Christmas Day 2014

A rare quiet moment!

Adnams

Clive, Howard and I ventured up to Suffolk on Wednesday to tour around the Adnams brewery. It's the first time I have been to this part of the British coastline since trips to Aldeburgh and Snape during my childhood days. The skies were grey, the air damp and cold, and the sea crashed against the pebbles on the beach; it is a part of Britain dear to my heart and I should really spend more time there.

Anyway, as I was saying, we were in Suffolk to visit the brewery. Grand it was, with lots of new kit and automation consoles and other funky stuff. What we didn't realise was that there was also a distillery at the plant. I've not seen one before and it was a sight to behold. 

Very pretty vessels, used to produce whiskies, gins, vodkas and other spirits. It got all of us thinking about trying distilling at home (which of course we wouldn't because it is illegal to do so).

Many thanks to Fergus for taking time out to guide us around the plant. I wonder where our next adventure will take us.

Beach in November

Our private beach ...

Pj's and a Sun Hat

Why not?

Ribs

Emily loved her ribs, hotdog and corn on the cob, where does she put it all?

Cousins

Ilkley

At the farm, great time had by all.

Halloween

Look at these scary creatures

Brownies

Very chuffed to have started Brownies recently. She will be enrolled on 14th Nov and can start earning badges. She is also going to see Shrek the musical at the Marlowe next year with them, lucky girl!

Nursery

Emily has started Nursery school, she will go every Monday 9 til 3. She loved it, but the poor little lady was shattered and asleep in bed by 6.30!

Wet running race

Beth did amazing at her first cross country race at the weekend. It was chucking it down and fairly chilly but she just got on with it. Brilliant!!

Yum

Look at this amazing chocolate pressie that Strings came back from Holland with.... Lucky girl

Sunday morning stroll

Kind regards,
Bekie Stringer

Donkey ride

Kind regards,
Bekie StringerEmily is very proud of her riding skills, can you tell?

Recent sightings at Pegwell Bay Country Park. Nice to see Cetti's Warbler and Glossy Ibis showing their feathered faces.

Cot to Bed Conversion

Today we converted Emily's cot into a bed. She's been so good recently with her potty training that we thought we'd throw all of the eggs into one basket.

Last day of school holidays

Nothing like sharing a slush puppie...

No hassle hair cut

Emily sat in silence (this doesn't happen very often) for her haircut today, what a legend. She's also mastered the potty and will generally shout when she needs the toilet.

Beth ready for a party

Doesn't she look grown up.

Train Ride

The girls on the mini train ride at the park in Buxton. One seems happy and one is not that sure.

Good evening. Here is the news.

Wingham

Great moustached lemur, a rare sighting.

Builders bum

Would you trust these two to build you a house?

Herne Bay

Thanks to Grandma for having the girls this week.

Stuff

So much going on and so little time to write about it: visits from Dad & Liz and Rosie, Matt & Nat, Emily being potty-trained, Beth getting to grips with her new tablet, Parkes not winning anything at bingo, brewing at Norfolk Brewhouse, brewing diploma beginning, holiday in Buxton approaching, having our lounge and dining room painted, Beth swimming a length on her back in the big pool, Emily's speech development advancing exponentially, falling slightly off the vegetarian wagon (ish)....

It's all go in the Stringer household.

Cousins at the beach

Funfair

Kind regards,
Bekie StringerGrandma is being brave letting Beth drive.

Party Girl

Beth had a belter of a birthday party. She and her friends had some beauty treatments at a salon in Broadstairs and then fed themselves to the point of explosion in Pizza Hut. Good work sister!

Powell-Cotton Museum / Quex

The family, along with Grandad-up-North and Grandma Liz, visited Quex Park last Saturday. It was a fabulous sunny day and there was much to keep kids occupied. The Powell-Cotton museum is fab and the Maize Maze beat me all ends up.

Food and Drink Night

Parkes and I ventured out last night for Parkes' birthday night out. First we took a cab to The Yard of Ale pub in St Peters. It's a fab joint, just a wonderful place to drink fine beer and cider and eat pickled eggs. We were treated to a lightning display too. Then we travelled to Bon Appetit in Ramsgate and enjoyed an amazing three course meal in this cosy, romantic restaurant. Parkes had camembert for starters, then calves livers for main and raspberry creme brûlée for desert. I enjoyed salmon gravlax for starter, moules for main and the French cheese board for desert. The service was good and although the prices are a little toppy it is a fabulous eating experience.

Sunday Morning Swimming Selfie

Birthday Girls

Birthday Cake

Craft Beer

The brewing industry in this country (and globally) seems to be in a fairly healthy state. It is the American craft brewing scene that has woken everyone up to the smell of exotic hops and daring beer styles. However, it does start to get a little wearing. 

Apparently beer cocktails are the latest craft invention. BEER COCKTAILS. The Brits, of course, invented this decades earlier by mixing the slops trays together to create a heady elixir which could cure all known maladies. No one liked it at the time and I'll be surprised if the beer cocktails thing last very long. Pairing beer with food is also getting on my tits. Stop trying to make beer into something it isn't. Beer is the life-blood of the common man (and lady) and what makes a pint so beautiful is that it is..........a pint. Nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't need to accompany a Dover Sole; just a bag of nice crisps and served in a traditional British pub.

