Two interviews and a Lama

Monday was a very big day.  Both Grant and I had appointments about possible work opportunities, so after more than two months in jeans we had to get dressed up.  As you can imagine, I enjoyed this a lot more than Grant did.

My appointment was in Kingston upon Thames, supposedly a forty minute drive from Mark’s place.  I had to be there for 10.15, and everyone was warning us that traffic is reliably awful.  So we left just after 9.  The first part of the trip wasn’t too bad but as we approached Kingston upon Thames, the traffic came to a standstill and we spent most of the rest of the trip in 1^st gear.  We got there and parked with time to spare.  Grant escorted me to my interview and then went off in search of coffee.

My interview went pretty well.  The TimePlan people were very friendly and positive, and completely up-front about the fact that there is limited supply work at this end of the school year – seniors are already preparing for exams.  They were very optimistic about finding something suitable for me come September though.  I filled out numerous forms and got the ball rolling for a British police check so the things will run smoothly in September.

We had heard that Grant’s interview had been deferred from 3 until 4pm, so we decided to take the car back to Addlestone and train from there into London.  We just missed the train we wanted to catch in Addlestone, but there was another going to London that we jumped on anyway rather than wait for 30 minutes for the next train.  It was the scenic train that we caught.  Instead of the whole train thing taking about 45mins, it took us close to two hours.

When we got to London, we caught the Tube to Blackfriars which was close to where Grant’s interview was.  We still hadn’t managed to find any lunch and it was about 2.30.  We found a sandwich bar, and then went off exploring.  We found that we were very close to St Paul’s Cathedral and so we wandered around there.  They had put up a temporary fence around the entrance and there was a crowd of people holding banners with a strong police presence.  No one was being allowed in to the cathedral.  Slightly disappointed, we wandered around the outside in the drizzle anyway.  It is a massive monument to cool churches.  The architecture is beautiful and it really is an amazing building.  When we circumnavigated to the other side of St Paul’s , there were television trucks as well.  We took refuge from the rain (yes it is still raining over here) while Grant consulted his phone to find out what sort of protest was going on.  I glanced back up at the church steps to see a large security contingent coming out of the cathedral with the bishop and the Dalai Lama.  We kind of understood why they had closed the cathedral to the public now.  Sadly I didn’t try to take a photo until they were descending the steps and all I got was some plonker’s umbrella as he walked in front of me.

A plonker and his umbrella completely obscuring the Dalai Lama

We still had plenty of time before Grant’s interview, so we went to find the little old pub in Fleet Street were we would be meeting Nick and Fleur for a drink later.  Fleet Street is beautiful, so many wonderful old buildings.  We found the little pub (Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese) and then opted for a scenic route back to Grant’s interview.  This scenic route took us (quite accidentally) past the Temple Church, the one in The Da Vinci Code that used to be a Knights Templar church.  I have always been fascinated by the Knights Templar so that was a seriously cool find.  We didn’t have time to go in but we will go back!

While Grant went to his interview, looking very smart and dapper, I wandered off to look around what had appeared to be a big shopping centre.  Either I didn’t go in the proper way or it wasn’t big at all, quite disappointing really.  And by now, my feet were seriously protesting being back in smart shoes for the first time in months.  In the end I found a café, got coffee and settled down with my book.  My feet were much happier that way!  Grant came and found me there after his interview.

Grant’s interview went ok.  The agency is more used to dealing with people with a couple of years’ experience and most of the positions are in the tax compliance area.  While they tried to push him into a role writing a manual for some tax software, he politely declined.  They may have something in the future though, it is just wait and see.

We then wandered back to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese to meet Nick and Fleur.  We were a little early but had plenty to talk about.  The pub is tiny (because it is so old) – a visit to the loo puts one’s head in serious jeopardy; I hate to think what it’s like for someone who has had a few.  It was rebuilt in 1667 after the great fire of London.  We had a lovely evening chatting, and something Nick said had us realise a) part of why car insurance is so expensive over here and b) why it was imperative that we got that sorted.  We forgot that England doesn’t have anything like ACC, so if someone is injured in an accident they then sue the person at fault for medical expenses.  And of course in every country there are horrible people who take advantage of that and make malicious claims.  So it’s not just about the value of the car.

We sat and talked for ages before remembering that we still had to catch a train home.  We finally made it back to Waterloo in time to catch the 9.20 train to Weybridge, so we didn’t have to take the scenic route this time.  It had been a very long day.

