Great day at Abyssal Festival. Under and Mastiff not to my tastes but everything else just grand. Bands of the day were Margarita Witch Cult & @hundredyearoldman.bsky.social so bought albums from both of them.

Off out to a local metal festival. Southampton often gets missed for metal gigs, sandwiched between Brighton, Bristol & London so this is a great turn up for the books! 🤘

An absolute barnstormer from @elusivebrewing.com. A classic black IPA. Roasty malt and wonderful dank hoppy bitterness. The recipe’s been improved but generally why change what works.

MANCHESTER! I’m in town for Damnation Festival in a few weeks at the BEC, staying in the city centre. Any good breakfast/brunch places in the city centre or on the way to the BEC?

Pint of Lost Pier Better Best Bitter, cheese & onion [regional round bread name of choice].

NOTHING will prepare you for this 45-second story arc. From "I'm just doing this because I love the flag, it's totally grassroots, and I'm not part of anything political"... to who actually gave him the flags the night before. Anyone who believes it is an innocent movement needs to see this.

Missed aikido training tonight due to work so just catching up on new Damnation Festival announcements and prepping for sonic annihilation in November. 🤘

Walked from Ventnor (sea level) to St. Boniface Down (241 metres), the highest point on the Isle of Wight. It was _steep_. But worth it at the end.

Patient, sobbing: But Doctor, I AM Pagliacci! ChatGPT: Apologies. I didn't realise when recommending Pagliacci's epic show to cure your depression that you were the genius himself. I'm impressed! With regards to your initial question, I can recommend seeing the Great Clown Pagliacci.

For me there is joy in the work I do. If someone is looking for a program to do their work for them then that says to me that they take little joy in their work and should find something else, like the politicians who think that the best way to help is for them to do as little as possible.

Monday night aikido training done. Pint in a local whilst I peruse the newest Damnation announcements. November may destroy my soul.

Top 3 trending topics on Bluesky: "Pope Francis" "WrestleMania" "Pete Hegseth" That's conjuring quite the mental image...

Good news, NASA have discovered your boyfriend’s homebrew lager.

Really nice time at The Butcher’s Hook for an @elusivebrewing.com event this weekend. Excellent beers (Double Sunset Oregon Trail!) and bonus hug from @tabamatu.bsky.social.

Weather changing like US trade policy at the moment…

An hour between trains at Wolverhampton. Pint of cask & a ham cob at The Great Western. 👍

Visiting friends in Scotland and we walked along the water from Edinburgh to Leith so naturally popped into the Newbarns taproom. Absolutely great place. So cosy. Peaceful atmosphere lots of old beer tat on the walls and great beers. 👍

As someone who used to make regular beer trips to London but now less so this newsletter is a great way of still getting some idea as to what’s going on in the big city. Already marked the new Bohem place on a map.

Southampton to Lenzie (Glasgow) by train today. Incident meant I missed my connecting train from London but folks from South Western Railways & @avantiwestcoast.bsky.social were super helpful and got everything sorted again. 👍

2nd training session after a silver medal at the British Aikido Association national championships. Competition is great - you meet new people who test your techniques in all kinds of ways. Lots to work on.

Anyone for a Rutland Butland? Today we are heading to The Rutland Arms to see what makes it such a special pub. (No, we don't dare touch the jukebox either) www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/2/...

I’m George Takei and I approve of this message.

Because I can’t find a Simpsons gif with the whole exchange: “Oh, come on, leave town!” “No.” “I’ll be your friend!” “No.” “Aw, you’re mean.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

Does anyone know any good pubs around Aldgate station in London? I’m there for a conference in April and somewhere to de-corporate the night before and after would be nice.

NEW Can a government choose which court orders to comply with? A recent UK Supreme Court judgment provides an emphatic answer to this now topical question By me at @prospectmagazine.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

Finally saw Conclave. Absolute belter of a film. Fiennes and Tucci own every scene they’re in, great supporting cast, excellent tension. Just superb.

The Belgian King Leopold model for the Congo.

Brewers! Put your hops on your (D)IPAs. Without them it's really hard to tell why I (don't) like them. Drinking one now that I'm not a fan of and, without knowing why ingredient-wise, the temptation is to just avoid the brewery altogether.

A weekend off so binged series 4 of Demon Slayer yesterday and promptly went out to buy everything I needed to make miso-brushed onigiri today.

Over on Instagram I’ve been informed by ex-employees of Magic Rock (In Good Company) that they were let go prior to their acquisition by Keystone, and are unable to claim statutory redundancy from the government until MR is place in administration.

Nice lambic night at The Butcher’s Hook in Southampton. Kegs of 3 Fonteinen, beer boxes of Oud Beersel. Belgian niceness all round. Naturally got chips for the artisanal vinegar.

French cask beer. Have you seen it? Travel with @anahlcq.bsky.social to Brittany, where Coreff amber ale is the drink of choice, thanks to some VIP brewers from back in the day. Beer lovers, drinkers, and historians, you're gonna love this one. www.pelliclemag.com/home/2024/1/...

This post is great. To see all the pubs that mean so many things to so many people.

Got a new board game! Iki: Be a lord in old Nihonbashi, put workers into shops and let other players trade with them… whilst naturally advancing yourself of course.

Is it just me or is discussing politics loudly in the pub awfully boorish? For the record I broadly agree with the views being expressed so it’s not a “These people are saying a thing I don’t like!” matter.

Good aikido tonight. More toshu randori focus. Really interesting to just let aikido stuff flow and see what happens. Adapting techniques to be more dynamic.

Games night! The Binding of Isaac!

Final pantomime shift done! Two more performances tomorrow, Sunday night and Monday to dismantle panto, next show (Hairspray) arrives Tuesday morning and I’m back in Tuesday night to open it.

Got given a free sample of a gents’ fragrance whilst shopping. Liked it. Looked it up. £123. Never mind.

No more work until Boxing Day! Can’t remember the last time I had a Christmas break this long. Today: Videogames now, sherry later.

In over 10 years of The Other Place and here I never expected any crossover between my interests on here of legal/constitutional stuff & beer stuff so when @davidallengreen.bsky.social & @totalcurtis.bsky.social both recommended this piece I knew it was worth a look and I wasn't disappointed.

Christmas reading sorted. Book 5 of Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive, Wind and Truth.

Restock of hot sauces from Lou’s Brews (lousbrews.co.uk). Mango & habanero, scotch bonnet & peach, jalapeño & wasabi and a punchy buffalo sauce. Now to put them in everything.

Typical. Transformers: One is the best TF film since the ‘86 original but won’t get a sequel as Hasbro are no longer financing films on their IP. Meanwhile Fine Art from Kneecap is some cracking hip-hop. It just absolutely barrels along!

First day of SIA (Security Industry Authority) Door Supervisor training done! Just another 5 days of 9am - 6pm to do…

Excellent essay by @vittles.bsky.social on pie and mash shops. I rate them but this hit hard

Beaujolais Nouveau. Interesting, I’ve always wanted to try it and finally got the chance. The youth lends it a certain funky tartness that reminds me of gueuze and its fruitiness is really fresh.

Pandemic Legacy Season 0 is getting frustrating. In the last few games and far too much is down to the luck of the draw with a game that also expects you to be ultra efficient.

All other beers are heresy.

Popping a playlist together of bands that have been announced for Damnation 2025 so far. It’s going to be a… full-on weekend.