Bert Cheese

Another quick visit to Bitter Virtue, this time on a ticket quest for the forthcoming Vibrant Forest ale festival at Brockenhurst. Of course after picking up the tickets I felt morally obliged to make a small selection from the available ales, I am particularly looking forward to trying the Thornbridge Eldon bourbon oak aged imperial stout...until the weekend at least they are out of temptations way on a bit of spare space on the whisky shelf though

Ah yes....the R.A.T's are a brilliant bit of observational comedy from Viz, like it or not you do find folk like these at beer festivals and maybe your local ale house. Wetherspoons in Eastleigh has a few regulars, the beards blend in with the current hipster fashions but I'm told that double denim is just wrong? Other current Viz favourites are Drunken bakers, Playtime Fontayne & Hen Cabin...all good wholesome stuff

Both good brews, and I'd stock up at those prices I do think it is a shame that Fullers have quietly done away with the vast majority of the Gales Ales range in recent years though. Winter Brew, Festival Mild and Prize Old Ale have not been seen for years, while some of Fullers newer seasonals seem to revolve around the same insipid light summer ale theme. I've just realised I sound like a moaning beardy...excellent!

Not so well composed by a long way as Nidge's shots above, but here is the unmistakable Mr Guntripp on D832 at Watchet a few years ago before it got a fresh coat of green paint.

Another well organised and executed gala from the Swanage Railway, a great line up and most trains seemed to be full with plenty of people standing too. A few phone snaps below, a worsening chest infection of sorts meant I couldn't be doing with the SLR and I eventually gave up and drove home at half two as I felt quite wobbly and extremely tired...seems I am the last person at work to have had the same thing this week! Though I never got a photo of it the standout for me was D213 Andania which is looking better than new at present, good to see D832 somewhere else too before it returns to Bury soon.

Is this close enough to wildlife? Taken a few years ago on Kalbarri beach W.A, you'll have to forgive the holiday hair

Just back from a quick trip to Southampton's Bitter Virtue for some Soton Beer Festival tickets (June 2nd to 4th btw) It seemed only right to pick up a few (mostly) dark delights while I was in the shop I'm afraid they'll have to wait though as I'm having a Malt meeting tonight with a bottle of JW Green label (very nice indeed) and some as yet untried Ledaig 10 y/o.

Hood does indeed look excellent in InterCity, this could have been 90's reality if Chris Green had managed to persuade IC to take them off his hands in his long quest to rid NSE of the things...(un)fortunately they were having none of it though! Presumably a lot of bodywork has been repaired too, as the loco was looking decidedly worse for wear around various apertures last time I saw it up close at Swanage a while ago. A mainline return would be nice as 50's have been rather lacking recently, though 31 seems to have retired from that since the generator problem at Chester some years ago? I'm sure it'll look even better when Midi and the other 50 Alliance lads have fully embellished it

Invader was withdrawn in November of 76 from what I can gather. IIRC it was withdrawn due to a broken spring and considered a good candidate for preservation, but was scrapped after failng to attract a decent offer when tendered.

I forgot to mention we've also been upgraded to 10 at work, to universal dismay! "What on earth is it doing now?" is a common question from the girls in the office, while our warehouse supervisor has lost his meticulously kept records for the youth football team he coaches, not very impressed at all...oh and its lost all the remote printer settings so we have to walk bits of paper between offices at present. It doesn't help that our IT support is limited to someone who occasionally pops in at weekends as a favour, and has said we may have to live with some of the problems because of our network setup.

