The Right House

So here we are in sunny D.C! It’s a very bright day though and on the first day I was really struggling with the sun and had forgotten to pack any sunglasses. An early visit to Hudson News at Union Station the following day soon put that right. The flight went very well, and the only problem we had was battling through the doors of the airport at Washington Dulles. Despite being one of the biggest airports in the world and has its own tram system, it still hasn’t installed automatic doors in its domestic area, leaving passengers to get slammed by doors by careless people in front of them. The first item on the agenda was a guided tour where we visited the US Capitol then hopped onto a bus which took us to the Treasury, then we were guided to Donald Trump’s house, though I was slightly disappointed as they let me stand on the closer side of the road that time.

Army Pals

It’s not every day that you get recruited on a pub crawl with the British Army. All I was intending on doing was delivering some magazines to a local pub followed by a visit to the bar to see what ales were on offer. Two people were waiting to order, and I wonder if they thought I was trying to push past them when I walked straight up to the handpumps. So I let them order and they asked me to recommend an ale. I said I’d personally choose the pale one as it was one that I hadn’t tried before so they bought a pint of it and asked for a taster too. Then they pay for the drinks and hand me a pint and asks me to join them in the beer garden. Well, it’d be rude not to. It turns out that they were all from the army reserves and they were having a send-off for two of their squaddies who’d got called up to the Gulf. I ended up singing along with them to karaoke on a mobile phone which is probably on YouTube somewhere. I found it hard to walk away from their hospitality and ended up at the next pub with them well singing a song about a lemon tree. Eventually they started on about their past services to each other so I found it a great opportunity to say my goodbyes and leave before I got drafted.

The Burst

How the hell have I ended up with 672 photos of me at my bedroom door on my phone? I’m not even doing anything interesting. The only thing I can think of is that I was trying out a selfie stick at the time. But it’s not the first time that it’s happened. When I’ve been taking pictures of stationary objects, the same thing has happened; albeit not as many photos were stored. It’s then hard to view each of these photos individually, so I’ve got no idea what the purpose of this function is. If I was to pick out an exact moment when everyone had their eyes open, it would be very useful indeed. But this is one bloke standing in the doorway. And it didn’t feel like I was pressing the button down at the time; though perhaps a third party product may have thought otherwise. Hopefully there’ll be fewer storage issues now that I’ve finally got around to removing these unflattering photos.

Breakfast Wrap at the Moon & Bell, Loughborough

This was a busy town centre Wetherspoon pub that was full to bursting and clearly needs to expand. It’s very closed plan and has lots of alcoves and little booths which tend to get in the way of each other. As I was first off the bus, I decided to get a pint first and worry about seating later. Unfortunately, I let someone before me put in a very large order which required the changing of a barrel as well. Once I’d got seated, I put my phone to good use and ordered the breakfast wrap which came quite quickly, though I’d wished I’d ordered a side of baked beans with it as well. Conveniently, my friend ordered a large breakfast but wasn’t a fan of the hash browns or mushrooms, so I used that to my advantage. Our table was down the aisle away from the bar but past the toilets, and we found that everyone was constantly trying to squeeze past us. They did have a very nice exhibit paying tribute to the publishers of Ladybird books though.  

My Room

My room is my sanctuary. It’s my lair where I can scheme and plot, but I should also be able to relax here. The trouble is that I have very little room for anything. I’ve got three piles of clothes with no room to sort them and probably need a good iron. I’m constantly sorting through what I’m wearing and what I plan to wear throughout the week then either change my mind or I’m told that it’s not suitable for the environment that I’m visiting. I’ve got a pile of papers from projects from years ago that I need to shift through. I’ve also got old VHS tapes under my bed and in the drawers that I’ve got no idea if they work or not. All I need is some time and space in a reasonable daylight period where I haven’t got someone constantly giving me assignments. And if the door’s closed then people should at least knock before they barge in. I’m not a consultant.

It's Down to You

"Nothing will work unless you do". -Maya Angelou

Wishing won’t get it. You’ve got to realise that things aren’t going to be done for you. You’ve got to keep the pressure on, even if it means constantly asking someone to do it until it’s done. It might take time for you to realise this, and you might have to go and bang on a few people’s doors to rally some support in order to get what you want. And it might not be an enjoyable process, but you have to see a way to meet your goal and follow it through. And if you don’t keep yourself busy, life has a way of throwing things at you to make sure that you’re occupied and that you’ve got plenty of problems to deal with. In short, you need to find your calling and spend every minute of energy you can working towards it. Because if you’re not prepared to put the effort towards it, no-one else will.

