Westerham Brewery Visit

Keith from East and Mid Surrey CAMRA had emailed me details of the Westerham Brewery Open Evening - £5 drink as much as you want sounded pretty good to me! The event started at 6.30pm, and it was easy to get to the brewery by train after work to Edenbridge and then cycle to Grange Farm in Crockham Hill. I thought I’d get a snack in Edenbridge on the way up, but there didn’t seem to be any fast food near the station.
I soon found out why Crockham Hill was called Crockham Hill, and had to push the bike up into the village! Still no takeaways to reward me, so I cycled on to the brewery, and was relieved to see sausages sizzling away on a big barbie round the back.
The beers were great and there was a large range on offer, served in glass jugs. I tried Summer Perle, British Bulldog, Black Eagle SPA, Little Scotney Ale, Grasshopper, 7X and 1965 Special, but Summer Perle was my favourite.
I met some lovely people there – there were 2 people from Maidstone CAMRA and some well-educated bikers (much like my friend Simon) from Biggin Hill who kept me entertained, they were joined later by the Vicar of Biggin Hill. This led to a rather drunken conversation on whether God exists, whereupon the Vicar told me there’s no real ale in Hell. Time to worry I think!!
The lady on the desk, I assume Robert Wick’s wife, was also very interesting and knowledgeable about the brewery. Whilst she was standing there alone for most of the evening, you couldn’t get near Robert to ask any questions, but then people often overlook us women!
I also tried the sausages, which were made with Westerham beer by Priory Farm, and had won a Silver Medal. Delicious!
Wobbled back to the station and made it home somehow!

Priddy Folk Festival - 10/7/05

Priddy good one!
Just a little village festival, with a lot of the profits seeming to go back to the community - which is how it should be. THe atmosphere was very laid back. Beer from Hidden Brewery, also cider from local producers. Nice bacon sarnies too.
Wandering Soles were good, Steve Tilston http://www.steve-tilston.co.uk/ on fine form and Seth Lakeman Trio http://www.sethlakeman.co.uk/ excellent. Out in the (much cooler) club tent, Christina Crosby and Andrew Bazley were both very good, the former being a Joan Baez type and the latter being an excellent blues-guitarist.
Loscoe State Opera http://www.loscoestateopera.com/ (don't worry they're a far cry from opera!) were the surprise of the event, being much like the Levellers but with a flute and an accordion. They did spiced-up versions of traditional songs and went down a storm, a great way to finish off the festival.

Abbotsbury Family Festival 2005

First we stopped off in Dorset to see Bill’s Dad George, who hadn’t been well, and to take him and girlfriend Eileen out for lunch. There was a slight detour down the Bride Valley, as Bill couldn’t remember where the pub was! Luckily we came across it in Litton Cheney. It was a Palmers pub, called the White Horse, and served good, cheap food – shame about the beer quality though.
George and Eileen seemed to enjoy their meals and the scenic ride. We caught up on family news as well, before heading back to Abbotsbury Gardens to meet up with Other Val and Matt. Also bumped in to Darren from folking.com, who was sitting just in front.
There is a running joke at Abbotsbury Folk Festival that Steve Knightley is in fact a rain god, and if he sings Tall Ships (plenty of rain lyrics including ‘so we look for a storm in the sky’) he can bring on the bad weather. This year he was forbidden to do so, as last year it absolutely tipped it down right on cue!
However he did sing The Preacher (‘she was running through the rain’) and Widdecombe Fair (‘we waited in the rain, but the boy never came’) and that was enough to bring a couple of light showers.
The next band was Karine Polwart’s band. Karine has a very powerful voice with a strong Stirling accent, and sung some interesting songs. One to look out for in future.
Next was a turntable artist from Afro Celts. The music he played was good but without any song titles, and rather loud. It would have been nice to chat to each other without having to move away from the speakers!
Next, thankfully, Messrs Spiers and Boden, celebrated step dancer/singer and amazing accordionist! They are a duo that seem to get better and better (much like Phil and Steve) – and had us all singing along.
Lastly, Show of Hands to finish. Steve played a couple of new songs, which were superb – The Dive (not about Nettlebed but a father-and-son diving team) and Roots (about politicians/media killing folk music). This time no rain! Another fab day out.

