The ol' family beer stick

I've been reading up on brewing over at this amazing (well informative, at the least, maybe you're not all as fascinated with the why and wherefores of beer) site

There was a time when the role of yeast in brewing was unknown. In the days of the Vikings, each family had their own brewing stick that they used for stirring the wort. These brewing sticks were regarded as family heirlooms because it was the use of that stick that guaranteed that the beer would turn out right. Obviously, those sticks retained the family yeast culture. The German Beer Purity Law of 1516 - The Reinheitsgebot, listed the only allowable materials for brewing as malt, hops, and water. With the discovery of yeast and its function in the late 1860's by Louis Pasteur, the law had to be amended.

Single Use Items

No, I'm not talking about disposables that get chucked once done with. I thought I'd share a secret and indulgent passion of mine ... I really love kitchen gadgets that serve one singular and niche purpose the more bizarre the better (although I have an irrational dislike of garlic crushers).

As you see in the little animation below, I bough an egg slicer the other day. To me they are the epitome of this kind of item.

But let us not forget the noble toothpick, or olive fork, or even better the pickle fork with spring action. My grandmother had one of these and I've wanted one ever since. I can't explain how they work but they are a marvel of victorian engineering akin to the canal system in my warped mind.

What other items bring joy to my heart when rummaging in the drawer for some tool or other?
Pizza cutters, mandolins, pestle and mortar, scone cutters, coffee makers, cheese slicers, flour dusters; God they're lovely.

The only problem is I have a perfectly good knife and my brand new egg slicer from Aldi makes the egg look like this:

Last ever Ashton Court Festival

OK, this video isn't from Ashton Court, but I found it on You Tube and the sound quality and snippet of music is a better representation of SJ Esau than this video of him at Ashton Court by Rabid Pounder.



Anyway the sad news this morning is that the company that organises Ashton Court every year is going to go into liquidation after Sunday of the festival was rained off and everyone lost out, not least of all, poor Damon Albarn who didn't get to headline on Sunday and now never will. He must be gutted.

Ashton Court sponsorship plea+

There's a very sad neglected, lonely-looking page I've found, asking for sponsorship for Ashton Court.

As of writing it reads

Money Raised: £115.00 Amount Remaining: £30,270

5 Days remaining: it's hardly worth it is it? Bless 'em! 'em, in this case being "Snappy Start-ups", an Ad /web design Co.

Further adventures in babyland

Lately Amon has begun to laugh a bit. It's heart-meltingly good and when he does it, we regularly just spend ten minutes singing and dancing, doing monkey impressions and beating each other up violently all in an effort to get him to repeat that little grimace.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I spent an absolute age the other day boucing him in his chair and getting him to gurgle whilst pointing my camera-phone in his face. Even with the flash off, before the photo is taken a little red light comes on to take a light reading, and this always surprises him out of laughter. Except once. When the bouncy chair was bouncing too fast to capture it. Damn.

Nevertheless; More photos:

And some of family holding him:

Mum

Dad

Christopher

Beth

Actually enjoying my job

I've been setting up a conference and publishing a Good Practice Guide over the last few weeks and working long tiring hours (ontop of having a gloriuos baby boy to come home and care for).

It has been weird actually enjoying my job and when all this is over and I'm back to stationary orders and mis-management, I thoroughly intend to go out there and find a job I can enjoy like this all of the time.

Listening to SJ Esau on Last FM

I'm happy listening to my friend Sam (and people who are, apparently, a bit like his band). on Last.FM.

Try it! It may make you happy too!



You can find me here on Last.FM

Facebooked

Oh dear, I seem to have got hooked on Facebook over the last couple of days. How very addictive it seems to be.

Fortunately all my attempts to hunt down old Uni friends and school chums have fallen short, or I wouldn't have found time to write this.

Try it - it's the new Myspace! (oh ... dear.)