Nethergate Mary's Ruby Mild at the Rising Sun, Redditch

Ruby beers are becoming more popular nowadays. They ten to be of a fuller flavour. In years gone by, there were attempts to make red beer, and in fact some breweries who like to lean towards American recipes still do. Personally, I find that these beers tend to be a bit watered down, unless they have a nice smoky taste like Weatheroak’s Redwood beer which is sadly no longer brewed. Here, then, is the latest compromise; a nice blend with a bit of sugar to separate it from the old brown nutty beers which used to look so murky. Mind you, this beer could be murky enough to be out of a dog’s arse. But he’s got a hat on, so let’s hope that he has some sense of class. He might even had had a cigar in his mouth at some time and had to have it removed for political reasons.

Bench Press

We needed a new garden bench. The old one had only lasted a year or so and the wood had begun to rot through. The first one that we picked out had a wicker basket lining but the shop had sold out. Our second choice was of a steel design. It came fully assembled and was just wrapped in cardboard and foam to prevent it from scratching. Of course, the main problem was to get the thing home. I put the rear car seats down and found that if I tilted it at an angle, I just about managed to fit it in. I had to put all my other belongings in the foothold though. Then I had the joy of taking the bench to a pub before I went home. Luckily it was dark as otherwise someone might have accused me of stealing pub property. Of course, it was dark too when I got home and had to take it out of the car and put it in the garage without making too much noise or cause any damage. It was a right work-out.

Beer Festival at the Hop Garden, Harborne

I found this to be one of the strangest pubs that I’d ever been in. As soon as you walk through the door, the sight of wood hits you. There’s not a single hop in sight. The bar’s right in front of you as if it’s a legal requirement to purchase a drink before proceeding any further.  There’s a small snug room by the window and to the left there’s a larger room with plenty of tables to sit and socialise akin to a German Beer Hall. Then there’s the garden. It’s a great big space with a few tables and umbrellas, and there’s also furniture on the patio itself. But we were there for a beer festival. A small marquee had been set up to host the beers, but the licensee seemed to struggle to find anyone to serve them. Eventually things got going and we found that the beer wasn’t brilliant, so we decided to move on and explore Harborne some more.

Angels and Demons

What a mess this film is. There are just too many errors which would make it very difficult to understand but have simply been cut to save expense and screen time. The opening sequence is very confusing, and only those who have read the book can really understand what is happening. There’s been a cut of one of the minor characters who would have explained what was going on, and it’s a shame that they couldn’t get a second person to jump out of a helicopter. A lot of the impressive tech that CERN owns which is mentioned in the book has also been cut. The action sequences are very realistic and can even be gory at times; but the explosions at the landmarks were amazing. But there’s a lot of dialogue to get through before the chase gets going, and Vittoria’s background isn’t really put to much use other than to conduct an autopsy which isn’t her field, leaving Hanks to be the credible intellectual one.

Thomas through the Years

It’s amazing how the world of Thomas the Tank Engine has changed over the years. When I started to watch it was all models and stop motion animation with plastic figures and a bloke with a northern accent telling us what was going on and what the characters were thinking. Now it’s evolved to a full CGI process where every movement is animated and captured. There’s no Fat Controller and more as the Americans don’t like the obese; so instead it’s gone to the aristocracy with Sir Topham Hat in control. It’d be great to go back and read the books before they were converted to the small screen. What tales would separate Awdry’s ideas from those of today? It’s a big business now, as there’s literally thousands of train sets and toys out there for kids to re-create their own stories; not to mention the extra characters. But I bet Awdry didn’t have problems connecting to the on-board wi-fi in his books.

Crazy Lady

We’re at our local pub for a fish n chip dinner. It’s nice and warm so we choose to sit outside under a large umbrella that spans three tables in the pub’s beer garden; a nice contrast to the dark lounge. There’s a lady with long dyed red hair sat at the next table enjoying a cigarette who smiles at us as my mother attempts to connect with people that she used to know. Then just before our food arrives; a starter order comes out. My Mum believes that it belongs to the lady with the red hair as she ordered before we did; who suddenly seems to have vanished. My Mum directs the waitress back inside who informs us that they call her the crazy lady. Moments later, the lady is back carrying a glass of wine with the waitress in tow carrying her food. The waitress sets the food down for her then she moves to three other tables before she starts comfortably tucking into her food. Once she finishes, she seems to come back to mingle with the locals. Then at the bar when I’m about to order dessert she’s there causing more trouble. First she asks for pork scratchings which the bar staff must fetch from the cellar alongside some ice for her cider. Then she changes her mind and asks for prosecco, but changes her mind when she’s told that she can only buy it by the bottle and not the glass, and switches to rose. But as we prepare to leave our seats; our table gives a mighty bounce, which might at least explain why she changed tables three times.

