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.