London's Burning

Well, today we had our very own 9/11, but we were oddly stoical about it, in total contrast to the Americans. People at work just said 'Shocking, isn't it' and 'It makes my stomach go cold'. The only people who showed any high emotion were the foreign students, one of whose boyfriend was due to be in London sightseeing (but got stuck in lovely Redhill instead).
I was worried that it would take a long time to get home and that the trains would be absolutely packed. But the 17.14 was only a few minutes late. Was relieved that Rachel, John and Chinese Chris were OK, not all that worried about Clive - only the good die young. Again the mood on the train was oddly subdued, no-one even mentioning the disaster till Chinese Chris said, 'Bad news' and it took me a few seconds to work out what he meant. He knew some people working near Edgware Road, so I hoped they were OK. Some people whinged a little about the inconvenience. But it was as if it was bad taste to pay any attention to it.
The older people are immured to bombings because of all the IRA bombings we had a while ago. And we are a very stoical, resillient country.
Hubby has now gone to a meeting in Woking, not allowing the b*stards to get him down, in his own words. He has had only one apology for abscence.
We Brits are great eh :-)

Farnham Library Gardens Tea Party 2/7/05

Doesn't sound wildly exciting does it? Well it was a fete supposedly designed to get people to volunteer for various local charities - as a result not many people turned up! But luckily Bill had forwarded me an email from Darren Beech, the folking.com guy who organises the Farnham Maltings folk club, to say that Jo Quinn and Paul Taylor from Mary Jane would be providing the musical entertainment along with some others. And it was free!
I fancied a cycle ride that Saturday, as Bill was away visiting his Dad in Dorset, so I cycled to Farnham via the Blackwater Valley Path. Got a bit lost and ended up as the track ran out in Tongham, so I cycled (with a lot of willpower) past Hogs Back Brewery under the A-road to Runsfold then into Farnham. I was a little late for the 1pm kickoff but as it happened Penelope Keith (who was due to open the fete) got stuck in traffic too, so they hadn't started the music.
Andy Stedman, a local singer-songwriter, was first up, with his guitar. He apparently "offers an indie calm with floating melodies, delicate vocals and strong lyrics" - personally I found it a bit boring, nothing I hadn't already heard. Nice clothes though. I wandered around the fete, tried some free cake, entered the local conservation group's quiz and failed to win any decent booze on the tombolas.
Next were Jo Quinn and Paul Taylor. Jo has a superb voice and is a good actor too, which makes her performances stand out. A few of the worthies sat and listened to their set, and they got lots of applause at the end.
Next were a band led by Naama Hillman, whose style I didn't like that much - too poppy. By this time I was hungry, the fete not including the usual BBQ stall, so I strolled across the road to Cafe Piccolo and had Spinach, Cheese and Rice Soup, very nice too.
Arrived back just in time for Siansa an Irish group, no harpist this time but a flautist, an electric fiddle player, a bouzouki/guitar player and a uillean piper. These were very good and had the largest audience - some people's kids even danced to the fast jigs. I had won a can of Boddingtons and was happily sipping it and tapping my foot to the rhythm. When I ran out of beer Darren Beech kindly shared some of his with me "as you're a regular"!! What a lovely guy.
I really wanted a CD - but had spent all my money on the soup and charities! I went over to Darren and asked how long he was staying till and if he'd save me a CD, he said yes no problem and so I stayed till the end of Siansa's gig. Cycled fast into town, grabbed some money out of the cashpoint, cycled back again! Very happy with my CD, would love to see Siansa again at the Maltings in November - hope it doesn't clash with anything.