A dragon marking the edge of London City

Beer tasting notes

I have been keeping a track of some of the beers that I have tried while we have been away.  This isn’t a comprehensive list for a couple of reasons.  First, I didn’t think of the idea until I had tried so many different ones I was struggling to remember whether I had tried it or not.  Secondly, there has been the odd occasion where my memory is sketchy at best on particular details, and I’m not sure that making notes on my phone would have been any more successful.

My second caveat is that some of these beers are not craft beers.  They are the opposite of that.  But we’ve had some hot days and some cases of limited choices.  However, the most pleasing aspect has been that a number of places are really proud and promoting craft beers – and particularly ones from their local area.  And some of them have been very good too.  On to the beer.

Just as Tui is a fishing beer in NZ, Bud Light with Lime makes a very good boat beer in the US.  When we were out on the water with Jo and Ian sailing around on Kiwi, it was a very refreshing beer.  My memory is a bit sketchy on the other beers we tried, but I do remember the Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale.  This is brewed down in San Diego and was one of the breweries that we were going to call into if we had time.  We didn’t in the end.  The Red Trolley Ale was a nice red ale.  Good flavour and deep red colour had us regularly drinking this.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas was rubbish for beer.  While you could wander down the street drinking beer, and plenty of people did, it was all the standard American flavourless stuff.  I did find the Ballast Point Pale Ale at one place and had a couple of those.  It made a pleasant change.

San Diego

In San Diego, the beer took a turn for the better.  You’ll probably have seen that we made it to the Coronado Brewery and also to Ballast Point.  Ballast Point had an interesting curry stout than I’m sure Steven Wells would love to taste or try to make.  The curry flavour was more of an aftertaste but even so, you couldn’t have more than a taster of this.  Apart from this, we sampled the usual suspects at Coronado and Ballast Point, and I (vaguely) remember trying some interesting beers at the Royal Beagle (including one from Rogue) but I’m going to say that it was too long ago to remember.

Portland

There were two brew bars that we visited in Portland.  At Deschutes Brewery I had a 6 sampler.  I got to choose them which was even better.  First up was Big Rig.  It was a nice session ale with mild hops.  The Red Rambler was ok but quite hoppy as you'd expect.  The Bachelor Bitter was another popular session ale.  The Red Chair NWPA was very nice. It had an IPA flavour with toned down hops.  The Black Butte Porter had a great flavour but was very thin.  The Obsidian Stout was on nitro and had a great texture but was heavy on the really dark burnt taste like Guinness.  A combo of the porter and stout would have been good. 

We also went to the Rock Bottom Brewery.  I had a couple of beers here.  The first was a Jean Claude, which was an attempt at a Belgian wit beer like Hoegarden but not as good.   It was ok but unremarkable.  I then tried a Black Kolsch.  It wasn’t clear whether it was a mix of porter and Kolsch or whether it was brewed that way.   It tasted pretty good though, with plenty of dark chocolate and caramel.

Seattle

When we took the cruise with Argosy Cruises in Seattle, the bar staff suggested that I could tour their local breweries while we toured the harbour.  Seemed like a good idea so I had a Manny's Pale Ale, a Seattle Brewery Pike Kilt Lifter and a Georgetown Porter.  The pale ale was nice and the kilt lifter was a great deep red ale. The porter had a nice flavour but was quite thin.

At some later stage we visited the Taphouse in Seattle. They have 160 beers on tap. In a taster I had the Alaskan Oatmeal Stout, the Snoqualmie Steam Train Porter, the Stone Smoked Porter, and the Young's Chocolate Stout. Young's was a benchmark.  The steam train was nice and the oatmeal stout was ok too. The smoky porter was too smoky for me but the chocolate stout was as yummy as ever. 

Vancouver

In Vancouver we went to the Granville Island Brewing Co. Twice.  I had their hefeweizen which was ok.  Their maple cream ale was very creamy and nice with a reddish hue.  The Winter ale was a mid-red which meant that I didn't have high hopes.  I was hoping for something darker.  Boy, the chocolate nose was big though.  And the taste was damn good too. Very chocolately goodness.  Hence the return trip when we went on the dinner cruise. 

Steamworks on the waterfront at Vancouver was where I had a rye hefeweizen.  It was good.  Their Coal Porter was better. 

I also had the Phillips Longboat Chocolate Porter one evening back at our room.  This one is made in Victoria, BC.  It troubles me that it describes itself as “chocolate flavoured” but I'm sure it doesn't just have flavouring added.  It was very chocolatey though.  Quite rich with a nice chocolate finish. 

