Lads, I cracked and ordered a rice cooker.

Feeling like I could do with about 20 litres of German lager. Amount in the house: 0 Well, fuck.

Fuuuuuck, the glooooooom!!

Luge already strikes me as a really weird thing to want to do - but doubles?! Is one of you just ballast? #WO26

Ugh... staring down the barrel of a broadband contract renewal - or switching for a better deal. Loads of comparing boring stuff when all I want is for it to work, be fast, and not cost loads.

Noodle insists I keep a healthy work-life balance.

Tribute to the great Des de Moor by @rogerprotz.bsky.social What a loss he was. camra.org.uk/articles/2748

Interesting things happening in Japan. "Its signature red wine made from an indigenous hybrid grape variety known as shōkōshi, is aged in barrels crafted from trees native to Japan, including sugi (cedar), hinoki (Japanese cypress) and mizunara (Japanese oak)

Builder using power tools opposite my window. Cat prowling on my desk. The universe does not want me to write this morning.

Ideally while wearing the Big Shawl-collar Cardigan

Sorry to be a bore, but GET. OFF. SUBSTACK.

Splodge T. Cat hoping a good pose will result in her bowl being refilled. (It won’t. Yet.) #Caturday

Downhill skiing is the best sport #WO26

For all the funny cat videos online, there must be ten times as many never uploaded where they looked like they were about to do something stupid but didn’t. Anyway, now you know why this is a text-only post. #Caturday?

Don't enter this. You'll lose all rights to your story. Period. Competitions like this need to be called out, so they learn their good reputation shouldn't be used to steal the bread from writers' mouths. And that we're not all clueless rubes waiting to be taken advantage of.

Yet another reason to leave it behind. You know, that and its decision to platform and promote nazis.

A newsletter platform hosting increasingly angry political hot takes called Maslow’s Hierarchy of Screeds

I do my research in @obsidian.md - have done for years - and one fun thing is that looking at my daily note is like watching a replay of my mind wandering around.

In case you missed it over the weekend

To the Bowie thing at the V&A’s new Hackney gaff. It’s shit.

Watched Seven Dials. Excellent cast, strong performances, beautifully filmed, all undermined by the most godawfully stupid plot and terrible clunking dialogue. Shame.

Young’uns don’t know how pubs work

Not seen it myself yet but am told my latest piece in Brewer & Distiller International is out for CIBD members. It’s on the Carlsberg Research Lab - the most underrated brewery in the world. Probably.

My latest piece for Club O came out yesterday. It looks at terroir in whisky, including a look at English whisky's two 'nomadic' distillers - ELLC and Fielden. cluboenologique.com/story/englis...

A bit hungover this morning and hoping a couple of dippy eggs will sort me out. 😵 What’s your go to?

Rules. Fabulously posh. Monumentally old fashioned. But I love it nonetheless.

Started the night with excellent cask ale at the Sutton Arms. Ended with a wonderful martini at Rules. Honestly the only possible improvement would be the ability to teleport straight to bed.

Pub is rammed. Friends are delayed. But there’s good Deya on cask, so hey ho.

Off to the pub later. (Not for work, just for fun!) Tempted to just jack it all in and leave now.

For the curious, it was this stuff: sylvalabs.com/products/syl...

Obviously I want every pitch I send to get picked up. But that goes one million percent for the one that left my outbox just now. It's spicy but it also cuts deep and does some proper cultural work. Manifesting... 🤞🕯️

Just had cause to reread this piece on perry that I wrote back in 2021, and it really is rather good even if I do say so myself. www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2021/11...

Shall we play guess the drink? Here’s my tasting note: Like Licking the inside of a wooden box that until recently held an oozing sweet banoffee and caramel pudding with custard. Clue: it’s non-alcoholic.

me, emotionally writing an essay on the use of force by federal agents: ok but what if i packaged this in the most insane way possible www.theverge.com/policy/86857...

Working on the whisky book. 1100 words this morning. Some even in the right order. Decent.

January? STILL?!

Fun evening celebrating the martini - and the hospitality industry - with No 3 Gin at Equal Parts in Hackney. Or, as it’s known among South Londoners, Fucking Hackney. So far away!

We watched Ofcom getting grilled by the UK Parliament's Energy Security & Net Zero Committee and - oh my... Britain urgently needs a broadcasting regulator that gets its facts right, and takes climate misinformation seriously. Take action: action.goodlawproject.org/tell-ofcom-s...

On my way to Hackney to drink rocket fu- I mean martinis. No wait, maybe I did mean rocket fuel.

About to write about whisky blending so of course I'm preparing by watching a TED talk on the three body problem in physics — and somehow that's not even a joke 🫠😖

A little morning warm-up writing before I get on with the real deal - decided to share as it's a fun one. Think I recall @nigella.bsky.social saying something similar about butter and Marmite.

The cats are using their Very Saddest Miaows to complain about the weather. They want to know why we turned the rain on, and why we won't turn it off.

Residency for two emerging writers to explore the feminist archive at Nottingham Women's Library. Details in link. Please share :)

Great time today chatting whisky and blending with Michael Stephenson at Compass Box. It was fascinating to hear about his approach and particularly the importance of story when you're creating a new blend. With so many options, having something to guide and ground you isn't just a nice-to-have!

On my way to Richmond for a morning spent learning to blend with the guys at Compass Box

Hello, if you follow me on instagram, you will note I have disappeared. My account has been suspended. Reasons, using someone elses phots, pretendting to be someone else and speaking like a politician...dafuq???? Am appealing. Please share if anyone queries stuff. hope sorted soon.

Striking how right wing identity (I don’t even think thought is the right word at this point) is just straight up psychosis. Totally unfettered from reality, and demanding total buy-in from its faithful at all costs.

Gluten-free soda bread. Not a success, I think.

South East London based aspiring writers from the Black community, the GCDA and Black History 365 have created and funded 4 week writing course. Let Lviss, the Plumbing Poet, tell you all about it!