tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84120430816167229242024-03-05T07:38:58.209+00:00Saga of NailsPubs, Music, Beer and Bicycles. A perfect union. (Plus Kitten.)Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-85267324214994758872012-03-13T12:27:00.003+00:002012-03-16T14:37:38.142+00:00Exciting News, (and Cat Flu)<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">I have been laid up for the last few days with what I am ever more certain has been a dose of Malcolm Flu. It's just like bird flu or swine flu but much more current and trendy. The lovable little monkey has this habit of licking and biting my face while I'm asleep, so much so that I'm actively growing my beard and moustache just to act as a kind of mouth-guard from him. Perhaps I need to erect a wall around the bed. The fact that I have invented a new kind of flu has made me feel so hip and fashionable, that despite being laid up for almost a week, I have been trying to infect everybody around me in the hope that it goes viral. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Is that the sound of a distant tumbleweed, I can hear ?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Anyhow, being sober for five days has made me realize how much is going on in the coming weeks and months and just how much work I have to do away from behind the bar.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Firstly is the Bristol Beer Festival this weekend, and the announcement of the local district Pub Of The Year Award. Two <st1:city w:st="on">Bristol</st1:city> pubs are nominated (3Tuns, 7Stars) and three <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Somerset</st1:place></st1:city> pubs also (Hunters Lodge Priddy, Plough at Conglesbury and I think the Crown at Churchill.) Having not visited any of the country pubs recently I can't offer any qualified opinion as to the outcome, but I won't let my ignorance hold me back from predicting that the Three Tuns will triumph this year. I don't like big beer festivals much but I do need to show my face really, so I'll pop along to the trade session. Thanks to Camra for sending me the invite.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">April is CAMRA community pubs month, and we have two exciting events scheduled for this time. First is the launch of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Bristol's Tiniest Record Fair</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(and swap). This will begin at 10am on Saturday 7th April, and hopefully continue at the same time on the 1st Saturday of every month. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The second event is the return of the twice yearly Bag of Nails Beer Festival. It's going to be called (unless we come up with a better name) the<span class="apple-converted-space"> <a href="http://sagaofnails.blogspot.com/p/festive-30.html">Festive 30, Cask Ale Festival</a></span><b>, (A Bacchanalia of Beer.)</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>So called because we're going to try to get through 30 firkins and pins of ale in one very long weekend. The start date is Thursday the 12th of April and it will go through to Monday the 16th of April. Quite a challenge and a lot of organising is ahead, but I'm very much looking forward to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Many more details to come as we think of them.<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">And more. The Formula One season starts soon, and although Evil Murdoch has bought the rights to it, I have been investigating LEGAL ways to watch the races live and avoid giving him any money. If we accomplish this, we'll watch it in the upstairs room, so normal Sunday afternoon drinkers will not be disturbed. (Most people do not want to listen to 26 wasps on amphetamines with rockets shoved up their little arses fly in circles for two hours on a Sunday.)</span> <span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-21398712923256254042012-03-06T01:28:00.000+00:002012-03-06T01:28:54.376+00:00Twat.Tonight, some bloke took a swing at me for no other reason then I told him to get out of the pub.<br />
It was 11.30pm, and he hadn't even been drinking in the pub in the first place. He just came in after closing time to boringly and repeatedly tell me (again) to get a half curtain to cover the front window. A few weeks ago, he had drunkenly wasted ten minutes of my life telling me why my pub is so quiet, (Even though it isn't that quiet) is because there is no curtain and he can't have a naughty drink at lunchtime because he might be seen by his employer. So he came in again, and I was told me this again.<br />