I've had windows 10 on the laptop for a good few months now, but its been more trouble than its worth so I'll be reinstalling the original W7 it came with soon. I have very little need for all the app based features it constantly bombards me with, has lost my printer/scanner/speakers at least twice and now refuses to recognise my Nikon SLR which is pretty much the final straw as far as I'm concerned...my existing photos are all in total disarray too under the new regime for reasons I cannot fathom. It might be more suitable on a tablet or decent smartphone perhaps, but not for me

I am seriously considering fitting a dashcam after this mornings experiences...I usually let things like this pass me by but encountered 3 serious idiots within 20 miles this morning. *Leaving my dental appointment I had barely got back in the car when I was confronted by the sight of a Ford Focus reversing toward my front wing in an alarming manner, I hammered on the horn and it stopped barely six inches or so away before I could even get my key in the ignition...the elderly driver then refused to acknowledge my obviously concerned presence as I edged out of my space to avoid him, with hindsight I wish I'd got out and had a word but doubtless would have ended up painted as the villain of the piece... *Joining the M27 at J5 shortly afterwards a white van drifts in front of me on the 2 lane slip for no reason and without indicating causing me to brake...this was 10 O'Clock and we were the only 2 vehicles within 100 yards or so including a clear lane 1 of the motorway...I'd imagine he was totally unaware of my presence judging by his actions clearly not using mirrors. *Most concerning of all was down by J7 at Hedge End when an HGV with a 40 foot container on the back moved rapidly from lane 1 to 2 which was already clearly occupied by the Astra in front of me. Luckily lane 3 was clear and the rather frightened driver of the Astra was able to move across as the lorry was by now in her lane (2) less than a foot away from the passenger door. A blatant case of bullying if ever I saw one, the move was unnecessary in the relatively light traffic conditions and not what you expect from a supposedly professional driver? Rant over...happily home stuffing my face with cheese on toast now...my daily 50 mile commute is usually fine, today has been a tad disappointing

If anyone is handy with a spade there are apparently a set of plates from one of the Lord Nelson class buried somewhere in Eastleigh works! Possibly an old railwayman's rumour of course, but quite intriguing...

Being 45 today has some compensations...the girls in the office bought me a bottle of Bowmore small batch Bourbon cask, looking forward to sampling as I've not tried a Bowmore in my Islay explorations yet. And friends have invited me around their place for a slap up dinner tonight, can't be bad eh?

Our local Homebase (Chandlers Ford/Eastleigh) closed a couple of years ago, I used to visit fairly often as it was laid out well and the staff were usually more knowledgeable than B&Q, but more times than not emerged empty handed through lack of stock and so off to B&Q...a shame really. The latest news is that the large site could be divided to accommodate new Aldi & Poundstretcher stores. I've heard good things about Aldi and would happily give it a go, but the current nearest store is in Portswood..."I'd sooner go to Beirut" is most folks opinion around here as it seems to suffer more than its fair share of violent crime and wanton damage to property. Somewhat strangely the whole site is owned by and directly opposite B&Q's huge shiny HQ across the road, and a stones throw from the Asda hypermarket I currently suffer once a week. if it all goes ahead it could be interesting...and certainly better than the sorry site of the closed Homebase store as you drive past at present. http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/district/eastleigh/14197549.Cut_price_supermarket_to_open_on_retail_park/ At least its too big to turn into a charity shop...the usual fate of failed business premises in Beastleigh!

Skull Splitter is a decent drop, I've had it a few times at beer festivals...usually saved as the "wally pint" at last orders in order to relieve any sensation or memory of the bus journey home Speaking of which...the year kicks off with Dorchester Beerex on Feb 5th for me, I haven't been before so it may be some partial compensation for the loss of Minehead festival in September owing to CAMRA & the WSR management falling out.

Hillclimb racing is always entertaining, a huge variety of cars and drivers in different classes during a typical meeting, I'm not a follower as such but have frequently been to Gurston Down and Wiscombe Park in the past and thoroughly enjoyed myself...everything from fettled Morris Minors to Judd ex-F1 cars make for an interesting day usually. The decline of F1 is a strange one, a few short years ago I used to race home from work on a Saturday to watch the practice and rarely missed a race on Sunday (falling asleep during them became traditional though) Even the Scumacher and later Vettel dominance never fazed me, good luck to them I thought...in the last three years though I think I have impassively watched one race, the constant rule changing and bombardment of technical gizmos such as KERS and DRS(?) leaves me cold to be frank...its all reminiscent of an arcade game, and I was never keen on them either... I appear to be turning into a grumpy old man...excellent!