Beer Festival Meeting in Redhill

On Tuesday I thought I'd attend a Redhill Beer Festival meeting, as I'm supposed to be organising the Products and Membership table. Kathy caught the minibus with me, which saved me hanging around town on my own.
Firt port of call was the Sun, for some dinner (not 'tea' as some heathens might call it). We decided on the 2 for £6.25 option, Kathy had Chicken Burger (actually a fillet of chicken in a bun) and I had Chilli and Nachos, both fine and good value. We passed on the beer though, the range wasn't great that night.
Next I took Kath to the Hatch, as she hadn't been there before. A bit of a walk from the town centre but worth it. The Goldings was good and the Spitfire even better - just a tad expensive at £2.70 and £3.00 a pint!!
Then back to the Garland with its comprehensive range of Harvey's beers. Martini the Cat gave us a friendly welcome, gatecrashing on our meeting, still nosey at 20 years old! The beer was as good as ever, the Tom Paine being on particularly fine form. Sat and listened to the meeting, my only contribution being to ask for 2 tables-worth of space to be included in the site plan for me. At about 9pm a violent storm distracted us with loud booms and hailstones against the windows. Kathy and Sally seemed to be running the show fine, with Nick from SHB being very helpful.
I left shortly before Nick, but was dismayed on reaching the station to see that all the train had been delayed due to signalling problems, the result of the storm. Decided to play it safe and stay over with Kathy on the sofabed in the Bungalow, very cosy it was too, but I was dying for a shower in the morning. At least I had a change of clothes in my locker at work, the way that us chemists do.
Hope Nick made it back OK, will ask him next time I see him...

Oysterband Big Session Festival, Leicester

Phew it was HOT! And not just the music!
We arrived at a very strange b&b that seemed to be run by a cross between Jimmy Saville and Larry Grayson, who insisted we were 'good people' - well... The housekeeping wasn't up to much, the breakfast was large but only served between 7 and 8am (a bit mean at the weekend, we thought) and there was no shower, only a bath. Still, the garden was nice and the beds comfy.
Val and Matt drove us up, and were camped with the Oysterband yahoo-group. Bill knew them all but I didn't - wierd! Sarah Smith was also there, blossoming nicely if a little sleepy at times!
DeMontfort Hall was a superb venue for such a festie - nice big hall (built 1915), plenty of field space. More beer in the beer tent next time though, guys!
The gigs were mostly Oysterband with one or two other bands on every now and again! Eliza Carthy's set was a little more downbeat than normal, maybe she just wanted to play slowies because of the heat. Rev Hammer and Mark Chadwick were very relaxed - I joined Dim, Wonderhorsie, Rosie and friends at the front for that one - only trouble was, Rev's voice wasn't that good and he didn't seem to want to give the vocals to Mark very often. Rev later hogged the mike from JJ when he guested with the Oysterband for 'Drunkard's Waltz' - what an ego!
Justin Sullivan's set in the Hall was quite gloomy, and the sound was bad - went to catch Show of Hands in the Tent but it was packed, I only heard muffled singing from a distance. They should have swapped locations really.
Whapweasel were indeed one of the best Ceilidh bands I've seen, but it was far too hot to be ceilidhing really. Bill and I danced 2 sets at a time, then had to rush back to the table for lots of water.
I also met Cousin Wayne down town, it was great to chat to him again. We went for a drink in Brucianis icecream cafe, a bit of a nostalgia trip for me as Grandma used to take me there as a kid. We reminisced about our departed grandparents and Auntie Mari, I caught up on news of Wayne's community work, Cousin Shaun's band etc. Could have talked all day! Afterwards I did some shopping, bought much-needed sun hat and sandals. Leicester is fab ;-D

