I can't find it now, but I loved the mention on bluesky recently that kids in essex are now teasing their classmates with : "your dad shouts at hotels"

As we've just taken on a rescue dog, our planned late night trip alls the way up to That London to see Johnny Flynn and Lillie Flynn isn't going to happen, so we have 2x seats for the gig going at the normal price.

f*ck a duck, that Russian Eurovision Song Contest alternative went well

After 6 dogless weeks I now have another best bud. Ruby is a rescue, about 10yrs old, abandoned after being used for breeding. She is lovely.

Just seen a Hummingbird Hawkmoth in our garden. Tiny little thing, looked like a miniature hummingbird rather than a moth, hence the name. Not my photo!

I'm trying to follow the health advice to eat two blocks of dark chocolate a day for your heart health. I've almost finished the first block, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish the second by bedtime!

After losing our lovely Ringo six weeks ago, we're going to have this gorgeous rescue spaniel on a trial soon.

Aldi boss, on over £2.5m a year, complains that any added costs to business in the budget may lead to food prices rising. Aldi made almost half a billion pounds profit last year. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

First tester bottle for the wife to test since the end of May....

I was in East Bergholt earlier today and parked oppo a house that evidently had someone living there once who was a 'dealer in hatts'

Big thunderstorm over #colchester - there is an open air music fest in the town park today, and the Chappel Beer festival not far away...

Doing a bit of tidying up and came across an old season ticket and railcard, and tucked under the undergroup map, a ticket for the Siouxsie and the Banshees gig at the Shepherds Bush Empire in July 2002...

Here's a problem with CAMRA in a nutshell. I've just gone to their website and their website picks up my location (good) and profiles 4 great real ale pubs in Colchester. Two are great real ale pubs, two are absolutely *not* great real ale pubs.

Cheers big ears.

Leaving #colchester for more adventures.... beer, Matthew Bourne ballet, and pizza on the menu. Destination : naarwich

At Muntons today picking up grains. Not sure what I was doing with the phone.

We're at the Bungay Folk Festival, had one portion of @elizacarthy.bsky.social so far, and looking forward to another this evening. #livingthelife

Multitasking. Listening to #colu on Essex radio, commentator is a Hartlepool lad, which is nice. And volume down on the telly watching 18yr old Davina Perrin hitting a century in the cricket, off 43 balls. Also whatsapping youngest brother about other brother.

Well I know her madge the queen mother liked a gin or two, but this 'likeness' must have been from her off her tits on ket period.

Missing my dawg....

Dangnabbit!! Those pesky Northern Monks have got me *again* with another of their free shipping offers. And I fell for it. Again. AF Citra Lager sounds interesting, as do Black IPAs and Impy Brown Ales. #nice #afoolandtheirmoney

Trying this new tangled craft beer lager thing that is all the craze. Disclaimer : I don't have a big beard or a lumberjack shirt.

Frisson of excitement here as the countdown ticker ticks down to my first visit to #ColU of the season. Oh to be back at Fortress Layer Road which was just a short walk across Abbey Field #colchester for me.

It seems my parcel is at a DHL 'sortation facility'. I'm hoping for deliveration today and I will be listening out for our Doorbell Facility alertifying me to DHL's arrivication at my habitation environment. #deepjoy

This is stoopid, Glenfiddich. I mean, you've got a 48year old whiskey, you don't bottle 'just 50' of them ffs, you bottle 'just 48' of them.

It's the Clacton Beer Festival next week folks. I don't think they can guarantee Nigel will be there to pull your pint though. For glassware collectors, in addition to the pint and half pint glasses, they will have special Gullible Mugs.

I've been watching the NFL for 40+ yrs now, keen to welcome new players to the All Name Hall of Fame. Welcome to the All Name HoF Morice Norris Jr., and props to your dad Morice Norris Sr. #nfl

Well, that was a waste of £4k. Ringo passed away queityly at the vets a couple of hours after his op.

Getting Ringo to help find some pennies down the sofa for his £4k splenectomy.....

40years since my wife and her mum turned up for a wedding in the same outfit.

Just got the date for the funeral of my wife's 90yr old auntie. There'll be the wife's cousins from that auntie, and the almost too many to count cousins from the auntie's 7 siblings, their partners, the auntie's grandchildren, all the auntie's church friends etc. They're gonna need a bigger church.

Well, now the wife isn't working any more, and she is my beer drinking buddy, options are opening up. So next Weds, the plan is to go to the Bury St Edmunds beer festival, and get the 9pm direct train back to Colchester, so she doesn't have to be the Designated Driver.

Ha! Step aside BBC Sounds, web streaming, DAB, apps and what have you, I haz Frequency Modulation and I'm listening to Colchester United.

I thought my cycling days were over on account of dodgy knees, but with my new e-bike and a bit of pedal assist I'm laughing in the face of headwinds and hills. Like this : bwahahahahaha

And in other reading news, having watched and enjoyed The Gold on the tellybox, I read the life story of Brian Reader who was part of the gang disposing of the Brinks Mat gold. Very interesting bookl and I was surprised but quite proud to see a relative of mine getting a brief mention in it. *cough*

Latest in my chrono reading of Whitbread Award winners was Beryl Bainbridge's Every Man for Himself. Set on the SS Titanic but the characters were all in First Class (and behaved like first class tw*ts) so I was rather keen to get to the end, if you get my drift.

I was half tempted to buy this 'original' Pete Frame Rock Tree for Siouxsie and the Banshees Sept 1979, but decided not to as I've still got the Sounds December 1978 punk family tree which has an altogether better history of the origins of the band #punk

According to facebook it's the anniversary of that time at Chelmsford Museum when a curator gave me a funny look and told me that this part of the museum was intended for children.

Rainy Sunday afternoon, thank goodness there's some sport on the telly box.

Well, I've bought pretty much every Sinclair Spectrum since 1982, so I've supported the Kickstarter for issue 3 of the ZX Spectrum Next, the translucent magenta edition! They were looking for £250k when they launched at 8am this morning, over £700k and counting less than three hours later.

Not being a royalist or a flagsh*gger the official 78th birthday photo of Queen Camilla would normally have passed me by, but it's a really lovely photo and she looks such a different person in relaxed mode.

Harrogate and Ripon CAMRA have done a great job with their 30 bars Ale Trail. But really irritated they can't bear to mention craft beer. The Husk, which we are in, has 2x cask and 10x craft keg, but the leaflet mentions just the former.

Started with 2/3rds Verdant Baby Sharks 4. 8%. Now a 1/2 Even Sharks Need Water 6.5%. Next up a 1/3 Whale Sharks. Driving back to Colchester tomo so need to take it easy..

After a bit of a break it's once more unto the breach, at Husk in Harrogate. Verdant Baby Sharks for me and Deya Hokum for swmbo.

Well, New Order on in the Harrogate Brewery Tap. Can it get any better?

Dodging the rain in Harrogate. In Harrogate Brewery tap in town in what was the old Farrah's sweetie shop. Don't do 2/3rds so a proper pub not a craft beer bar. NEIPA what is called Iris is spot on.

Bit of wind and rain this morning in Harrogate. We're not in Colchester any more toto.

I'm happy to report North Bar Leeds has a stout on tap. We're alc free Budvar, in advance of meeting old Leeds Poly chums in Whitlocks. Won't have been in there with them since 1982.

In search of dark beer we've gone to The Little Ale House in Harrogate and an oatmeal stout from wensleydale is hitting the spot. A strong impy is on keg and the whisky menu is something else.

Over a dozen beers at North Bar, Harrogate. IPA, sour, pilsner, cider, neipa, alcohol free. Dark beers? Nah.