So, thanks American craft brewing scene. We have much to be grateful for as you have lifted the malaise from the British brewing industry. However, once the dust has settled, I'll wave you goodbye with one hand whilst supping my English boring brown bitter from the other. Cheers.

Specsavers

Beth's eye test went very well. Infact her eyes have actually improved. This means new glasses are required. Emily didn't want to miss out.

Beer Competition Debrief

The beer competition was thoroughly enjoyable and, although we didn't win anything particularly amazing (bronze in the Speciality Bottled Beers category for Green Hop Ale) the day was splendid. The overall winner was Canterbury Ales' The Merchant's Ale which was a very worthy winner. Seemingly a cross between a mild and a stout it has incredible depth and was in sparkling condition. And the owner/head brewer is such a lovely man the award couldn't have gone to anyone more deserving. I look forward to him cleaning up at the national awards in March 2015 (BeerX).

SIBA SE Beer Competition

Tomorrow the SIBA SE Beer Competition will be held at the Tonbridge Juddians rugby club. We've got a few beers submitted for judging and hopefully we might get a gong. Either way it will be a good day with some cracking beers on show.

Project: Portion Control

The half marathon training is going well. However, what I REALLY need to do is control my calorie intake to keep the weight down and this, in turn, will lead to better pace on my runs. So I think I need to limit my main meals to a respectable portion of food. This will be quite a challenge as I am a glutton who eats until he feels like a over-inflated balloon. Expect this to only last a few days.

Meanwhile, illness returned to the Stringer household last weekend as Emily took her first steps into the world of projectile vomiting. The poor little lady must have picked up a bug and was laid low for two and half days. Happily though, she is now bright as a button and doing all of those things that two year-olds do.

Brian Jonestown Massacre

Tonight, brother-in-law Scott and I will be off to the Camden Roundhouse to see Brian Jonestown Massacre play. This is definitely a big tick on my bucket list as I've been a BIG fan since 2005 and didn't ever think I'd get to see them. I'm surprised they haven't self-destructed by now as they had a reputation for being a volatile collective, however Anton Newcombe is an awesome songwriter and the music has kept them afloat. This is also my first visit to the Roundhouse.

Emily Ready For The Beach

Juniors

Beth visited her new school yesterday afternoon with Parkes. It's small and seemingly very friendly; most of Beth's current school mates will be going there to so hopefully it won't take her too long to adjust to her new surroundings.

High Weald Landscape Trail

Last Friday and Saturday Steve, Dean, Keith and I walked a section of the High Weald Landscape Trail. We picked it up at Goudhurst in Kent at about 9am on Friday and, armed with maps and gps devices we trotted along to our overnight destination Tenterden. On our way we passed through Cranbrook and arrived in Benenden where we enjoyed a couple of lunchtime pints at The Bull Inn (and several thousand bags of crisps).

Feeling refreshed and a little tiddly we ventured forward and within a couple of hours we arrived in Rolvenden, where we enjoyed a couple more pints at The Bull (lovely pub). And more crisps.

Feeling rather loose we plodded on and arrived in Tenterden soon after. The terrain was gentle and we saw very few people; just rolling countryside, arable pasture and orchards.

Our B&B, Little Dane Court, provided great lodging and after a spruce up we hit the pubs for food and sustenance. The following morning we ate breakfast at 8am. The brekkie was fabulous, very fresh and locally sourced and we ate outside as the weather was gorgeous and this helped brush away the cobwebs.

A few bags under eyes but spirits unbroken.

We set off at 9am on the Saturday with the aim of getting to Rye in Sussex by early(ish) afternoon. Generally the route is well signposted but can occasionally through up navigation issues; the OS maps were fairly essential.

The second day took us through lots of dark woods (we were grateful for the shade at times) and one in particular was full of wild garlic plants which gave the air a wonderful whiff.

The trail on the second day took us past the Chapel Down vineyard. If we'd had more time we'd have spent more time there, but as we were crimped for time Keith used it for toileting purposes.

The second day was quite a slog as Dean's knee was really starting to give him discomfort and Keith was suffering from dehydration and hot-spots. However, everyone took a man-pill and got to the finishing line before 3pm.

Massive thanks to the guys for a fabulous couple of days. Great company and great weather.

Peveril Castle Ladies Part 2

Peveril Castle Ladies Part 1

Life Crisis

Doctor,

I have never been one for coloured socks and have never bought them. However, I was bought such sockage at Christmas and have recently started wearing them. I am 42 years old. Am I going through "the change"?

Animal Fatalities

I have recently been responsible for the needless deaths of 1 mouse and 2 mackerel through laziness. This has truly rocked my veggie soul. However, my ying-yang balance was slightly pushed back in the right direction when a herring gull defecated on my back whilst running (I was running, not the herring gull).

I feel I have more pain to come but not certain what form it will take. 

More Reims

Here are my three travel buddies; Parkes, Nicole and Keith. As travel buddies go they're ace!! Here we are in Reims and mischief is to be had...

Cool

If there is such a thing as reincarnation then I want come back as this - whatever it is. I could sooo rock this look!