The funny thing is that he also told me that he only drinks shite lager, so he wouldn't want to drink in here anyway. (If you hadn't guessed already, we don't sell shite lager.) After five minutes I got bored of his drunken and selfish rant and restarted the conversation I was having with two students who live across the road. This drunk didn't like being ignored and called us 'fucking hippies' and said he was going to leave. He didn't leave, but said it again. And again. I was still behind the bar and asked him to go. He didn't so I asked him again, and went to the doorway, where he was standing. I asked him to get out, and when he didn't, I shouted at him to get out. Then out of nowhere the arsehole took a swing at me. I ducked, it missed, and then I tried to manhandle him out of the door. Josh, one of the students helped me, and we bundled him out. On the pavement, his legs gave way and he fell to the floor, I think that Josh might have fallen on top of him, because the drunk had a bleeding nose when he got up.<br />
<br />
But when he did then was to top his twattiness. He started screaming assault, and called the police. We didn't hit him in any way. We just forced him out of the pub after he had refused to leave and tried to assault me. So after a very boring hour, involving five officers and three squad cars, It was decided that no assault had really happened and I was supposed to go out and talk to him and shake his hand and move on. I really should have done that, but before shaking his hand and moving on I wanted to ask him why he had tried to hit me. He flatly denied this, even though it was witnessed by everybody else in the pub. Another five minute rant/argument ensued, and when the police told him that he wasn't going to arrest anybody, he decided to stick his finger up at the police and stormed off.<br />
<br />
Sorry for the long rant, but I am just surprised at what total knobs some people get when they are a bit drunk. By trying to whack me, and then calling the police for my arrest, he has catapulted himself into a whole new level of twattiness. I have a picture of him and I think that it's only fair and just to inform all of the other landlords and landlady's in the area, what a complete prick he is, lest he try to twat any other bar staff.<br />
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Some people really shouldn't get drunk ever. Only yesterday, a bloke with mental health issues came in asking why I wasn't going to serve him. The reason is that he's an unpredictable mentalist, but I was diplomatic and gave another reason. His response, 'Are you not serving me because I'm ugly ?' (Last Friday when I told him that I wasn't going to serve him, his response was to start a rant about Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull for five minutes. This time he called me a wanker and told me that my pub was shit and going to fail. My obvious response was, 'why do you want a drink in here anyway if you think my pub is shit ?' He did apologise for calling me a wanker, just before we finally threw him out.<br />
What is it about Hotwells and crazy people living here?Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-7046738165031854762012-02-29T19:30:00.002+00:002012-03-01T14:30:02.349+00:00Redemption, Big Chief IPA 5.5%<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The weekend just gone, we had a stunning beer on sale. So stunning that Tom my minion and underling literally forced me to drink it out of a glass boot. And I mean literal in a literally literal sense*. The beer was Big Chief IPA from the Redemption Brewery.</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Tahoma;">It was another dangerous brew, being 5.5%, but perhaps it was more dangerous than the MOOR Sloe Walker. This is because you intrinsically knew that the Sloe Walker at 7.4% was likely, almost certain to badly mess you up if you quaffed it as you would a normal ale, whereas a 5.5% ale seems so much more reasonable and less daunting, so you think that you can treat it as a normal ale. This lead to painful hangovers on both Friday and Saturday mornings, which didn’t regress much throughout the day, in fact on Saturday I had to drink more of the Big Chief just to mask the self-inflicted ‘pain’. We all know how this was always going to end.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QrkCnTYZws16NnxmcDyss3FmDBPYmHWGek9QTX8lWb33NS5Cf-523jpCd-KT4Kn4kumakJQP_TNZvkFHwlFbyPHmIAwPCBDXlj1vAcWpoXvoRfG-OdMFMTmQz52B5vt_LlqwheHNjDAi/s1600/Redemption-IPA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QrkCnTYZws16NnxmcDyss3FmDBPYmHWGek9QTX8lWb33NS5Cf-523jpCd-KT4Kn4kumakJQP_TNZvkFHwlFbyPHmIAwPCBDXlj1vAcWpoXvoRfG-OdMFMTmQz52B5vt_LlqwheHNjDAi/s320/Redemption-IPA.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Tahoma;">I don’t know much about the Redemption Brewery apart from the facts that they are in Tottenham, (which is in London somewhere, North of the river,) they have only been brewing since 2010, so are very much new kids on the block, and are making a name for themselves in the brewing circle, pretty quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxM4o8aHuRkbxnA8X8u-4hs031q69RcehPxy84RI0wVjKvzQYn8Bh6CWYGK-afWujiO1yWGkSnjJuIAsM5z9j5V5XwX8Lr6iOAcv555LZg97LaUjQQF_5m2lNqI2CTvU7QlbuYFIstAFXC/s1600/Tom1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxM4o8aHuRkbxnA8X8u-4hs031q69RcehPxy84RI0wVjKvzQYn8Bh6CWYGK-afWujiO1yWGkSnjJuIAsM5z9j5V5XwX8Lr6iOAcv555LZg97LaUjQQF_5m2lNqI2CTvU7QlbuYFIstAFXC/s200/Tom1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Tom, serving our very first customer back in December. <br />
