The Laws Of Profitable Economics

An end of the year pub lunch today but not at the Brunswick, which is not serving food despite a packed pub as they again, defy the laws of profitable economics. Instead we’re at the Waterfall, drinking their dodgy beer, in their empty pub but at least they’re serving food.

Later, I win a game in our final squash match of the year. So my knee is clearly improving a little.

L meets us at the Leisure Centre. She was originally going to walk the boys up but it's too wet for the pampered pooches. So I take them in the car. Instead she runs there but is late arriving. She has some fantastically inventive story about helping a blind man buy a train ticket from Leeds or something.

We then head for an end of season curry at the Three Spices in Ruddington. The Three Spices is in the back of the Three Crowns pub, which used to be a really good real ale pub but it’s lost its way recently. Six ales but nothing you’d go out of your way for. They even sell born again Shipstones. A beer I spent a large proportion of my youth trying to avoid. So we give it a go. It’s different to what I remember but it’s still not an experience you’d want to repeat terribly often.

The curry however is excellent and no one is put off their food as we recount the tale of Doggo and the scarf he ate, the 12 year old puppy that he is. The scarf that we then had to assist in the re-emergence of, intact, at the other end of his digestive system. In fact everyone seems to be finding it quite hilarious and not at all revolting. He's going to be the talk of the Christmas dinner tables.

Then I queue for 45 minutes on Derby County’s website to buy Chelsea tickets for my brother which go on sale at midnight. It’s proving to be a popular game. 

(Thursday 19^th December)

The Return Of Shipstones Bitter

L, born again cyclist (maybe), is cruising the bike shops looking for some better cycling shorts. She asks what brand I would recommend she goes for? Expensive ones... That’s generally how it works out with cycling gear. I offer to treat her to a pair. I do like a lass in cycling shorts.

After work, as I figure it’s about time I started training for next week’s Cheshire Half Marathon, I go for a run. Eight very hot and draining miles later, somebody incredibly lets me on their bus to complete the rest of the journey home.

From born again cyclist to a born again beer (maybe). Shipstones Bitter is apparently on its way back. Although to be honest some things are perhaps left in the past. It was never the greatest and anyway I thought the Belvoir Brewery, who are involved in this revival, have been brewing it for years under the name Belvoir Star or was that just a marketing (?) ploy.

To his credit, the guy who is taking this on is vowing to brew a version from the brewery's glory days rather than the dark days of 1980's which is how I remember it. Good luck to him. It's only in bottles at the moment but I look forward to trying it on cask when that arrives.

(Tuesday 9^th July)