Twisted Barrel Centennial at the Windmill, Coventry

There’s quite a hive of activity on the street of the oldest pub in Coventry. We’re surrounded by beautiful merchant’s buildings and black cabs are regularly dropping off local hotties for their nightly city crawl. Inside, I pass a corridor with two low beamed timber rooms branching off either side. One’s full of tables and chairs while the other’s a sitting room. Then I pass the bar to take a glance at this beer festival. There’s not much left. A row of stillaging just shows two or three beers remaining. I grab a couple of pints then head back outside to join some friends who have commandeered a spot outside where we make use of their table and watch others arrive. For my next pint I head to the bar which has a bit of an attraction in itself as the beers look more inviting; while pub-crawlers are readily coming and going in their quest to tick off as many city pubs as possible. Suddenly we realise we’ve got to get a jaunt on if we’re to make our last train back, but we somehow manage to hail down a hackney cab to round everyone up.

Game of Moans #devilsdaughter4

There was no way that any human was able to entertain a lady of Lucinda’s size. As soon as Luke came down, she had to turn her whole bulk on him; if only for a moment. It was that precise moment that Luke chose to make his piece count. As Lucinda had plans for this particular plonker; she had to simulate a reaction and decided to break the bed as much as possible. Using Luke’s weight, she pressed her ample derriere into the mattress as hard as she could until she felt a straining sound, then a snap enveloped as the bed came crashing down around them. Of course, this gave the floor a mighty shake as well. Luke was too stunned to care, and simply climbed around her and settled his head between her boobs and went to sleep. But Lucinda knew that the resulting crash would cause others to come to the door that evening, and not necessarily in a friendly way…

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a confusing book. It took a while to get used to the idea that there were different narrators over different time periods but were all discussing the same subject from different viewpoints. It kind of felt like I was in an alcoholic haze just from reading it. I did find it depressing at times, especially with the depression and alcoholism; but it takes time for the reader to build sympathy for Rachel once you’ve learnt about her past. She does have a stalker-like tendency though; and it seems strange that she decides to get involved in Scott’s troubles. It’s as if she wants to pretend that the past is still the past and she’s not prepared to move on. The ending is short and peaceful, and you can picture the camera scrolling away from her as the credits roll and the channel starts to inform you what’s on next.

View all my reviews

The Pull-Over

In this day and age, how do you know if someone’s legitimately flashing you to pull over? When you’re driving home at night, are they flashing for you to speed up or to slow down or to get out of their way? Or do they just have extra flashy LED lights that you don’t? I experienced this twice in the same journey recently while driving through the countryside. There’s no way that I’m pulling over if I can’t see the driver behind me as I don’t know how many people are in my car; especially when I’m on my own in the dark. I checked my lights when I got home and couldn’t see anything wrong with the car; so I put it down to the fact that they chose to dip their lights at the wrong time. After all, it wasn’t repetitive. The only reason that I will stop for in that situation if I can see a blue siren; and even then I’ll call it in if it’s not a regular patrol car.

Fownes The Elephant Riders at the SU bar, University of Warwick

Our next destination was to the oldest pub in Coventry where we’d heard that a beer festival was in progress. I put my faith into my friend as I had no idea where this pub was. My friend decided to waste no time and jump into a hackney cab next to the bus stop. Oddly, this taxi followed a bus all the way back to the train station and it was then that I realise that it was the same bus that I caught earlier. The actual pub was only a further ten minutes’ walk, and if I’d known that then I would have insisted on just catching the bus as my contactless card would register a value fare. Consequently, we were charged £12.50 for the journey and I had to chip in a tenner. I need to stop hanging out with people who are prepared to flash their cash and say yes wherever they go. I certainly felt like I’d paid to ride in on an elephant, though I suppose the good thing was that the cab did drop us right outside our destination.

Another Birthday

It’s another Sunday night and we’re off for another Sunday supping. But this isn’t just any old supping. It just so happens to be one of my friend’s birthday as well. I managed to sort him out with a card and a cheap off-the-rack movie from the supermarket. It’s a film that I’ve never heard of, but it advertises guns and helicopters; there’s drug lords involved and one of the actors is known for taking on hard guy roles. So there we sit in a quiet corner of the pub which was quite recently converted from a kitchen into a snug. We usually play pool here but it just so happens that there’s live music on tonight. We try to make conversation then decide to give up and go somewhere else, which is a shame because for once the beer is excellent. We end the night with a trip down to memory lane to scoff corner to munch on kebabs. Let’s hope that we can do something more original next year.