We should have given him a free pint. But we didn't.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Tahoma;">The beer itself was jam-packed full of flavour. The first tastes that I sensed were both sweet and bitter. Being a modern IPA, it was very well hopped, but alongside this were tastes of nectar or honey. After this there was a spiciness that emerged, but I could never work out what individual tastes emerged, because the drink is an absolute cornucopia of flavours. The whole experience was so complete yet so more-ish, that I stopped trying to analyse it properly and just decided to drink in earnest, as much as I could while still technically working. (It was quiet enough, and Tom was energetic enough.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Tahoma;">What I do know is that this is a drink I would highly recommend to everybody, and I am going to seek out much more of their beer. I still have a barrel of Urban Dusk by the same brewery (4.6) in the cellar and eagerly looking forward to it.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8M9sQ0qMGjTZH5Lf5eA4I1LZ6GE6oXioTo0yIze9fpxgXJVSkdcyEgtX-YezRd32hXWQmdUbJHMECGdjb6P2ziLzUk6gOOaNpwkmV3gjXHib7mcfcp3txroUjazFRmyYyJCnHD0wgNTjh/s1600/Tom2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8M9sQ0qMGjTZH5Lf5eA4I1LZ6GE6oXioTo0yIze9fpxgXJVSkdcyEgtX-YezRd32hXWQmdUbJHMECGdjb6P2ziLzUk6gOOaNpwkmV3gjXHib7mcfcp3txroUjazFRmyYyJCnHD0wgNTjh/s320/Tom2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a much better photo of Tom, and it shows the pub on our first busy night, again sometime before Christmas. <br />
I don't know why we let those Christmas hats in. They are clearly against the rules.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Incidentally we have a twitter feed for the pub, and this is mostly to inform our customers of which beers are currently on sale, and which ones are settling and venting and will be on sale in the coming week. If people want to keep track of the cask ales that we shall be selling, especially the more special ones, I do suggest that they sign up I promise not to rant to much about how buggered up the world is, and how you all annoy me, too much in one day </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13px;">J</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px;">.</span> <br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: small;">My twitter @</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: small;">LukeBagofNails</span> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px;"><span lang="EN-GB">* I don’t literally mean that. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-74277373950798620352012-02-28T10:52:00.000+00:002012-02-28T10:52:16.996+00:00Lucky Cat.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In terms of customers, and money in the till, it has been pretty quiet the pub for the last week, quieter than I thought it ought to be. Apart from the fact that payday is looming, and it's still February no matter how much we hope for March, I couldn't think of why. Perhaps I am being too picky about my customers ? Perhaps my gamble of not selling draught lager is backfiring on me ? Could it be my infamous Rules are too harsh ? But I think that I have realised why.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3QOHcMZg2mO9cJoiRErozc4uZF01WycQIiLPOmD6Txyd6b_BKL_yLtjjs8D0g0oF928Bce-9Sf0PqoGSCw_5e6QCegk6H06nutbX3a9-uaN-RUGr-208JAm2OLuOPzv30Nlx3K4-3JcT/s1600/Wavey-Cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3QOHcMZg2mO9cJoiRErozc4uZF01WycQIiLPOmD6Txyd6b_BKL_yLtjjs8D0g0oF928Bce-9Sf0PqoGSCw_5e6QCegk6H06nutbX3a9-uaN-RUGr-208JAm2OLuOPzv30Nlx3K4-3JcT/s320/Wavey-Cat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We have not even given him a name. That's not right. </td></tr>
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Last night as I was perusing my selection of bottled World Beers, I noticed that our other feline mascot, the Golden, Lucky Cat had stopped his waving. His magic was gone, and his hypnotic sorcery not working any more. It all began to make sense. I remember in a drunken haze, last weekend noting that he had stopped has magic wave, but had forgotten to rectify it. I think that I have the only Lucky Cat in existence that regularly requires attention on his arm. He damaged it in an accident a few years ago, and while my friend Chris performed surgery and post-care, it's never quite been the same. His <a href="http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/8620/386827-duracellaa_large.jpg" target="_blank">Mojo</a> rarely runs out, but we have to restart him pretty often these days. I'm now in a pickle. Which is the least unlucky course of action ? Replace him with another Chinese Cat that always works, and keeps bringing the customers in, or persist with him, and have days or even weeks when he is frankly not doing his contracted job ?