25th June 2012

Well it's been a long time dear reader, and I have really been so very busy as to make blogging impossible.  Well, if I am being entirely honest, I couldn't be bothered.  I see now that my habitual posting was probably becoming as tedious to me as it was to the several that read this.  So, what's been happening?  Well I have immersed myself in work to the point of exhaustion, and managed to get back on top of things I feel.  We now have our first proper employee, which feels far too grown up for my liking!  However, this should lead to less stress in my life and more chance of me getting more writing and advertising done.  We shall see how it all pans out over the next few weeks.  I have taken my homebrew hobby to ridiculous extremes of course.  Never liking to do things by halves I now have a barrel of very palatable Woodfordes Wherry Ale, 16 bottles of very drinkable Elderflower champagne.  A demijohn full of very strong but very nice mead.  I also have 30 bottles of red wine on the go, 40 pint bottles of lager bottled and conditioning, 23 litres of very strong ginger beer in fermentation and several litres of strong cider.  The latter two are not from kits (Neither was the mead).  I sit here this morning having watched the inevitable exit of England from another major tournament but having drank my way though it very cheaply!  I think I may have found something I'm good at :-)  

Talking of football, there has been a major tournament going on and it's left me a little cold.  There have been some good matches, and I have enjoyed some of them, but it all feels a little bit low grade.  I am not sure that any of the teams are really that good.  Perhaps we are spoiled by the quality that we get week in week out in the premiership, but I cant help but find International football a little dull now.  We have our major show in a few weeks, and I feel quite good about this one.  I just hope that tickets sell well enough to give us a few quid over summer :-)

Our weather continues wet and unpredictable, and I think it is this that makes my mood so variable.  I might actually get it looked into as I wonder if there is a hint of SAD creeping in.  Mrs Plug has an under-active Thyroid, which means a series of tests and treatments, but at least it is treatable and explains many of her symptoms.  She also has a job lined up as an art technician starting in September, so we are all pleased for her.  It feels like things are moving in the right direction.

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Monday 11th June

The whole family are now back together, and whilst it might seem dull moaning about the weather, it has a real autumnal feel about it at the moment.  Floods seem to be popping up over the country and whilst the Summer Sports are upon is, it feels like winter.  My first taste of the beer i have been brewing turned out to be a lot better than I was expecting, and I now have to sit patiently to wait for it to condition in the keg.  Next week will see the bottling of the champagne, and in the next day or two, I should be in receipt of my wine kit.  I have managed to acquire 110 beer bottles on ebay which a chap around the corner from me was selling, which was a mad coincidence I think.  I am thoroughly enjoying this experience, as it is giving me something physical to do, and it is totally unrelated to theatre.  It was an eventful few days business wise and all is progressing well.

Terrible news locally, where a 15 year old girl was murdered at the weekend.  The girls were both aware of her, and many of our kids at work were friends with her.  It is beyond comprehension as to what a 15 year old girl could have done to provoke such a reaction in anyone, and I cannot begin to imagine what her poor family and friends must be going through.  It's difficult to speak about such incidents without resorting to cliche and feeling that whatever you say can seem facile and pointless.  

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Wednesday 6th June

As a fervent Republican, the last four days of Jubilee related celebrations have been tedious in the extreme.  I have no axe to grind with regards people's opinions on the matter, but at a social gathering last night I saw the two extremes of favourable opinion displayed.  One from a young man who argued eloquently, and with a basis for his argument.  I disagreed with him on virtually all he said, however, he spoke well, and as I said, did so with intelligence.  The other opinion was held by a much older person, who hijacked a conversation I was having, and became patronising and aggressive, to the point where I walked away.  I think that speaks volumes for the disgustingly biased coverage given by the media if it is run by similar people.  The lack of coverage of real news over the last few days has been scandalous.  Sadly, if you voice this opinion, you are dismissed as being disloyal and unpatriotic, and I have seen people using the "If you don't like it why don't you move to Russia" line, which is beyond all intelligent argument.  Even if you voice the merest whiff of indifference online, you are apparently shamed by "Hating your country".  I have kept as quiet as possible, and whilst I object to the sickening amount of money that is squandered on such events, I have not spent the last few days bemoaning it on Social media, but I do wonder if we really do exist in a democracy at times.  Having an unelected head of state would I suppose lead me to believe otherwise.

In other news, we said goodbye to Mrs Plug and Eldest who are off to Bramham Horse Trials for the next few days....After a huge amount of stress with trailers and tyres, they have now gone.  

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Friday 1st June

I thought I ought to update with details of my first "Brew", which has now been fermenting for 5 days.  Now if I follow instructions given with the box, I would be putting it into a barrel this week, but no!   I laugh in the face of instructions.  I have discovered an online community of home brewers who are so very helpful and friendly, and have given me all sorts of advice.  Whilst the temptation is there to get it done as soon as possible, I am reliably informed that patience is as much a virtue in brewing as anywhere else.  I shall leave it in the Bucket for another week, and then transfer.  I have to start playing with Hydrometers as well.  This is all very well for brave people who have an understanding of such things, but it's all a bit of a steep learning curve for me.  It is one I am enjoying though.  I am awaiting delivery of another kit today, which will then churn out some elderflower champagne.  I am reliably informed that this is like drinking Smirnoff ice, but a lot cheaper.  This sounds to me like a good thing.  After that, I am sorely tempted with a red wine, which will hopefully be ready in time for our holiday in Pembrokeshire.  All rather fun and exciting.  I am also planning the next beer I try, and looking at something called dry hopping, which involves adding hops to the brew quite early in the process.  I shall report with further updates.

Mrs Plug is oop North for a few days looking after Granny who has been in for an operation.  All is well, and we are all relieved, she is a very precious lady.  Eldest has now finished school for good, and now waits for exam results.  She is, however, working a lot over the next few weeks to pay for various workshops and courses she is going to attend.  I'm very proud of her.

We have also finally nailed down some days in the Lakes with the Pops family, which I am so delighted about,  I thought that we would struggle to find a slot, so I'm really relieved.  

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