At the Wicklow Pub I had the Wee Angry scotch ale. This was nice and dark and being the first beer, struggled to touch the sides.  Next up was the Russell Cream Ale.  It was bland.  Nothing wrong with it but nothing right either.  I finished off with a Kilkenny and that was good. 

Edmonton

Hudson's Canadian Tap House was good for a Big Rock Traditional Ale. It was a nice warming ale on a very cold day. Some good caramel and malty flavours. Nice texture too. 

At The Pourhouse I tried Amber's Wytemud Vanilla Whysky Stout. I just got a taster as I'm not a big whiskey fan.  Lucky.  It had a big whiskey flavour.  I didn't notice the vanilla.  However they did have Cannery Brewing's Blackberry Porter in 650ml. It was very fruity, and even better as blackberries are a favourite of mine. 

Train

On the Train I had a few Fort Garry Dark Ales from Winnipeg.  It was a standard dark ale, a bit like Speights Old Dark – dark, malty and drinkable.  I also tried the Granville Island Honey lager. It was ok but not startling. 

Toronto

At Mill Street Brewpub in Toronto I had a Tankhouse Ale.  It is not too bad. Quite hoppy but still nice. I also had their coffee porter. Not the best exponent of the style. Too cold, too thin. Maybe it would be better if it warmed up but this is Toronto and it is about 5 degrees outside.  Actually, it did warm up and was a bit better. 

We also visited the 3 Brewers in Toronto.  It is a brew bar, but their beer menu is weird.  They have a white beer, a blonde, an amber and a brown beer.  As well, they have an extra hoppy beer.  The amber ale was quite malty and not as hoppy as some of the red ales I have had.  I was looking forward to the dark one but it was disappointing and I’d have been better off having another amber ale.

Somehow we found out about a bar called “C'est What”.  It seems to have quite a reputation in Toronto as having a great range of craft beers on tap.  It had a pretty good menu as well, and seems to have quite a wide range of entertainment in the evenings – poets, musicians etc.  I started with a 10W30. It really is dark malty sweetness, from Neustadt Springs Brewing.  It was very smooth and didn’t taste like I’d imagine engine oil tastes.  The coffee porter was a C'est What brew.  While quite bitter, it was very smooth with a strong coffee flavour.  Next up was Steve's Dreaded Chocolate Orange.  There was nothing to dread here, except that it might run out.  It was dark as a stormy night.  The mouthfeel was silky smooth.  Steve also managed to get a nice subtle orange aftertaste. I'm didn’t get the promised cardamom taste though.  But who needs it.  This was delicious as is. 

England

We saw the range of Badger ales including the "Fursty Ferret" by Countryside Ales.  It  was what you'd expect.  It's been made since 1777 and most of the ingenuity went into the name rather than the beer.

At Sullivans Bar in Weybridge I had Flowers Original ale. It tasted like the beer you get in an old pub. Was fine, but would probably avoid in the future for something nicer. 

At the Turf Tavern in Oxford I tried their own Winter Ale.  They also had their summer ale on. Seasons are pretty screwed here anyway.  It was a nothing beer.  It was on hand pull but that didn't mean that it had warmed to allow the flavour to come through.  It had no flavour.  I also tried a Clarks traditional bitter.  Slightly more flavour but still nothing that you'd go out of your way to have again.  Still, I guess that is the point of trying different beers.

At Eagle & Child in Oxford I had a Belhaven Black. On the hand pull again, was very nice and dark and good thick texture.

As you may have noticed, I have tried to include tasting notes at the end of each blog rather than building up another big list.  That means that there should be no more exclusive beer posts.

Twickenham

As noted in getting back from Megan’s, we had had a text from Troy saying that he could get us tickets for the finals day of the 7s at Twickenham.  We had already planned to go so that was a stroke of luck!  However, in trying to arrange a time with Troy on Saturday afternoon, it soon became apparent that he was going to be more able to co-ordinate things the following morning.  So that we weren’t going to be holding Troy up, we thought that we’d better get the earlier train as the trains from Addlestone only went every hour.

We got the 9.04 and chatted to another family heading to Twickenham for the game on the way.  Once we had reached Twickenham, the path from the railway station was lined with Police officers.  There must have been an officer every 10-15 metres.  The foot traffic was still pretty light at this stage, and so we wandered in search of morning coffee.  A number of the houses along the street were already set up of getting set up for the influx of people heading to the stadium.  By that I don’t mean closing the shutters and barring the doors, but instead setting up their BBQ in the front lawn and selling all sorts of different types of meat in a bun.  One garden had one of those mini-donut machines!  We found a café / bar and got a traditional Twickers breakfast comprising bacon, sausage, fried eggs, and baked beans on toast.  We also managed to get a response from Troy too – the boys were feeling a bit worse for wear and would get there about midday.  As it was just after 10am, we had a bit of time to kill.  Troy suggested that we wait in the foyer of the Marriott hotel and that he’d meet us there.

