Some nice things I've missed

Of late, I've struggled to keep the blog going. Weirdly, readership has grown considerably in the first half of 2009, so I can only assume that most people actually prefer the pithy one line posts. Nevetheless, I recognise that I need to put some meat on the bones. Here's just a few of the beery things I've done that I should have written about, but didn't get around to:

• A seminar on lager at Thornbridge in Derbyshire. It was attended by, among others, Alastair Hook from Meantime and one of the chaps from Birrificio Italiano. Here's what Martyn Cornell had to say about that one. (All I remember is the bloody long journey there and back and Roger Protz refusing to drink canned Guinness on the train home).
• A return to the first pub I ever worked in - The Steamboat - after 12 years.
• The Tuesday evening when a Society of Independent Brewers' AGM happened to co-incide with a British Guild of Beer Writer's committee meeting here at The Gunmakers. That was a funny one - the regulars didn't know what to make of it. Pictured are Jeff Pickthall, Pete Brown and Chris Marchbanks of the Guild tucking into some samples of unreleased Brew Dog beers I brought up from the cellar that night.
• A tour around the tiny but much-respected York Brewery (I now sell their beer fairly regularly, as it goes: Constantine's selling well at the mo).
• A beer writers junket to Sharp's in Cornwall, which was followed by a somewhat pished evening in charge of dangerous knives at Rick Stein's cookery school. Here's Zak Avery's write-up. (You can see the dodgy long hair and sidies I was sporting back then in one of his photos).

All of those happened months and months ago. It would be strange to write about them so long after the event. Boo-hoo. But, from now on, I'm going to start writing properly again. I did used to enjoy it, after all. So bear with me while my online mojo returns. You'll love it, I assure you*.

* I can't promise to write anything that'll turn beer geeks on, through. Let's face it, that ship sailed a long time ago. I don't really drink strong bottled beers and I don't go to beer festivals and grotty tickers' pubs anymore, so I'm no good to ya.