Last Christmas Santa brought me (and my flatmate) a home-brew kit and today I’m pleased to unveil the second (and seasonal) real ale to be produced from the ‘Blaggers Brewery’ in Guildford: ‘Old Bearded Git’.
Our first ale, ‘London Proud’, was an instant success and “surprisingly drinkable” as one friend commented. This time we went for a different recipe resulting in a slightly paler ale with a more bitter and hoppy taste.
The home-brew process is pretty simple once you have all the basic kit. Then all you need is a ready mixed real ale, 1kg of brewing sugar, 20 litres of water and some yeast. Once mixed together and left at room temperature in a sterilised brewing bin, the yeast will happily feast on the sugar and turn the watery mess into 44 pints of ale (more detailed explanation here).
If you’re a fan of real ale, home-brewing is a great way to get involved in the process, and at the end you get the satisfaction of being able to sit down and drink a pint of your very own beer. Once bottled they also make great gifts, like the bottle above.
If you’re interested in brewing your own then there are plenty of resources available, but don’t forget to drink the fruits of your labour responsibly!
On a dark and chilly night, TheFrameworks ventured east of the Thames to the warm embrace of Tentazioni’s “Degustazione tasting menu” – 5 succulent courses of the finest Italian fare each accompanied by wine and champagne to match.
A festive time was had by all and ensured a unanimous (and much needed) order of bacon and egg butties the next morning!
Three weeks ago I was wandering around the streets of Manhattan in awe at the scale and grandeur of everything. Before I went I was told how The City of New York was the ‘greatest city in the world’ and it did not disappoint.
I’d wanted to visit since I was a child, having been fascinated by the promise of tall buildings, a Concorde flight (at the time), the Statue of Liberty and my discovery of the ‘I Love New York t-shirt logo’ as I called it then.
Although many may be familiar with the history behind New York’s main icons such as the Empire State building and the Statue of Liberty, very few know the story behind the I Love New York logo.
Allow me to enlighten you:
The logo (pictured on my t-shirt above) was designed in 1977 by graphic designer Milton Glaser originally as part of a marketing campaign for New York State, commissioned by William S. Doyle. Glaser created the logo for free, expecting it to only last the few months of the short campaign, but the logo fast became an icon and a direct association with New York City.
The logo continues to be used by the Official New York State Tourism board and can be found on numerous merchandise, much of which remains unofficial.
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, Glaser modified the logo as a sign of respect to read ‘I Love New York More Than Ever’, placing a black mark on the lower left of the heart to symbolise the approximate location of World Trade Center site on Manhattan Island.
So if you ever go to New York, make sure you grab a piece of history on a t-shirt and show that you ? New York too.
Last night I had the pleasure of going to see the opera ‘Monkey: Journey to the West’. The opera is a stage adaptation of the 16th Century Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’, by Wu Cheng’en.
The project was conceived and created by the Chinese actor and director Chen Shi-zheng, together with the British musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. This is the first piece of work between Albarn and Hewlett, since they collaborated together on Gorillaz, the most successful virtual band ever created.
The opera combines the music composed by Albarn, animation, set and costumes designed by Hewlett and the circus style performances of the talented cast. It brings together many different styles – pop and classical, Western and Eastern.
The opera was performed at ‘Monkey’s World’, a specially designed theatre, built just outside the O2. The arena features a restaurant, bar and even a Chinese foot massage parlour, giving people the opportunity to “start the journey” before the performance has even begun.
You may also remember the characters from the opera being used in an animation sequence titled ‘Journey to the East’ which was used by the BBC to introduce coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing.
It was a dazzling spectacle, with brilliant music, breathtaking imagery and daring performances.
To learn more about the opera and get a synopsis of the story, visit: www.monkeyjourneytothewest.com
Below is a news article about the recent Chopsticks Club 15th Anniversary Celebration.
As you can see it is in Chinese, so if you are unable to read it, use Google translate for a rough translation, or even better find someone to translate it for you – enjoy!
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