Its been a while since I last updated my blog, I know you won't believe this but I have just been so busy, I've not had the time to sit down and write it!
Rail Ale
 |
| Sunshine at Barrow Hill |
I went to the Rail Ale festival at Barrow Hill with Steve and Neil. This beer festival is a regular on our annual beer festival circuit and its always an experience. The weather this year was glorious, shorts and t-shirts, it was so different to last year, when it was so cold that at one point my lips had turned blue, and I had to buy a hat to enable me to keep on drinking!
The festival is held in the last working round house at Barrow Hill and the bars are set against a backdrop of steam and diesel locomotives. The festival is getting more mainstream these days, but it is the coming together of the beer tickers and train spotters, which presents some good people watching opportunities. Now, I would never call myself a style guru or an expert on fashion, but there are always some interesting, and I suspect unintentional, fashion statements made that it almost makes me look on trend!
We made it back to the Speedwell in Stavely to watch the 2nd half the FA Cup Final. At one point I'm sure I was being chatted up by a woman who must have been in her late 70's early 80's (its a sign of the times!). It could have been the drink, but more likely it was probably the sight of my legs on display. Alison always says they have a strange effect on woman, and its probably best that I keep them covered up!
Brewing Course - Tideswell
Last weekend I went on the brewing course at Tideswell school of Food, with Bob and Steve. We brewed our own golden hoppy beer (an original brew) which we called Goldie Hops. We went through the complete brewing process, starting with malted barley all the way through to the fermenting barrell. After a couple of weeks we will receive 6 or 7 bottles of the beer we have brewed through the post, reward for our hard work!
What was really interesting was that as well as the hands on practical brewing we also did some of the science behind what was happening at each stage of the process. If you are interested in home brewing its certainly worth doing and it's a good opportunity to ask an expert brewer anything you ever wanted to know.
The message from the course was that its very simple to brew beer, you don't really need much specialist equipment, and infact you could do it on the hob in the kitchen ....... Alison is on holiday until Thursday, I think that might be my opportunity to start the Baston Kitchen Brewery.
Le Grand Tour
 |
| Where are the tent pegs? |
We start Le Grand Tour a week on Thursday, so lots of final preparations are under way. Bob's mate Fraser, has lent us a tent for the BBK festival in Bilbao, so we had a go at putting it up after the brewing course on Sunday. I thought we did quite well all things considered, by the time we get to the festival we will be experts.
We had our first email about the bull run in Pamplona yesterday, the section on top tips made interesting reading;
'The streets of London may be paved with gold but the streets of Pamplona during the fiesta are paved with broken glass, vomit, piss and numerous other bits of human detritus. Hence it is not a good idea to wear flip flops, andels, sandals etc. You should have a comfortable pair of trainers (sneakers) that are a bit on the hardy side that you can either wash or throw away after the fiesta. You will spend a lot of time on your feet drinking and dancing so make sure they are comfortable. You might have a separate pair for running with the bulls with a bit more tread. If you are going to be taking part in the txupinazo (the opening ceremony) then make sure your trainers have laces and they are tied up tight in a double knot, the same goes for the bull running..'
'If you are thinking where can I get a grass skirt or coconut shell bra then it is the internet for you. I have already ordered the palm trees and the inflatable parrots. You can of course just get some beach-type shorts and a Hawaiian shirt… true drinkers already will have one in their closet; closet drinkers will also have a bar in their closet. So if you are in town for these dates remember to bring a nice bottle of spirits as interesting as possible to make interesting cocktails.'
I'm beginning to wonder what it is we have booked!
Bread Making Course - Paul the Baker
It's the bread making course on Friday with Paul the Baker, Dawn and Meg will be doing the course with me and we are all really looking forward to it. I do dabble a little with bread making, but I've never managed to make a crusty French baguette or an edible wholemeal loaf. Paul will be teaching us how to do both plus sourdough bread as well. So watch this space.
I better leave off now, as I need to go and buy a pair of trainers I can throw in the bin!
 |
| Brass Band at Rail Ale |
 |
| Neil enjoying his train ride at Rail Ale |
No comments:
Post a Comment