Autumn really hit Sussex with a thud!
Bang on 1st September, the rain started, the temperatures plummeted and - being sat under the South Downs the mist started gathering in the park (aka The Rec) opposite.
It was like someone hit a switch.
Almost immediately the tomatoes in the garden slowed ripening almost to a halt.
I mean, it's still not actually cold but long-sleeve tees are now the most appropriate clothing, along with a baselayer.
A stupidly short deadline for several related funding bids for me have proved all-consuming, and tiresome for a number of reasons but it feels like the worst of that is over for now. By the end of October I'm anticipating either huge disappointment (along with annoyance) or the usual "Oh, fuck! Now we have to deliver it" feeling (actually, my brilliant team of folk have never failed to deliver in nearly 10 years of "oh fuck" moments). Funding bids now have to be carefully marshalled to not generate too much overlapping project work and yet make sure we have sufficient funding going forward whatever the results. Such is the nature of charitable work. No wonder I spend so much free time in the pub - and often write bids there!
Work stuff, trips to the shire and a holiday booking in Yorkshire have mapped out our whereabouts for the rest of this year. For a project manager this is joy because it means I shouldn't have last-minute angst of when we're going where.
Beerwise, The Crown is still shifting quite a lot of cask and it allows for some crackers. At the moment there's the splendid Downlands APA Revival - which is more than a nod to the original Dark Star APA. We may get down later for that (or it may be tomorrow, when it's quieter - who knows).
Beerarama are still doing cask at the weekend - it now usually goes in on Thursdays (though I suspect it'll be Friday this week as the guys are squeezing in a short trip) - and it's always good.
An overheard conversation at Beerarama on Friday indicates that the new place (Wolf on the Corner - opening in October?) in town will be doing cask on gravity from the get-go (deep joy!) and the same overheard conversation seems to indicate that the change of landlord at what was the best place to get Harveys beers (The Hurst) has not been very positive from a beer choice (?quality, too??) point of view so we'll not be making the journey up there any time soon, sadly.
We're funding it hard to get back to Ninkaci because it's a little way away from work and it can be tricky to find times when it's not too quiet and not too busy (yes, we are Goldilocks). We will undoubtedly return to the Gun Taproom at the Cricket ground before too long
News from the GBB has put one of the other Harveys pubs (The Vic) back on our places to go list and whilst we're working where we are currently, this is a pleasant after-work stroll.
Yesterday I had to smile when I saw a picture of Bristol Beer Factory's branding for their bitter. Maybe it's always been this design and, not really taking that much notice of traditional bitter styles, I've never noticed but it did immediately, and with no other reference picture to hand, immediately conjure Timmy Taylor Landlord in my head. I guess this was not an accident!
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