Southampton Beer Festival

Well I WAS planning to have a quiet night in last night! Arriving home I realised I didn't have my keys with me - Bill Badger had borrowed them (because they had bike keys on them) to cycle to Guildford on Wednesday night, and hadn't replaced them in my bag. Bugger!
Was just walking round the house when I spotted a half-naked man in a car. It was Patrick, an old friend from Cardiff, getting changed before going to meet Bill at Southampton Beer Festival. I explained the situation to Pat, he agreed there was nothing to do but accompany him! We headed off to Farnborough Main, met up with Johnny P at Basingstoke when we changed trains, and the three of us chatted and caught up on all our news.
I thought Bill would guess straight away that I'd locked myself out, but he just assumed I'd fancied a beer or two ;-D Bill had had a few to drink already, and reccommended some good ones - Westerham Black Eagle, Oakleaf Hole Hearted and Dark Star Landlord's Wit to name a few. I also tried Enville Old Porter and Ringwood XXXX Porter - very nice too!
Ate a really nice Chicken Korma from the Guildhall canteen, £5.50. I also won some jelly-babies on the tombola, but they don't really go with beer.
Met my sister Shirl later and blagged her a cheaper ticket, as she was only staying for a half. She tried the Sam Adams Lager, which she drank very slowly! We sorted out holiday plans for August - North Wales seems likely. Then it was off for the last train back to Farnborough.
Fantastic evening - if somewhat unexpected!

Booze Tour of Belgium and France

Yesterday it was Simon's birthay and so to celebrate he and Jane, me and Bill went across to Belgium in Simon's Volvo estate, to buy lots of Belgian beer, French wine and to have a meal over there as well.
We left Simon and Jane's house at 9.15am and had a clear run to Ashford for the Eurostar, which we boarded about 10.30am. On the train we ate our pack lunches and Simon very kindly shared out a bottle of champagne! Very civilised.
First stop was Cite Europe for wine, cheese, choccie and sausage - we bought 5 bottles of wine, all red. Got a (relatively) cheap Chateauneuf du Pape, I look forward to sampling it on a suitably special occasion. Simon bought a motorcycle jack, an unusual souvenir but apparently it was a lot cheaper than it would have been at home!
We had some problems getting back on the motorway as one of the slip roads was closed, and we had to go back the way we'd come a little before heading the right way. The 'deviation' (diversion) signs were quite small and you could not see the arrows till you were right next to them, so we nearly caused a few accidents trying to get into the right lane at the last minute!
Eventually we were on our way to Belgium. We stopped at Noel Cuvelier's beer shop in Abele, just over the border, and were in there for over an hour as Bill seemingly looked up every single beer in Simon's 'Belgian Good Beer Guide', which we'd cunningly bought him as a birthday present.
The next idea was to sample some draught Belgian beers so we headed for Poperinge (famous for its hops)and the Palace Hotel, which offered draught Hommelbier, St Bernardus Tripel, Kerelsbier and Maes as well as a huge range of bottled beers. A friendly bar with lots of Belgian breweriana. I tried the first 3 of the draughts, then feeling tipsy got back in the car to Veune where Simon knew a good restaurant. Unfortunately he couldn't find the precise one he had in mind, but we tried the Ibis and found it was pretty good! We had 4 course meals - I had foie gras, asparagus, duck and meringue tart - washed down with Hoegaarden. Coffee to finish, which came with marble cake and little Toblerones, superb.
Headed back to Calais and the ferry, congratulating ourselves on our 'haul' finally getting back home around midnight. Great day, looking forward to next year's trip!

