size for the project the engineer had in mind and how he was looking forward to putting it to use
  
  
• Also noting that when we arrived, the bar staff were chilled and at 5.25 when the rush started we watched them step it up a notch.

Then it was time for another pint.   He asked me what beer I wanted.  I just gave him a specification (measure, abv, characteristics) and he joined the queue.

He came back with a spec-meeting beer for me and he had the Tiley's.  The conversation continued:

• How the staff member charged with opening the bi-fold doors (like others before them) seem to struggle a bit with it.
   
• How the Tiley's beer was very traditional and perfectly pitched.  So good that he wanted to contact his "old man" friends and tell them to come immediately to try it (one lives in London, the other in Surrey so it wasn't very practical).
  
  
• How we were put in mind of the Moor project to replicate a traditional Fullers ESB recipe (great on cask, less so in a can)
   
• How Steeley Dan's name came about (something about a Naked Lunch reference but that might be apocryphal)
   
• Whether I'd make a better job than him of getting my 35mm film onto the developing reel whilst maintaining a tail of film which would allow reuse of the cartridge.
   
• How much we were keen to develop the two films we have (we haven't done them yet, but I'm going to get onto it in a moment).
   
• The fact that we needed to make pesto when we got back and how nice it would be to have some small frozen blobs of it stowed in the freezer.
   
• How "Cabin Pressure"'s episodes are named alphabetically (Abu Dhabi, Boston, Cremona, Douz, Edinburgh, Fitton...you get the gist)
   
• How "Herc" in Cabin Pressure is Mr Gently Benevolent (and Mr Giles, and the Gold Blend Bloke and Murray "one night in Bangkok" Head's brother

...and it went on. 

In all this nonsense, people came and went at the other end of "our" table.  Each smiled at and waved in in a jolly fashion.  After the third, it was time to leave but, in truth, I could have sat and nattered nonsense for longer.

Today it's all been a bit full-on compiling monitoring stats so I think a game might well be in order to take minds off it.

But first - I need to spool up some 35mm film ready to be developed. 

 

 

Small Pleasures

 At weekends (which include Friday afternoon, natch) we choose our venues carefully.

The great thing about Bristol, especially in the summer, is how it becomes a very specific sort of visitor city (I don't think it was like this at all when I was growning up).  

They're here for all sorts of reasons:  the music scene (yesterday and today Idles doing a couple of outdoor gigs to kick off an international tour), the Wallace and Grommit trail (whatever the latest iteration of that is), beer festivals, cider festivals, harbour festivals...

...there are also, of course, the hen and stag parties:  so many pubs, so little time.

Throughout the year there are sporting events (EFL season started yesterday) - football, rugby, basketball...

Obviously, then the breweries and distilleries, and taprooms and tasting rooms and pubs.  There really is more than enough to make it a city worth visiting for a day, or more.

As a result, then, some areas of the city are HEAVING.

So - as I say, we try and choose carefully.  This generally means staying on this side of town.

It goes to explain why we tend to go Moor on Friday or Saturday and yesterday it was particularly quiet there (there are reasons, but I hope that doesn't carry on for too long) and less beer on tap than usual.

Nevertheless we sat outside for one and tried to find photographs for one of our new silly cameras:  a 1930's tiny (127 film size) box camera, since you ask.  When we decamped inside we played a couple of games of Regicide and then got chatting with James which is always a fine way to spend a bit of time.

When we headed home we thought we might get one or two more pictures (there are only 8 to be taken, for goodness' sake) and a chap said "is that actually a camera?"...and that sparked a conversation about film photography and silly cameras, completely at random.  It was a delightful 10 mins.

 This morning I went out to try and take the picture on it and to try a "new" old camera:  a Zenith 11 with a Carl Zeiss lens, so I strolled over the bridge and was greeted with countless people in "band" t-shirts arriving by train, and crowds at the 'spoons.  I headed towards Martha's, assuming it would be quiet so I could take some urban pictures.  I was staggered to see the arches next door have been turned into a pop-up plant shop with huge queues of people waiting (to pay???) and Martha's, the Pasty Shop and the Forest Bakery with loads of people in attendance.  How brilliant!

I queued for some bread to take home for lunch and then was really relieved to remove myself from the crowds and look down on them from our flat.

When we bought this flat there were literally no people wandering around at the weekend but it's gone on to be a bustling little corner of the city.  It's got its good and bad sides but it's lovely to see these businesses making the most of it.