Is giving someone your last Rolo as a sign of affection still a thing?
In fact – do they still even make Rolos any more?
This, among other things, has been one of the great philosophical questions I have been wrestling with since finishing my dissertation (and therefore University) a few weeks ago. This blog took a bit of a back seat over the last few months as I was finishing my degree, but now that I have a little bit more time on my hands (and a lot less writing to d0) I hope to open it back up again with a few posts as and when I feel like it.
The last two weeks have been fairly odd to say the least. The realisation that I was finally done was a massive mix of elation and being mildly scared that I now have to go and be a real person and get a real job. After the inevitable few days of celebratory drinking and increasingly painful hangovers it has been nice to get back to some semblance of normality as I started working, albeit part time, whilst looking at more longer term options. I have tended to not write overly personal blogs before, and this one will probably be little different, but suffice to say that there have been enough changes in the last two weeks which have (in my opinion at least) all been for the better, and left me to currently be very much enjoying life and excited about what life post-uni holds.
I hope that normal service of pretentious gin blogging, occasional sport and music updates and the like will continue for a while now, so hold on to your hats…
Read This Before This: 10 Great Books Based on Other Great Books
Middle East Edu-tainment
Sooo I’ll admit to not really having a huge amount of knowledge about the Middle Eastern conflict between Israel and Palestine, and so over the course of the last week have taken to occasionally seeking out the odd video or two which can explain it to me without having to do any reading (I felt I was doing enough of that for my dissertation).
My starting point was this video from Dennis Prager and the ‘Prager University’ series of talks…
Although this video helped somewhat in understanding the geographies involved, and to some extent the conflict since 1947, personally I found it overly ‘American’ in its production. Somewhat oversimplified, largely ignoring further back in to the history and decidedly one sided. For my two cents this (slightly longer) video offers a better interpretation of the conflict and the parties involved – and much better animation.
As far as looking further back in the history of the region goes, I was aware from some modules taken during my undergraduate degree that the area was one of almost permanent conflict, and I am yet to find anything better at summarising that as this 3 minute cartoon.
I want to at this point put in a piece from the most recent edition of John Oliver’s ‘Last Week Tonight’ which looked at the more recent aspects of the conflict (and how nothing is changing) but sadly the clips for that aren’t online at the moment. Instead I found a segment from an old copy of The Bugle from 2011 when Justin Bieber was almost drafted in try and solve the situation.
Luckily, that meeting never happened and a much more intelligent and amusing man – Tim Minchin – has subsequently had a crack at solving the conflict in the much more reasonable way, via the medium of peace anthem… Enjoy.
I realise that this post offers little in personal opinion on the matters – but even after watching through many videos (and some actual reading) I don’t really feel in any position to comment. If the question was more related to the Contagious Disease Act of 1864, I’d probably be the guy to ask, but for now a few (mainly) light hearted videos will have to do.
I HAVE JUST CUT OFF MY MANHOOD
Maybe a slightly misleading and exaggerated title, but, I am now clean shaven for the first time in about 8 months – and I am immediately regretting the decision. Using the classic scale of ‘number of times I got ID’d in Tesco’ I would say that with beard I looked somewhere in my mid-20’s (which is good, as I am) – Without beard I think I now may struggle to get in to How To Train Your Dragon 2 without my Mum.
Next week see’s the start of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and for the first time in three years, I won’t be attending. This makes me sad – but for the time I have available and the amount that it costs for a few days it seems hard to justify. In an attempt to make myself feel a little bit less sad about the fact that I’m missing out on the fringe I’m going to post up a few videos from the best acts I have seen over the last few years, hopefully you enjoy them 🙂
So in no particular order I’ll kick things off with…
David O’Doherty
I saw David O’Doherty in 2012 and he was bloody great and despite being one of the acts I tried to pre-buy tickets for the following year, he had already sold out – poor planning from me. Sadly he often doesn’t get the airtime he deserves because, by his own volition, his comedy doesn’t always work on the panel shows etc. which are so rife at the moment. Here is a song from his 2012 show ‘Seize the David O’Doherty’
Chris Ramsey
I first saw Chris Ramsey when he was the support act/MC for Russel Kane at a comedy night in my home town – at the time (about four or five years ago) Russel Kane was not a particularly huge name, and Chris Ramsey even less so. Since then Chris has enjoyed massive success, having a Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated show, starring in a BBC sitcom (Hebburn) and regularly appearing on a host of TV shows like Mock the Week, Celebrity Juice and 8 Out of Ten Cats. A little out of date now but a short clip of his Edinburgh show from 3 years ago…
Nick Helm
One of the most divisive comedians I have seen, but having been to see him 3 times now it should be obvious which side of the fence I sit. When I first saw Nick Helm (at the same event as Russel Kane and Chris Ramsey as it happens) I had no idea what to expect – and neither it turned out did many(if any) of the other few hundred people who were filling the quite packed theatre. I could try and explain his style, but instead I’ll just let you watch.