Glastonwick Beer Music Poetry and More Beer Festival

This year the festie, organised by Atilla the Stockbroker, was held at Shoreham airport and we were fortunate to get lifts down and back with Other Val and Matt. The weather was sadly a bit blowy with occasional rain (usually when queuing for beer at the outside beer tent!) but otherwise the atmos was great. There were loads of people there from Surrey/Hants CAMRA, as well as Glyn, an old friend from South Wales, but did not spot any boardies from The Alternative Levellers Messageboard, where I 'live' online.
Got there at about 2pm and started drinking beer - there was a long queue for the beer tent as there was only a small hatch and 2-3 people serving. Kevin and Other Val decided to go to the lunchtime music session - apparently David Rovics was very good - whilst I continued drinking beer and eating Val's party-eggs!
After the lunchtime gigs at about 5pm Val drove us into Brighton, almost too late to browse through the North Laines (my spiritual home) - couldn't resist the posh choccies in 'Montezuma'. We ended up, inevitably, in the Evening Star on Surrey Street, one of my all-time favourite pubs. Dark Star Expresso Stout - outstanding!! Shame I missed their mocha stout at the festie. Hurriedly ate some fish 'n' chips from the pier before heading back to Glastonwick for more beer and the evening music.
First up was Jim Bob, an ex Carter USM member. He was awl right, a lot of people were singing along to his songs so I guess they must have been old hits, I was never really into Carter USM.
Then all the Carter USM fans disappeared and all the Adverts fans appeared! Silver fox TV Smith took to the stage with his guitar and played some of my favourites like 'Thin Green Line', 'David Gilmore's Eyes', 'Lion and the Lamb', and 'One Chord Wonders'. He seemed to be having a great time, and played 'Bored Teenagers' as an encore 'because you're a crowd and I feel like pleasing you!' Indeed he was in such a good mood that he signed my 'Red Sea Crossing' CD and posed for a photo with 'News and Ale' for Other Val!
The band I'd been waiting for however was McDermott's 2 Hours. An Irish folk-punk band, band leader Nick Burbridge was one of the main influences on the Levellers and wrote 'Dirty Davey'. I got a front spot as all the Adverts fans left, and met a lady called Liz who was in need of a dance partner! So we pogoed right in front of Nick and Matt - we attempted an Irish reel but was afraid of sending Nick flying which would have been RATHER embarrassing. I did throw my beer all over my face as I was pogoing, hopefully I wiped it off before any of the McDermotts saw me! They played mostly fasties with the odd slowy to give me and Liz time to get our breaths back, the craic was out of this world. Was singing along, as many of the words as I could remember, I do like songs with a message.
After the gig I noticed a 'Live at Ferneham Hall' CD which the McDermotts recorded at Fareham and Gosport Folk Festival (see previous posting) so I bought it to see if I could hear myself. Then quickly sneaked back into the hall to see if the guys would sign it. Chased after Ben Paley the fiddle player first, who had trouble remembering his name - he'd obviously tried a few real ales! Matt the bassist signed second and shook hands with me, he seemed rather shy. Then asked Nick and he was happy to autograph and chat about the difficulties of playing with no monitors. Then he said he'd spotted me singing along and thanked me (much to my surprise) saying it made all the difference to the atmosphere. Then I shook hands with him and he gave me a whiskery kiss on the cheek as well!! I shyly said thanks and hurried over to see Dil the drummer. Dil was even more chatty - he put a 3-fishes symbol on the CD as well, and when I asked him why he said it was an old family emblem (not the arms of Kingston-upon-Thames as I'd thought). Strange, these people from Pembrokeshire!
Could have stayed and talked to the band all night, but Other Val, Matt, Bill and Doug were waiting to go home so I skipped back to them to boast of my hobnobbing and kissing activities! Best beerfest ever by far ;-D