It'll probably "explode" as the bits of rust and discarded staples within the mazak mix contract at different rates...allegedly. The last Heljan loco I dared to dismantle was one of my Claytons (motor problems!) which resulted in bits of plastic flying in all directions and a slight huff, its now mostly complete but relegated to the "wish I'd never bought it" fleet. That aside I've just totted up and realised I have 23 Heljan diesels altogether, the majority of which I am still very happy with, no one can get everything right I suppose?

Very nice indeed, even the distinctive "fruit machine" controller assembly looks well represented in the cab. I'm very temped to have one of these, but already have a couple of L.E 24's from ModelZone which I'm happy with at present...I'll certainly be looking out for what comes next though.

I too was thinking this a couple of days ago, but didn't feel like muddying the waters of this increasingly fraught thread any further...with it being Christmas n'all especially In my experience (late 80's/early 90's) the real things were always very light in the engine/electrical compartments due mainly to the obviously translucent roof panels. Though they obviously became dirty in traffic plenty of light still penetrated, this would not have occurred with a couple of layers of rail blue slapped over them to start with?

Ah yes, another pub regularly recommended by Swindonians we usually meet at the annual Minehead Beer Festival (now deceased, cheers WSR management types!) We planned to visit in conjunction with the Alefest at Steam this last October, but ran out of free time unfortunately... I'm told the place has/had an eccentric/rude chap behind the bar too? a bit of free entertainment is always welcomed on our beer travels

Entire Stout is a smashing drop, though of course it always tastes even better straight from the tap at The Wyndham Arms in Salisbury

A truly excellent thread...my small contribution below (apologies for spelling etc, I have recently arrived home from seeing Christmas in via the Silver Beatles/ several bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale at The Brook in Southampton)...Good show too. Top shelf L-R The Ileach: cask strength (58% ABV) - rumoured to be a young Lagavulin, "Attack Whisky" very full on if taken without a drop of water. Asda Islay: Not a bad dram - another unknown but opinion says young Caol Ila perhaps? Lagavulin 16 y/o - Huge & expensive ,not opened yet to be honest! Laphroaig Quarter Cask - Probably my favourite overall, very drinkable but full of Islay peat/smoke/TCP character. Laphroaig 10 y/o - Lovely stuff, not as sweet as the QC,but more readily available/slightly cheaper. Ardbeg Uigeadail - Legendary sherry monster, I wish it was slightly cheaper to buy. Ardbeg 10 y/o - Best bang for buck Ardbeg, comparable to Laph 10 y/o and highly recommended. Bruichladdich Classic Laddie - A virtually unpeated Islay malt...different but still very quaffable, think of this distillery as the Brewgog of whisky and the multiple releases make sense. Second shelf L-R ex Monkey Shoulder (OK Highland blend) bottle filled with homemade blackberry whisky using Famous Grouse as a base (not drinkable as a stand alone spirit, despite the adverts) Bells based version of above - another of last years well intentioned Christmas gifts from a customer put to good use with the addition of fruit & sugar. The Ardmore - A gifted Highland malt, surprisingly easy drinking...nothing special but I quite like it. 2x Aberlour a'Bunadh - Cask strength small batch goodness, these were batch 52 at 60.2% ABV...reduced to £33 a bottle in Waitrose recently I felt compelled to buy a pair on the spot.

Ah Christmas beckons, and stocks on the booze/tools shelf were looking rather depleted...a visit to Bitter Virtue being in order - http://www.bittervirtue.co.uk/ The Buckfast is a long term resident of the shelf, I bought it as a sort of social experiment a couple of years ago (have 3 bottles all in) but no-one seems that keen to help me drink it now! Meanwhile in the ageing cupboard...a slight Islay bias may be obvious? The dark looking Bell's was infused with blackberries in January and is near ready for sampling, as is the contents of the ex-Monkey Shoulder bottle but using some surplus Famous Grouse as a base. Come on chaps, lets see your Christmas Ales

No, they managed to squeeze all the old and new bits required into the existing space eventually after lots of head scratching. I've seen a photo in a book somewhere of a 74 mid conversion, with the new weight bearing truss framing in place but no bodywork sheeting applied.