Stratford Upon Avon Malty Pig Bitter at the SU bar, University of Warwick

The humble pig. It’s a great symbol of greed. It might explain why this brewery has ceased to exist; and as a last act the pump clip designer decided to vent his feelings to the owners. It also might be the perfect animal to associate beer with, as once you start drinking it you just can’t stop and you end up happy as a pig in mud. Quite literally in some cases. You wouldn’t want to leave it alone with your beer. Most people end up rolling around somewhere after a few beers; or if not; they attempt to consume quite the impossible amounts of food. After a while, it becomes a contest of sorts; and it’s not necessarily the biggest that consumes the most. But at the end of the day, there’s nothing wrong with a pig wallowing in its own filth. Just as long as it keeps it to itself.

Put your Feet Up

Garden furniture isn’t something that you’d regularly think as an ideal birthday present for a married 30-year-old woman; but in this case it was a welcome relief to buying gift cards. There were no assembly problems as the chairs would just fold right out of the box. The built-in pillow makes it extra comfy, but a built-in cup holder would be even better. I suppose that they want you to spend a bit extra to find a matching table. What I don’t like is the extra set of legs. You seem to lean on them like a foot rest when you tilt the chair back as you can’t trust the chair to take the weight for you. It feels uncomfortable after a while and may even leave a mark on your legs. But unlike most garden furniture, these loungers are of good quality and are built to last and require little in the way of maintenance each year.

Clouded Minds 99 Steps at the SU bar, University of Warwick

As I enter the bar, I’m vaguely aware that I need to wear badge to show that I’ve registered for this event, but I didn’t receive mine in the post. I walk through the door and can’t see any sign of where to go, so I head to the bar pay for a glass and some beer tokens; all while chatting to the volunteer serving me who recognises me straight away. I picked out a beer and went to say hello to some friendly faces while I waited for my friend. I manage to join a large table at the end of the room who are discussing where to go next. On my second visit to the bar, I ask for a list of the beers and got told that they should have been put into my registration pack. As I don’t know where to go for a registration pack, I decide to just take photos for my diary. As my friend arrives, we discover that everyone has already decided to ditch the plan so we need to form our own.

Scaredy Cat

“We can easily forgive a child that is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”- Plato.

Morning. It’s the call to action. It’s time to battle on with another day. In earlier times, we were one with the light. We’d rise when the sun was up, and when it was down we knew that it was time to bring things to a close and prepare for rest. It used to set the course of our day. But in today’s society we’ve learned to function without the use of natural light, and it’s our choice to decide when our day should start. Such people push their boundaries to get more out of their day for the greatest enjoyment. In most cases we must ignore the outside world and trust our own instincts to decide when to function and when to rest. But if we’re scared to face the day and choose not to sync up with everything else, that’s when society decides that something is going wrong.

Windmill Hill Brewing Company Amber Post at the SU bar, University of Warwick.

I’d finished an early shift at work on Saturday and I was determined to make it up to the national AGM to show my face. I’d had a set agreement with a friend that we’d meet up at the bar then catch a bus to Kenilworth. So I raced home and scrubbed up, and ninety minutes later I was standing at the bus stop with a bunch of foreign students preparing to catch the next bus to the University campus. Some of them had obviously travelled further because they were carrying suitcases. Once I’d worked out the contactless fare system, I was all set for the evening. As my sat-nav on my phone showed that I was close, I asked the driver only to be told that it was another three stops. I disembarked onto a large block paving road which another road leading off to a student village with campus buildings either side.

Lucifier Juice

This is a perfect name for a beverage. It’s a drink that can change your behaviours and cause you to react in a different way. It has different effects on different people. And it’s most likely going to be a negative effect than a positive one. Some will just experience blood lust. They’ll want to assault their friends and think it’s funny afterwards. Some will go loopy. They’ll become mad and incomprehensive, having strange ideas or incoherent thoughts, and will follow through with actions. And some will just be plain ill. Even the name is broken down into three parts: Loop-Sick-Fire. And if you keep on drinking it, it probably goes through in that order. An absence from it can bring you back to normal; though the more consumed the longer it takes. It’s mostly served in a glass, but the less see-through the vessel, the more effect it’s likely to have on you.

Kinver Cavewoman

It’s great when you can explore an area that’s got lots of climbing. If you look close enough, there’s some footholds that you can use to pull yourself up if you’re not up for a scramble. They don’t call it ‘The Great Outdoors’ for nothing. But if you don’t take the risk, then you’re missing out on the structure of these natural wonders. It’s safer and there’s less injury involved but you’re also missing out on the fun of pretending to be a caveman and run around groaning ‘og og’. But then again, is the risk worth it? One minute of fun could mean a lifetime of injury and hassle, or something even worse could occur. It’s a shame that people tend to take less risks nowadays as there’s a plus side to it too. You never know what’s around the corner unless you go there. Sometimes you just have to be a caveman and go explore.