This first video is a short set he did for Russel Howard’s Good News :-
And secondly, because I love him and to show his slightly softer side, a poem :-
Josh Widdicombe
Another comedian who I have seen a couple of times at Edinburgh, and another who has made it big on TV in the last few years, especially on shows such as ‘The Last Leg’ – which was one of the highlights of the Olympics/Paralympics in 2012, and subsequently got his own show on XFM and now also presents ‘Fighting Talk’ on Five Live.
Soooo there we have a few brief highlights of people I have enjoyed over the last few years. When I am at the Fringe I also like to take advantage of the ‘Free Fringe’ – shows that are ostensibly free but rely on donations from the audience – and in general most of them are well worth a few pounds of anyone’s money. In the Free Fringe I have seen a huge variety of acts from an ex-prostitute (who happened to be a BBW), the Cambridge Footlights and Porky the Poet (Phill Jupitus’s alias before he got famous).
If anyone was thinking about going to the Fringe for the first time then I cannot recommend it enough – whether you can only go for a few days or a whole week the whole place is teeming with things to do and places to see, and more importantly places to drink. Some of my best moments from the Fringe have been sat in some random bar off the Royal Mile with a pint of Innis and Gunn listening to some impromptu traditional Scottish music, whilst watching people in various outrageous outfits traipse past on there way home from a day flyering.
Chapeau!
With the Tour de France spending its last day in the Alps today I thought I’d share one of my favourite cycling/sports videos. Although not being tackled as part of this years tour route the video shows Patrick Seabase riding the Col du Galibier… on a track bike (this means big gear and no brakes!)
Enjoy!
Gin’ll Fix It (Episode One)
A slightly controversial name for what will be a semi-regular feature of this blog… Gin! Over the last few years I have been extolling the virtues to all who would listen to me about the drink, and finally it seems to be coming in vogue.
I have tried to sample many of the slightly more unusual and less mainstream gins on the market, and to that end I plan to review them (of sorts). Generally I have been questing for the perfect G and T, and for the most part I choose to make them with FeverTree tonic, although sometimes I do go for Fentiman’s and occasionally Schweppes.
Starting off the feature is a bottle I picked up on a trip to London a few months ago – Jensen’s London Bermondsey Dry Gin.
Although I won’t go to much in to the history of the makers and distillers of the Gins, Jensen have tried to create a very authentic old style gin, which they have achieved by finding and remaking recipes from the 1840’s. As such it is missing many of the new botanicals which flavour a great number of today’s Gins, although this is not necessarily to it’s detriment.
The scent is fairly juniper heavy (as you would expect from an old style gin) but its a nice fresh juniper with citrus notes, particularly lemon. On tasting there is a nice hit of coriander and liquorice which start quite sweet but develop and dry throughout the aftertaste. If your drinking it neat there’s also a pleasant nutty taste which develops but which is lost somewhat on mixing.
Serving suggestions would be – try it on its own! Maybe throw in a twist of lemon peel to accentuate the zesty lemon aromas you get on first smelling it. It’s a very distinctive ‘old world’ gin that also lends itself to a good dry martini – or if using it for a GnT then, as the blog title suggests, more G less T!
Coming in at 43% alcohol by volume this is slightly above average in terms of strength, and retailing at around £28-35 a bottle its slightly above average in that respect too. Is it worth it? Unequivocally yes! Maybe not a gin for the everyday G’n’T but definitely a bottle to have at home for when you fancy something a little different.
Not a bad gin to review first off, and as I am still at university I’ll be using their classification system to score..
Jensen’s London Bermondsey Dry Gin – First Class (82%)
I’ve become a cliché.
Sitting in bed, scented candle lit, with a glass of wine and some cake. I’m not really sure what cliché I’ve become. But I am one.
Anyway – As I said earlier I felt that this could be a good forum to keep some sort of track of fitness and health goals. There are multiple reasons for this, but primary among them is that I was recently diagnosed as Type 1 Diabetic, and for someone who has spent as long as they can remember enjoying sport it has meant some fairly dramatic changes to my lifestyle.
During my time at uni the gym has been a fairly integral part of my routine and I have fluctuated from a 95kg Tight End in American Football down to about 79kg in the run up to the Varsity Boat Race during the first of my two years spent on the University Rowing squad. For me one of the key indicators that I was unwell came from the massive drop performance in the gym and in the sudden weight loss experienced (about 8kg over 2 months) and so it whilst it was helpful in diagnosing myself, it was massively frustrating to see years of work wasted.