Battlefield Band and Guests, Norden Farm

Hi there, sorry I haven't posted for a while - have been ill, but am better now ta.
Went to see Battlefield Band and guests from Uzbekistan in Maidenhead - just with Bill this time. Battlefield Band kicked off the evening with a few of their fans' favourite numbers, and a song about Iraq. A couple of young Scottish dancers - John Sikorski & Donal Brown, dressed in black jeans and t-shirts. Wot no kilts - I'm sure the ladies in the front row were disappointed! But the way they whirled each other around at high speed was pretty impressive.
Then the Uzbekistani band came on - ABDULAKHAD ABDURASHIDOV on the Nay (flute type thing), AKHMADJON DADAEV on the Gijak (fiddle type thing) and vocals, ILYAS LUTFULLAEV on Dutar (two string mandolin) and kushkar rubab (guitar type thing) HUSAN NOSIROV on Doyra (bodhran/tambourine type thing). They were wearing traditional Uzbeki robes which were black with gold embroidery, available from their stall for £200! Their music was so exotic sounding, a bit Arabic, a bit Oriental, a bit Eastern European - like nothing else I've else heard. Then came on the Uzbeki dancers, Saida Mansurhodjayeva & Nargiza Khodjakhanova in the most amazing dresses and with very long hair in plaits. They looked like princesses in their brightly coloured, low cut, gold and sequin embroidered, flowing dresses and gold headdresses. One of the dances was very sexy - apparently they'd performed it at Edinburgh Prison where it went down a treat with the inmates.
After the break both the Scottish and Uzbeki musicians played each others' songs and the dancers attempted a Scottish/Uzbeki crossover routine!
The encore was even more impressive with Husan playing 3 Doyra drums at once, the (rather large) fiddle player in a dancing duel and a bagpipe duel!
Fantastic evening - just what the doctor ordered!

Paperboys, West End Centre, Aldershot

Went to see the Paperboys at the West End Centre with Bill, Val and Julie. Not many people there, I don't think it justified standing-only tickets. Most people weren't dancing anyway (although I did spot Val giving a little wiggle!) I was sat down as I was feeling a bit faint, having blagged a chair from the roadie.
I liked the Paperboys' crossover styles of Celtic, bluegrass, Cajun, Latin and more, all delivered with bags of energy. The flautist was the outstanding musician of the team, thought the (blonde) violinist was a bit run-of-the-mill, probably just in the band for sex appeal! Front-man and composer Tom signed my Molinos CD, and was happy to chat about his music and the aims of the band. All in all a very good night.

Rory McLeod, West End Centre, Aldershot

Ken and Other Val joined us on the candlelit table at the West End Centre for Rory McLeod's gig. Poor Rory seemed to give a hurried performance with a lot less chat and more songs than he did last time, perhaps he's got fed up of being told to 'hurry up' or 'get on with it' by hecklers in the crowd, or being 'hooked off' by venue staff anxious to get home! Personally I like his stories as much as the songs. Rory played a lot of my favourites such as No More Blood For Oil, Too Old For the Orphanage, London Kisses, What Would Jesus Do and some new ones to me, such as Emperor's New Clothes and the Miner's Picket Dance. His encore was a trombone tune which didn't work very well as it was 'out of tune'!!
Rory seems like a top guy, and likes to meet the people from the audience at break time. A group of young girls seemed pleased to talk to him - he seemed pleased as well! Married man, girls, I'm afraid!!

Curry Nite

Yesterday Ian the Minister came over to stay. I had trouble getting back in the evening due to a cancelled train - but got to Farnborough in time to meet Ian and Bill Badger leaving the Tumbledown Dick. The boys had been expecting to try Hogs Back beer, which was advertised in large letters outside the pub, only to be given halves of vinegar. At least they only ordered halves! Johnny P arrived at about the same time as me, then we all headed off to the Swan, where we had much nicer beer (Elgoods Black Dog Mild in superb form, also some very nice Pride of Pendle from Moorhouse).
We had to drag ourselves away at 9.15 for our curry appointment in the Gurkha Kitchen. The poppadoms were so good Ian ordered another round on top of the free ones you get whilst you wait. We went straight on to the main courses, Ian and Bill going for Chicken Tikka Massala, John for Hot Chicken and me for a medium Nepalese King Prawn curry

Evening Wedding Reception

Andy and Gill's evening doo was at the Alton Grange, which was a lot posher on the inside than on the outside. The CAMRA contingency didn't have places at tables, as we weren't at the lunch, so we commandeered the lounge bar (with much rearranging of pot plants and comfy chairs). Real ales were available from Triple fff and the buffet was very generous, so we were more than happy. Bob arrived in a suit, we remarked upon the unusualness of this sight! Val had changed into a lime green top and black trousers, Julie had a black outfit with purple 'party cardy'. Didn't see much of Andy, think the boys were buying him drink after drink! Gill was bopping away still in her beautiful wedding dress, having to hold up the train. She insisted that we dance with her, who were we to say no? The DJ played the usual dance selection of 60s, 70s, 80s stuff with a bit of modern pop, he finished far too soon though. Highlights were Jules and Val's lesbian slow dance to Robbie William's 'Angel', Val and Nick waltzing to Wham!, and Bill and me high-kicking to 'New York, New York'.
A good time was had by all!

