The Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival 2007

A rather grand title for a CAMRA festival, but since it was held in City Hall, Cardiff then it had some entitlement to grandeur! Patrick and I left Bath on Saturday morning and arrived at the festival at 10.30am. Things seemed in their normal state of organised anarchy. I introduced Patrick to my old friends, mainly from Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan branches of CAMRA, some of whom hadn't heard the news about my split with Kevin. Then we rolled our sleeves up and got stuck in with work.
At first we helped set out the CAMRA Products, including some interesting t-shirts to do with beards and religion! Then it was over to the main bar, which seemed very busy, with a short interlude on Foreign Beer (more complicated to serve than you might think) and a couple of breaks for food (huge pasties and tasty curry). We had lots more customers during the Rugby (Wales v SA). As the beer range started to dwindle, it being the last day of the festival, the crowds dwindled too. I still had the chance to sample some excellent beers - Wye Valley Santa's Delight being my beer of the festival. We headed off at about 10.30pm back to the hotel for some well earned rest!

Rye Weekend

Went to Rye for my second birthday weekend (!) just because I'd always fancied going there. Rye town was very beautiful with lots of unusual medieval buildings. The highlight was the view from the church tower at the top of the Rock - a stunning vista of the rivers, the sea, the town and the South Downs. THere were lots of really nice shops there, including a photographer's gallery with some beautiful local pictures. A spooky picture of Dungeness was particularly appealing. We had a superb lunch at the Ypres Castle Inn, washed down with pints of Harvey's Best.
Later on we walked along the Royal Military Canal Path and over to Camber Castle, getting back to town just as the sun was setting. We decided to get fish and chips at the 'Kettle of Fish' before the town started getting busy for the Bonfire Parade - a good call as when we came out we found people queueing down the street!
The firework parade itself was spectacular, with bonfire societies from Rye and its neighbouring towns all dressed up in wierd and wonderful costumes, floats from the scouts, the local school etc, a fire breathing dragon and a 'burning' ship. I took lots of photos, they will be in the gallery soon.
The fireworks were really good, if short lived, and the bonfire itself was huge, made of wooden pallets in which catherine wheels and other small fireworks had evidently been added. The bonfire societies stood round the fire throwing firecrackers around (not at each other, which I've heard happens at wilder towns). Thought they should have performed some circle dances round the fire for more crowd entertainment!!
Next day it was raining so Patrick drove to some locks that he wanted to see on the Royal Military Canal (not strictly speaking a proper canal, more a defensive ditch)
and we went on from there to Snargate and the excellent Red Lion, quick look around Lydd, pasty and mug of tea at the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway cafe in Dungeness. Lastly, the walk on Camber Sands just as the sun was setting was a beautiful experience.
Another amazing weekend - was sad to have to return to Farnborough!

Happy Birthday to Me!

What a wonderful evening at the Talbot Hotel, Ripley. Through the grapevine I'd heard that the local Ale Taster had been invited to do his annual quality inspection of the Hotel's ales, as it turned out he was accompanied by the Lord of the Manor and flunkeys, the Town Crier, a Magistrate, Fleur de Lys and Thames Valley morris teams, a marching band and a pair of Scottish pipers!
Patrick and I had booked a table in the restaurant and he treated me to a three course Birthday meal - bread and olive oil dips to start, then lamb shank with pearl barley sauce and potato hotpot, then warm dark chocolate cake with mascarpone sauce for dessert. I talked shop with Peter the Ale Taster (resplendent in authentic English ale-tasting costume) and he recommended the Ruddles County which was indeed as good as it gets! The entertainment was great, and it was a chance to catch up with the Fleurs again. Wished I'd been dancing with them, at times.
Ian and Janet arrived for last orders, they very generously bought a bottle of bubbly, which we ended up taking to our room, a large medieval bedroom with a four poster bed, very romantic!
Best Birthday ever, I think :)

Marple to Bugsworth Basin

Bit of a boo-boo on the way up – I got on the wrong train at Euston and ended up in Stafford instead of Stoke, so Patrick had to pick me up from there. Luckily it wasn’t too inconvenient - Stafford is only about 15 miles from Stoke, and there were traffic problems on the motorway anyway! Still a bit scary when I realised I was on the wrong train – the guard only announced the stops as the train was pulling away.
Spent the night at Patrick’s parents in Marple – a very erudite evening with beer, whisky and cream cakes – then off to Ripple’s moorings in the morning, Ripple had collected a number of autumn leaves so Patrick had to sweep them off before the acid from the rotting leaves attacked the paintwork. The BMC engine seemed a bit reluctant at first,, emitting black clouds and stalling once, but soon seemed happier once we were underway.
The Peak Forest Canal was particularly beautiful with the autumn leaves all shades from gold to deep rust. Not so good for steering the narrowboat though, as the fallen leaves in the water kept sticking to the propeller. We kept having to pt the boat briefly into reverse to clear the propeller again – but sometimes this was awkward, especially when trying to steer round bends where other boats were moored. Somehow all the other boats seemed to have picked really awkward places to moor up as well!
We stopped at the Dog and Partridge just outside Whaley Bridge for some excellent beer (I had Coach House Navvy mild) and a lovely meal (I had sausage filled Yorkshire Pud) then up to Whaley Bridge basin. Then back down the canal and up to Bugsworth Basin, where we met Patrick’s parents again. By sheer good fortune there was also a firework display in the evening from the local pub, the Navigation, and we happened to moor at the best spot to see all the fireworks! The four of us really enjoyed watching the display from Ripple’s back deck, with the fireworks reflecting in the water. Then it was off to the pub for another meal and some more beer!
Next morning we had a brief wander around the basin, which is a scheduled ancient monument, with some very interesting industrial archaeology. It was a leisurely cruise back down the Peak Forest and Trent and Mersey Canals to Ripple’s home moorings, and we arrived just as the sun was setting. Shame to leave!