In the last few weeks I have started an almost ‘from scratch’ approach to training and am beginning to build myself back up, mainly by following a slightly adapted version of the Stronglifts 5×5 program – which with its constant incremental changes in weight makes me feel like I am progressing at a reasonable rate, and can all be tracked via a very functional and efficient app which (although not free) I would genuinely recommend to anyone struggling for motivation or who needs some help starting out with weights. In addition to getting back in to weights I have also started back in to one of my favoured summer sports of cycling, and with the addition of a few rides and turbo training sessions a week I am finally getting back some of the cardio which up until fairly recently was a big part of my general rowing fitness.
Almost as a tracker of progress to myself I am going to post my current weight and work out stats so that hopefully I can gauge improvements over two week periods.
Height: 5’10 (unlikely to change 😥 )
Weight: 83kg
Squat: 90kg, Bench: 80kg, Overhead Press: 40kg, Dead Lift: 100kg, Bent Over Rows: 60kg
Although a bit different from the usual blog I’ve been going for I hope people aren’t too bored by my self-centered gym blogging and can appreciate it as a form of motivation.
Ich bin ein Berliner!
Well okay, maybe I’m not a Berliner – but I bloody wish I was (for this week at least). Following on from the early successes of Marcel Kittel, Germans have continued to dominate their way across France in a fashion unseen since the 1940’s. National Road Race Champion Andre Greipel powered to victory on Stage 6 before Tony Martin (National Time Trial Champion) put in an outstanding solo effort to claim the win on Stage 9.
Along with the victories in the Tour de France, German also powered to world domination in the final of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In a final which many thought could be decidedly one sided after the 7-1 drubbing inflicted on host nations Brazil, Germany finally sealed the win with a 113th minute strike from Mario Goetze. As well as being a footballing force to be reckoned with Germany also seemed to have put together one of the better looking squads assembled at the tournament as highlighted helpfully by Buzzfeed here…
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbellassai/reasons-the-german-world-cup-team-might-actually-be-the-h
Away from sporting news I shall be following up later with a couple of other posts a little different from previous efforts. Firstly one about the gym (LAD) as I feel using this as a good source of motivation and progress could be helpful, and secondly, as promised the other day (and as the title of the blog suggests) one about Gin. Hurray.
DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK
Because I’ve only been gone for 6 days, some time to go before I reach the dizzy heights of LL Cool J.
Having spent much of the last few days recovering I can assure you that getting older (and ill) sucks. No longer can I drink all night, sleep for 3 hours on a wooden floor and repeat the next day as if nothing has happened. And slut dropping hurts my back.
The weekend just passed saw a visit to London and Henley for an assortment of activities. Saturday started nicely enough with a BBQ and watching some of the World Cup quarter finals, and ended with a vague memory of haggling with a Jamaican lady over the price of some Jerk chicken in Brixton and no real recollection of how I got back to my friends, or why I chose the hard wood floor over the comfier collection of cushions scattered around. C’est la vie.
After dragging my hungover frame off of the floor I managed to make my way to Henley to meet another friend for the final fay of the Royal Regatta – and although our decision to make it a liquid lunch consisting entirely of Pimms was not the greatest idea of all time, the glorious weather and general pleasantries which make regatta season so enjoyable brought at least temporary relief to my weary self. That was until Federer lost. Although only managing to watch a few of the sets during the day by frequenting pubs etc. I can’t help but feel that despite the intensity and passion shown, this could have been one of the last chances to see the GOAT grab his 8th Wimbledon title. All credit must of course go to Djokovic for his part in what was a fantastic match, and as winners go he is one who I admire most as an athlete.
Only one thing could help me getting over the crushing news of Federer’s defeat – and that was my friend and I rushing ourselves back to London to go and see the concert of the century – McBusted in Hyde Park. I will admit attendance to this was mainly due to the discovery of a glitch in the ticket pricing which reduced entry from £70 to £2.50 – I’d say we just about got our monies worth. After arriving for the back end of the Backstreet Boys set (I wasn’t aware they were still a thing) we then waited through a brief, and seemingly isolated to Hyde Park, rain storm of tropical proportions before finally the headline act appeared. About half way through the set general apathy/hungoverness/ a sense of ridiculousness and being cold and wet took over and we decided to leave before the 50,000 strong crowd of teenage girls and their mothers decided to make the journey back to Clapham any more arduous than necessary.
Monday started with another early morning as we headed back in to central London to bag ourselves some decent positions from which to watch the Tour de France. After some deliberation we decided the day would be best spent watching from the Fan Park in Trafalgar Square as apposed to 4 hours sat camped on the Mall watching nothing for most of the day and then 20 seconds of sprinting. With Cavendish out there was little British hopes for a stage winner, however that wasn’t too much of a worry for myself as previously mentioned cycling babe Marcel Kittel smashed it home to claim his 2nd stage win in 3 days (followed up with another win on Tuesday!)
Having seemingly gone for a somewhat diary entry today I shall return tomorrow with the first edition of GIN NEWS. How exciting, but for now – you stay classy San Diego.
More G, Less T 