Avengers: Endgame

What an adventure! I spent the first half of the movie trying to remember where everybody was while regretting that there’s still four movies that I have yet to see. There were already a few spoilers out there; mainly the trailer for a new Spider-Man movie.  The start of the movie was quite slow and the recap didn’t help with this. I also felt that some of the characters didn’t have as much screen time as they ought to; they certainly got more in the first film. Once the purpose of the film had been established; it was kind of easy to see the outcome apart from the fatalities. The final battle was great but I would have liked to have seen them play pass the parcel a bit more; and it’s a shame that some of the heroes didn’t attempt to use the glove for their own purpose. I’m glad that Captain Marvel wasn’t the final solution. If you’ve been watching the films for a while, prepare for an emotional response at the end.

Coming round the Mountain

You can certainly take your mind off things on a long walk. The scenery is distracting and can make some great conversation points, but there’s also bits in between the highlights that you want to discuss. It gives you a chance to spend some time with someone and catch up on the things that you’ve missed, compare lives and make future plans. You can share news about other friends and compare your lives. You can discuss hopes and dreams and plan how to get there. You could even just talk about current affairs. Passers-by also seem a lot friendlier in rural areas than when you’re walking down the road around town. I guess it’s because there’s less people about and you each want to make sure that the other party is OK because there’s not a lot of help around. You’ve just got to make sure you’re comfortable talking about these things during your journey. Otherwise your walk could be a long, quiet and one-sided one until you reach the end.

Homeless in Surburbia

It’s the school holidays. The sun is out and it’s an early morning. But why are there teenagers hanging around a post-box in suburbia? It’s warm, but they’re all wearing beanie hats. So are they having a rest while they’re begging for scraps on their way to somewhere else? Have they spent the night in the park and they’re just coming up for air? There’s a shop across the road, which I assume is still open. But there’s a new supermarket at the bottom of the hill that could have put it out of business. Or have they simply been thrown out of their home for the day as they can’t be trusted to hang around in the house all day while their parents are at work? Perhaps they’re just waiting for someone to pick them up and they’ve been let down. Either way, it seems a very strange place for them to congregate.

Cowboy Builders

It’s great that the National Trust has opened the Rock Houses for everyone to explore. I suppose that the land that it does occupy would otherwise be used by gypsies and left to ruin. There’d be alterations galore in the clamour for more space which would eventually undermine the structure of the whole rock. Kids would use it for dens and hangouts and there’d be regular maintenance trips by the authorities to fill in the holes or at least block them off from being misused. But there’s so much natural beauty out there that it’d be a shame to let the land go to waste. Of course, they could make a lot of money by making it private land and renting out to people to stay in; but the natural beauty of the place would be wasted as occupants would constantly be chasing away trespassers. But for now, it’s open to everyone, at least during daylight hours.

A Daunting Dinner #nuclearmermaid3

As time grew on, some of the fish seemed to age rapidly whereas Jenny somehow managed to maintain her usual youthful self. Perhaps it was a quality that differed her from the fish. This meant that the fish were slower to get the flakes whereas Jenny learnt to become quick and nimble. She also had to be less weary of hiding places, and she found that she was beginning to outgrow some of them. One night, she spotted a fish that had passed away, and was bobbing up and down on the surface. Having licked the fish during her younger days, she found herself drawn to this flesh and wondered what it tasted like. Once she started, she couldn’t stop until she’d had her fill and half of the flesh had disappeared. As she swam back to one of her few hiding places, she wondered what would become of the carcass and whether any of the other fish would swear vengeance.

Return to Kinver Rock

It’s another sunny day which gave me the perfect opportunity to take a second visit to Kinver Rock. Being a term-time weekday, it was much quieter this time which meant that we were given more attention by the volunteers. After going through an unattended gate, we headed up the path to pay our entrance fee and I was spared the hassle of being sold a National Trust membership; though I instantly lost my admission ticket in the handful of paper I received. We followed the door into a tall and narrow corridor surrounded by rockface with a dusty gravel path in front of us. We spent a few moments reading the large display boards about the geological history of the caves and the stories of the people that came to live here. Then we headed into one of the bedrooms followed by a visit to the kitchens where my mother recalled that she had a similar oven and we had a lovely chat with one of the volunteers about kitchens in these times.