Andy and Gill's Wedding

This afternoon we went to Andy and Gill's wedding in St James Church, Rowledge. The church was ever so cute, and it was a lovely service, with a good organist and choir as well. Both Andy and Gill looked great, very relaxed, and very much in love. Outside the Church it was sunny but a bit breezy - various people had to hold Gill's train and veil to stop them blowing around. There was a CAMRA Pals official photo, with Other Val, Matt, Julie, Nick, Hannah, Hannah's boyfriend, Bill and myself with the bride and groom in the porch of the church, I hope nobody blinked! I took a couple of photos on Bill's camera, they will appear in Valerie's Gallery at some point, when I can get the @&*$ing thing to work!!
Then Matt drove Other Val, Julie, Bill and myself to the Sandrock where we had a pint before heading back home for food and maybe a change of clothes, ahead of the evening doo. Then we get together with some other CAMRA-ites who have been pub-crawling all afternoon, that should be lively!

Election Fever

Bill and I cycled down to St Peter's Church to vote - yes the Liberals were still handing out sweeties. Saw the Tory incumbent for the first time as well, chatting amiably with the Liberal hopeful. No sign of the Labour guy, he has probably resigned himself to losing Farnborough South.
Was tempted to vote Monster Raving Loony as he the only one I'd 'talk to in a bar' (Billy Connolly's definition of an electable person) - he's the landlord of the 'Dog and Partridge' in Yately.
But in the end I did the right thing, I voted Liberal. Gordon Brown says the War in Iraq was fought for economic reasons and I believe him. Gordon Brown wants me to vote Liberal!! I don't want to belong to a country that pours out the blood of its soldiers, not to mention that of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians, for cheap oil. When Gordon Brown takes over Labour Party leadership, then I'll vote Labour again, like the good socialist I am.
That's not the only reason of course. Here are the 10 good reasons to vote Liberal from their website:

WE OPPOSE: Putting targets first
WE PROPOSE: Putting patients first
Faster diagnosis so your NHS treatment can start more quickly


WE OPPOSE: Tuition fees & top up fees
WE PROPOSE: Scrapping student fees
Further education affordable to every student


WE OPPOSE: Compulsory I.D. Cards
WE PROPOSE: Spending the money on 10,000 more police
Funded by scrapping compulsory I.D. cards


WE OPPOSE: Selling your home to pay for care
WE PROPOSE: Free personal care for the elderly
No one forced to sell their home to pay for care


WE OPPOSE: Ignoring climate change
WE PROPOSE: Cleaner transport & cleaner energy
Cleaner transport, cleaner energy and a cleaner environment


WE OPPOSE: £1.5 billion on the child trust fund
WE PROPOSE: £1.5 billion towards reducing class sizes
Spend the £1.5 billion Child Trust Fund when it matters most


WE OPPOSE: Means-testing pensioners
WE PROPOSE: £100 extra per month starting with the over 75s
A million pensioners off means-testing


WE OPPOSE: Hidden tax increases
WE PROPOSE: Only one tax increase - on income above £100,000 per year
Only one tax increase on income over £100,000


WE OPPOSE: Unfair council tax
WE PROPOSE: Local income tax, saving typical households £450 per year
Local Income Tax is both fair and affordable


WE OPPOSE: Bush & Blair on Iraq
WE PROPOSE: Never again
It's time to restore trust in government

I agree with all of these.
Shame there was no Green candidate, that would have been my second choice.
Vote Tory? Nevvah!!

