Tuesday 27 October 2015

Could Have Tried Harder

The Rushmoor in Bloom Awards night once again passed us by as we were sunning ourselves in warmer climes.


So there is no photo of me with the Mayor again but the obligatory “Could have tried harder” Silver Gilt Award certificate was waiting on the door mat on our return.

There are 12 allotment sites in Aldershot and Farnborough with over 400 plots all of which are judged and this year only 8 Gold’s and 21 Silver Gilts were awarded.


As you are all aware, I didn’t get where I am by blowing my own trumpet, but considering the limited amount of time I seem to have available these days, a Silver Gilt was, if I say it myself, a pretty good effort.





On top of that we were one of the runners up in The Best Kept Caravan Awards and received “a nice little earner”!


As usual on Sunday I tuned in to Radio 4 to listen to Desert Island discs. The castaway was Keith Richard and I was pleasantly surprised how interesting and amusing he was - well worth a listen:


53 years and still going strong, here's an early Rolling Stones track:


Hey Ho!

Friday 23 October 2015

A Pub was a Pub is a Gastro Pub – Part 3

As you are well aware I didn’t get where I am today by being a fan of restaurants disguised as pubs.

I’m not against some food being served in a pub if it is away from the main business of the establishment – the serving beer and drinking of beer.

But more and more pubs are describing themselves as Gastro Pubs.

Gastro Pub?

It sounds like something you'd want to get surgically removed from your small intestine but in fact, according to the Oxford English dictionary the definition of gastropub is:

                    A pub that specialises in serving high-quality food.

In other words small portions of over-priced poncy food served on a wooden board accompanied by a grey roof slate covered with strange leaves and seven dots of slimy green sauce which make you want to ask whether the chef has a cold!

And why does adding a honey-glazed sauce on a beefburger turn it into a “gourmet” burger? 

It’s a bloody beefburger for Gods sake!

Also I don’t need need to know that the chips have been cut by hand or what kind of potato they are made of – they’re just chips!

And finally, if I was drunk enough to order a goat’s cheese salad I’m not bloody interested in what kind of breed and what exotic country the goats came from!

I came across this on the wall of the Gents toilet in the Park Tavern , Chichester.


Here is the author, Anthony Bourdain, a.k.a. bad-ass chef and TV personality, host of the Travel Channel show “No Reservations” and one of the best shows that the Food Network had, “A Cook’s Tour” reading the full passage from 
his book, "The Nasty Bits".


Sadly more and more so called pubs are climbing on the gastro pub band wagon and true drinking establishments are rapidly disappearing.



All very depressing and on that note I'm off to The Lifeboat in Selsey Bill for a couple of well deserved pints!

Hey Ho!

Thursday 1 October 2015

You're the Devil in Disguise

Called into a bar in Paphos last night and bumped into Elvis.

Me:  "Talk of the devil, hello Elvis."

Elvis: "Well hello there Sir".

Me: "Tell me do you ever perform in the Uk?"

Elvis: "Yes Sir, all the time."

Me: "Have you ever played in Farnborough, HampSHIRE?"

Elvis: "Yes Sir, one time, I think, about 10 years ago"

Me: "Was it in a restaurant?"

Elvis: "Yes Sir, it was an Indian restaurant!"

Bugger me! 

A group of us were in Saffrons Indian, Farnborough, ten years ago for a surprise 40th birthday for the Young Allotmenteer's partner Lorraine and Elvis Shmelvis was performing his cabaret show - and what a great night we had.

On Saturday he's performing in Pambis Bar next to where we are staying and we'll definitelybe there!

Here he is at the Britannia Bar last night:



Hey Ho!