Beer 114 – Black Sheep Golden Sheep Pale Ale

One last fine ale before I fly out to Indonesia tomorrow morning, found this in Tescos (where I also spotted some Fursty Ferret – for my “weird” friend in Aberdeen).

The actual colour was much lighter than the photo depicts – more golden than dark, poured with a large head. Initial taste was of hops, but there were more complicated flavours going on in there – and at 4.7% abv could be drunk easily over an extended session. One to revisit when I finally return to the UK.

So this will be the last post for a while until I can source some high speed connection around Jakarta, will be living 45 mins out of town so I have no idea when that will occur. Will not be back here until the end of June, but rest assured that I will get on my blog rounds when access permits.

Slàinte mhath!

New Metaphor Required

Read yesterday that the Forth Rail Bridge is being coated with special paint that will last for 25 to 40 years - work will finish in 2012 so from that time on we are going to need a new metaphor for never ending tasks.

It took 7 years to build the thing and work was completed in 1890 - those Victorian engineers sure knew how to build things to last down the ages. Compare and contrast the Forth Road Bridge which was completed in 1964 and is currently predicted to close by 2020 due to corrosion and heavier traffic levels than originally predicted.

One and a half miles in length it is not only an engineering marvel but also a thing of great beauty - have crossed it on many occasions but it is amazing to look at from the edge of the water.

Here is the BBC's take on the ending of this (and other) metaphors.

Los Campesinos!

Read a favourable review of this lot in today's paper so in an idle moment I tracked them down for a listen or two.

Based out of Cardiff, they formed in 2006 and released some singles last year – their name means The Peasants in Spanish – and they are a seven piece.

I love the sound they make and they sure do go in for some interesting song titles, take this one The International Tweexcore Underground or how about their latest single Death To Los Campesinos!.

Last one is around 6 mins in length – cool video though. They have a page on MySpace if you are interested.

Last Road Trip in UK - For A While

Just got back from a road trip visiting friends and family over the weekend - the photo is taken at the back of G's house where I stayed last night, great food and wine and even better company.

Posting and doing blog rounds is going to be tricky from Thursday of this week as I am leaving the UK and heading out to the island of Java to visit little bro' and family for 4 months. They do not have a high speed internet connection, if I can sort one out for them then "normal" service will be restored.

Otherwise I will be dependant on finding wi-fi hot spots in comfortable surroundings - quality of posts may improve.

Eldest Niece, her man and baby Lewis came down to visit at lunchtime, Lewis got fed, changed and then posed for some pics before dropping off to sleep. Here is the best one.

Beer 113 – Badger's Fursty Ferret

Came across this on the supermarket shelves and could not resist the name or the label. Have read some unflattering reviews of it online but those were almost matched by favourable ones – some folks reckon that the draught version is superior – quelle surprise, give me well looked after draught every time.

Not very fizzy, has a pleasing malty taste to it and at 4.4% abv it would make for a good beer to drink over an extended session.

Maddona Makes Film

She directed, co-wrote and executive produced a film called Filth and Wisdom which had it's premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. Given her recent track record in films it will come as no surprise to learn that she has delivered a turkey.

Not even the presence of Eugene Hutz (lead singer of Gogol Bordello and a pretty good actor as well) as one of the main characters can save it from failure.

Do not believe me? Then read this review from yesterday's paper.

St Germain

Today I made the mistake of visiting the supermarket at lunchtime and even though I only had a few items it seemed to take forever due to the numbers of men in suits in front of me buying their lunches, and to a man one or two bunches of flowers – is there something going on of which I need to be made aware?

St Germain is an alias for French producer Ludovic Navarre, this track is a live version of Rose Rouge which is on the album Tourist. If jazzy electronica is your thing then rush down your local record store and pick up a copy.

The vocal sample is from a track by a lady called Marlena Shaw – do not know anything about her but I do like the sound of her voice.

And that is a soppy as it is going to get round here today – the greeting card industry does not need any pimping from me.

News Roundup

When I read the headline “Hamster prices triple in China” my first reaction was oh no now they have found a tasty recipe for hamsters – my fears were unfounded, it appears that the dawn of the year of the Rat has led the Chinese into a frenzy of buying hamsters for pets.

John Peel's grave has finally been marked with a grave stone on which is the quotation from the Undertones song Teenage Kicks that he had always said that he wanted placed there "Teenage dreams, so hard to beat".

This last one is just plain bizzare, the National Health Service are claiming on their web site that “'sexercise' can lower the risk of heart attacks and helps people live longer.”.

Not only that "If you're worried about wrinkles - orgasms even help prevent frown lines from deepening." - read the article here.

What neither it or the NHS site will tell you is how the data was collected, did they have teams of sex inspectors roaming the land checking that group A were having regular sex sessions while control group B were abstaining? Surely we have the right to know, and also where to apply.

Honda TV Ads

While most TV adverts leave me pretty cold (with the exception of the Guinness ones) the ones generated by Honda over the last few years have been pretty cool and not at all annoying.

Do not know if they have all been produced by the same advertising agency – OK, now I do - they have all been produced by Weiden & Kennedy for Honda UK.

Started with this one - the cog ad (2003), then there was the one for diesel engines (2004), and finally Robot (2006)

Seasick Steve

First came across this guy on Jools Holland's New Years eve show at the end of 2006, he has certainly led an interesting life, learnt to play guitar at the age of 8 getting lessons from an old dude from Mississippi, left home at 13 and was a hobo for a time. Since that appearance on the idiot box he has achieved great success over here and is down to play the Royal Albert Hall in October.

He plays a a beat up guitar with only three strings and comes across like a real deal Delta bluesman, elder bro' went to see him live twice last year and raved about him both times.

So here are two clips from Jools New Years eve shows, first one is Dog House Boogie (2006) and Cut My Wings (2007).