Oxtale

Just a quick post tonight...we went walking today around Dunsfold (of the Seven Ponds) loosely based on a walk in 'Walker's Britain' - for more details see Bill Badger (my other half). It was a hot day, and Bill was very careful to take precautions against sunburn with sun cream and a hat. I was less bothered, being a brunette, but drank a lot more water. The heat and my heavy winter boots made it rather hard going (that's my excuse!) and we had to cut the walk short - but only by scrambling up a very steep hill.
We stopped off at Budgens in Ash Vale on the way back, and Bill spotted some oxtail reduced to £1 so he bought it for the evening meal (I fancied curry, but still). The cookbook advised casseroling it, so Bill baked it in a casserole dish with some mushrooms, no sauce. Boy was it tough to eat! I had to pick it up and gnaw the meat off the tailbones, my gums are still hurting now. It just tasted like scrag ends of beef, very fatty, not really worth the effort. I will only eat oxtail in soup from now on. Still, good story to shock my veggie friends with ;-)

Real Ale Wobble Around Alton

Phew! Have just got back from Alton, where Bill and I have been cycling on this lovely sunny day.
We loaded the bikes onto the back of the car and headed off for the Chawton Park Wood car park in Medtead and the start of the cycle ride. We had planned to do a 15-mile published ride along bridleways, but the first bridleway we came across was very muddy and slippery so we decided to modify our route to only use roads! Maybe with proper mountain tyres we could have coped, but not with semi-slicks.
First we took the minor road into Medstead, then northwards towards Bentworth. Time for a drinkee already, we visited both the Star (Ringwood Best in fine form) and the Sun (good half of Cheriton Pots from their wide selection of beers) at Bentworth, and ate our sandwiches beneath a tree. Then down a rather hilly single-track road to Alton, where we visited the French Horn, supped some lovely Hook Norton Best and gazed at the funfair opposite the pub on 'The Butts'.
We were still feeling fit, so we decided to extend our route via the Selbourne Arms in Selbourne, so we headed up the B3006. The road looked deceptively flat on the map but we were surprised with some relentless upward slopes! We were well deserving of our Itchen Valley Pure Gold when we arrived (the best beer of the day, in my opinion). It was also pure joy to sit out in the Selborne Arms' beer garden with the cherry-blossom and bluebells out, and the birds singing. We didn't want to leave.
The last stretch back to Medstead involved a hilly road up to Newton Valence, another steep hill on the other side of the A32 towards Four Marks (I pushed my bike up most of it) and a short stretch of the A31 before turning off down the wide residential road to the Chawton Park Wood carpark again.
It must have done me good because my legs were all wobbly when I got off the bike, and I had to sit down for a bit and recover! A lot of work needed I think before I can do the London to Cambridge in July!

Eleanor McEvoy, West End Centre, Aldershot

Bill and I had seen Eleanor McEvoy at Fareham and Gostport Folk Festival, so we knew we were in for a treat!
The support act was Tristan Seume a very talented guitarist, reminiscent of Paul Downes. However half an hour of acoustic guitar with no lyrics did send me off to sleep a bit. Perhaps he should ask Eleanor to write some lyrics for him.
At last Eleanor came on stage (despite rumours of fog in Dublin) and gave a stunning performance. She seems to me like a cross between early Sinead O'Connor and Thea Gilmore. She can play fiddle to a very high standard as well as acoustic and electric guitar, her songs are highly emotionally charged and uplifting. The stories behind the songs are always entertaining as well. Sone of my favourite songs were Whisper a Prayer to the Moon (sadly unavailable on album in the UK - WHY NOT!!??!), The Rain Falls Down (a song about being dumped by email), and the ironically-named You'll Hear Better Songs (Than This) - now out on single - buy it!! She also covered Chuck Berry's classic Memphis Tennessee - a wistful, slowed down version.
The audience at the West End Centre were very appreciative and there was a long queue for CD's - Eleanor kindly signed mine, and we had a little chat - agreeing the gig was a lot less fraught than at Fareham, also a very good one! I hope she tours round our way again soon.