7s signpost with the Marriott in the background

We meandered down towards Twickenham and some of the costumes were quite clever.  The 7s had a disco theme, and plenty of people had tried to dress accordingly.  One of the best was a guy in a polyester paisley suit in outlandish colours.  It was a sight to see.  Having wandered around ouside the stadium we went into the Marriott hotel which was very nice.  They had the 7s on so we could get some drinks and watch what was going on inside the stadium.  It was also a popular place for people going to the 7s to meet up so we got to see quite a procession of costumes too.  Overall the quality was not as good as Wellington, but we weren’t surprised.  We watched NZ annihilate South Africa in the quarter final and Troy showed up not long after midday.

A mate of his had bought tickets about 10 months ago for the 7s.  As a result, he got tickets right on halfway in the bottom tier of the stadium.   The view was great – we were very impressed!  What was even better was that the tickets were also a bit cheaper than we would otherwise have been able to get.  

Twickers has a different feel to the Stadium back home.  It is a rugby ground and so is shaped like a rugby field rather than being round like the Caketin.  When you’re sitting on halfway, this brings you closer to the action.  We didn’t get to have much of a look around the higher levels though, as they were closed off.  The top tier wasn’t open at all, and the second tier was only open directly above us so that it would look like there were some people there.  On the Sunday, they announced that there were 40,000 in attendance.  It sounded like they had had over 60,000 on the Saturday and according to Troy, it had been carnage when it finished on Saturday.  So many drunk people and so much rubbish all over the place.  He was surprised at how well it had been cleaned up by Sunday.

The rugby was good as well.  Because it is the English 7s, it appeared that England had organised the draw so that NZ and Fiji were on the same side of the draw.  This way NZ and Fiji would meet in the semi-final.  The only problem with that theory was that England had lost to Samoa the previous day, so instead of topping their pool, they had to play Fiji in the quarter final.  England lost after playing ok.  This put us up against Fiji.  Fiji started the semi-final well, with a couple of good moves, leading to two opening tries.  At this stage though, we always thought that NZ would come back.  However, the second half resumed to more one-way traffic from Fiji.  It looked like we were going to get down-trou’ed, before we got a consolation try with only a couple of minutes to go.  It is also interesting to note how much NZ is hated over here.  The crowd was right behind Fiji and booing NZ.  That was very strange to be a part of.  That all meant that we were into the third / fourth play-off, but guaranteed to win the overall championship yet again.

It was good going out into the concourse afterwards still wearing my NZ All Blacks jersey.  There were so many Fiji supporters wanting to shake my hand in commiseration and basking in the hiding that Fiji had just dished out.  All very amusing. 

We went back in for the final session which started with the women’s 7s final between England and the Netherlands.  England well outclassed the Netherlands to the crowd’s delight.  The new game was France playing the United States, with the crowd booing every time France got the ball.  The next final between Scotland and Wales was the match of the day.  Not because of the rugby being playing, but because of the delightful female streaker who ran onto the ground at halftime, without a care in the world.  While she wouldn’t have made it past NZ security, the security at Twickers was a lot more lax, although they may have just been admiring the view too.  Following her cartwheel in front of the fans, the security tried to surround her, but she still led them a merry dance.  Eventually she was caught and semi covered-up.  The crowd reluctantly sat down again, full in the knowledge that the day’s best entertainment was over.  You’ve probably guessed by now who is writing this update, so you will also recognise that there aren't going to be any photos either as men can't multi-task.  I could either watch the display or fumble around with the camera trying to get a picture.  So here is one of the statue outside Twickers.

On looking up train timetables for our return journey, we found that if we left after the third / fourth play-off, we wouldn’t have to have to wait for an hour for another train home as we would if we stayed for the final.  The thought of waiting with all of the drunk people to be crammed on a train with them meant that we bolted after the NZ v Argentina game where we hammered them.  We got home at a reasonable time too.  I had been a long day, but the first experience at Twickers had been a great one.  Looking forward to going back on 1 December to see the All Blacks play England.  Provided of course that we can both get and afford tickets!

Tasting Notes: 

The beer of England Rugby is currently the Greene King IPA.  It is on nitro which makes it very smooth.  It was a fine beer to drink for the day – not sweet but not overly hoppy.  At 3.6% you couldn’t get into too much trouble either.