The sink of truth…
After much sipping of the local nectar in a Krakow beer hall I stumbled elegantly into the gents toilets. For to make use of the facilities, as one does. Twas there I discovered this on the wall…
How considerate. It’s a specially appointed puking sink for all the beer drinkers who’ve taken it a bit too far. Classy eh?
Are you reading Irish Vintners Association?
Fuck you Dermot Ahern…
I regularly finish work after 10pm. Which is fine by me as I’m not cut out for a 9 to 5 type routine. So far, so me.
And quite often I work 14 hour days in a relatively intense set up, which again is fine by me. I enjoy what I do and it keeps me off the streets.
After such days working sometimes I think to myself… “I’d murder a cold beer when I get home”. Just to unwind like.
And tonight is one of those nights. But unfortunately I’ve no beer in the fridge and there’s nothing I can do to remedy this.
So my problem is this… I can’t buy a beer, in a shop /off-licence etc, after ten o’clock on a Saturday night (i.e. on my way home from work) because our Minister for Justice doesn’t think I can handle that beer or two in the safety and comfort of my own home at such an hour. So instead he wants us all to go to Tesco and stock up on multi-packs of Stella for 27 cent or whatever ridiculous loss leader they put on as an incentive to get people into their stores.
Which is worse? Me picking up a beer or two after ten o’clock or people hoarding cheap beer during daytime hours to avoid having to be disappointed after dark? I know the answer to that question but unfortunately Dermot Ahern doesn’t.
So as I say… fuck you Dermot Ahern and the horse you rode in on. And don’t even get me started on your proposed fucking bejesusin’ blasphemy laws.
It’s been a while I know…
Hello there laydeez and genullmen. I know tens of you have been concerned as to my whereabouts of late. But worry not, I am alive. Just. Slightly dehydrated but alive nonetheless.
I know it may seem like I had disappeared off the face of the earth. But now I’m back. With not quite a bang, not quite a whimper. Something, somewhere in between.
See of late I’ve been working like a bastard. Plus I was laying low after a couple of very bad Arsenal results took the pep from my step. Then I had to pay a visit to a certain Robert Zimmerman who was playing the new corporate beatbox in East Wall. And then came a new low budget movie by Richie from Happy Days which took some hours of my time. All these things combined to my lack of blogtivity.
But more, much than that. There was a quest. A mission. A journey to deepest Denmark. A pilmigrage of Northside gentlemen to sample the local golden nectar. At happy prices too, you crazy Danes. So hence the dehydration and the absence of posting.
How was Copenhagen you ask? Most excellent. The streets are extremely clean. The architecture is very impressive. And the people stroll around without a care. It feels safe and chilled. And the folk are very handsome and stylish but not overly pretentious. Shame it’s so bloody expensive though. And worse still the beer was mediocre at best. Still and all a good time was had and therefore productivity today is at an all time low as a result. Normal service will resume tomorrow we hope.
A room with a view, Copenhagen May 2009
So please do forgive me dear reader. For now I have returned and shall once more be posting like the clappers*.
* not a valid guarantee
Thanks but no thanks…
I went to the Porterhouse last night for a pint. Armed with my Grand National loot.
They have been having an Irish beer and whiskey festival there for the past week. So I thought I’d see what’s on offer on the beer front.
All they had left on tap was Galway Hooker, an intriguing name indeed thought I.
“Hmmmmmmm, what is it?”, asked I.
“A pale ale, very light” said the man.
“Hmmmmmmm”, said I.
For I have seen American Pie and didn’t think I could stomach a pale ale. I had a very pleasant Oyster or 5 instead.
Czech Mate….
Here at the NaRocRoc Weblog we have a long-established penchant for good European beer. Particularly the fine golden lagers of the Czech Republic. We also love a good underdog story so it was with great joy that we read the news today of a victory for the Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar over brewer Anheuser-Busch (makers of the fizzy piss better known as Bud).
The upshot is this, Anheuser-Busch have lost an appeal to a European Union court to use the term Budweiser across Europe. This ruling is the latest instalment of a long-running dispute between the two brewers stretching back decades. For years Anheuser have tried to bully Budvar out of the European market so today’s ruling marks a knockout for the little guy. A victory for good taste. Substance has beaten style.
Anheuser already sells beer under the Budweiser name in some European countries, but was not allowed an EU-wide trademark because Budvar has already registered the name in several European countries. Six years ago, Anheuser lost a case to stop Budvar selling beer in the UK under the Budweiser name.
Czech beer brewing tradition is mightily impressive, particularly in Ceske Budejovice, which was known as Budweis by its German-speaking inhabitants. Beer has been brewed there since 1265. The Budejovicky Budvar brewery was founded there in 1895. Today they make a range of fine beers. And long may they continue.
Next time I’m in a hostlery of any description I shall raise a glass of Budvar and toast to the little guy, to the underdog, to good taste but most of all to beery fantasticness.
So as my Czech friends say… na zdraví!
Mmmmm Budvar
Won’t somebody think of the snails??!?
Today when reading the paper a brochure advertising special offers at LIDL dropped out. I always have a look at these for the laugh. They can be more entertaining than the paper itself. Chainsaws in LIDL Moyross. Check. Equestrian gear in Ballymun. No problem. They sure know their market those LIDL folk.
Anyway what grabbed my attention in this leaflet for Spring Garden stuff was this one product in particular. A snail trap.
The accompanying picture shows 4 slugs (not snails… LIDL marketing dept take note!) sliming their way to certain death. But what really grabbed my attention is the method of execution.
Death by beer!
“Just fill with beer and replace lid” they say. Just like that.
Then the slimy lads are, slowly but surely, lured into a green haven containing the beery goodness. Do they then go mad on the beer and drown after intoxification, dying for the snaily equivalent of a kebab?
There are worse ways to go I guess. But what do PETA make of it all?