</div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-12495981130982101632012-02-23T13:32:00.003+00:002012-02-23T13:37:07.218+00:00Unusual Visitor.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZ8jZezjQtTooUyl684kvS31FphCtyBDYIKv9TpCR0C4_G5-DmbfP0XzShk9tkrsDA7khHDf_52-PqTnMA9hbvWj_Dl0E_AlUXt8RKXe-ROjOAZqcNL4dqOAD3EP1eM5ha-fFdSXiHwXm/s1600/Frog-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZ8jZezjQtTooUyl684kvS31FphCtyBDYIKv9TpCR0C4_G5-DmbfP0XzShk9tkrsDA7khHDf_52-PqTnMA9hbvWj_Dl0E_AlUXt8RKXe-ROjOAZqcNL4dqOAD3EP1eM5ha-fFdSXiHwXm/s320/Frog-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freddie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Yikes. This was the sight that I had first thing this morning, as I went to mop the gents toilets. Well it would have been the exact sight, had I entered the cubicle on my hands and knees for some twisted reason. I would have been happy to leave him there for a while, as he obviously found it the toilet comfortable enough to want to stay there. But I had to think of Malcolm and his feline curiosity, (and torturing and killing inclination). There would have been no chance of him leaving the frog alone, only two days ago Malcolm decided that the best thing to do to a fairly chilled out greyhound in the pub was to stalk him, leap out and bop him on the nose. Honest. Our cat certainly is brave and fearless if not the most intelligent pussy around. Needless to say that a breed of dog that has been systematically bred over centuries to chase and hunt small furry things, didn't put up with that much, and Malcolm finally found his match.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Being the ultra-macho man that I am, I got Hayley to rehouse the Frog somewhere onto Brandon Hill. I would have touched it but it's all,,, uggh. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And of course the glaring thing that this photo tells me is that we really have to repaint those tiles in the gents. They are not often noticed or cared about, but they really do look crap. Needs sorting asap.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPktxjtNV8CUccXxWCqZqXLcflwAV2G6TVBFwAe-ZoKixC9qE-5N5AHkayCdR6egVbbn0CYB2RgjHKEQq8ajOy_EvBRV5uBOkeyTfB2Iy44mWdpZoSV2_-LTOqVf4QImMXUWxHfMdz04_K/s1600/Malc5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPktxjtNV8CUccXxWCqZqXLcflwAV2G6TVBFwAe-ZoKixC9qE-5N5AHkayCdR6egVbbn0CYB2RgjHKEQq8ajOy_EvBRV5uBOkeyTfB2Iy44mWdpZoSV2_-LTOqVf4QImMXUWxHfMdz04_K/s320/Malc5.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early right wing tendencies ?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix25nwBhDgGdB4sYqLuoAsOGTbfdPIHH09qFHDGn7Otjx1RkNG0Wtp8PcpWPr3qLn04F_b4JOxvZqZ-NpTkhp8ZdLahB_ufCf2JPoUfhmkYhHeThTDNBd2p4G016tN367EuLpLYXWiRudF/s1600/Malc4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix25nwBhDgGdB4sYqLuoAsOGTbfdPIHH09qFHDGn7Otjx1RkNG0Wtp8PcpWPr3qLn04F_b4JOxvZqZ-NpTkhp8ZdLahB_ufCf2JPoUfhmkYhHeThTDNBd2p4G016tN367EuLpLYXWiRudF/s320/Malc4.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Anyway, here's a few photos that I found of the first few days that Malcolm came to the pub, back in December. He was just eight weeks old then, but already showing signs of his strong spirit. The second day that he was here, he was quite happy to sit in his box supervising the comings and goings of the pub. :)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-5015643320706155232012-02-16T17:11:00.000+00:002012-02-16T17:11:00.198+00:00Moor, Sloe Walker. 7.4%<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqj0T0muiDfdBo7KY36iueDu8unHDOhSK2gkcUKYVOE0hGZywWSIPY5JgAhjf-dNxPREcmZ2cqf5KBMKRvpaXqgDai6FeR2r4WRILEHL0S7LrcYtwHWUdOTOW83couMFLep1pQr8qRxgX0/s1600/Sloe-Freddie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqj0T0muiDfdBo7KY36iueDu8unHDOhSK2gkcUKYVOE0hGZywWSIPY5JgAhjf-dNxPREcmZ2cqf5KBMKRvpaXqgDai6FeR2r4WRILEHL0S7LrcYtwHWUdOTOW83couMFLep1pQr8qRxgX0/s320/Sloe-Freddie.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This picture shows the very last half pint of the delicious Sloe Walker, from the excellent </span><a href="http://moorbeer.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Moor Beer</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> company. I think that it was quite apt and I'm quite glad that I was able to grab the last drop of the barrel for myself. In my opinion the Sloe Freddie has been the best cask ale that we have sold in the pub thus far.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">At nearly seven and a half percent, this beer certainly packed a hefty punch, but it was brewed with such smoothness, that you had no difficulty drinking three or four pints of it. But it had such richness of flavour that you didn't forget it's strength, and so it never had the dangers associated with some of the fine Belgian beers. For this beer, Moor adapted their fine and well established recipe of Freddie Walker, and added many fresh sloe berries to the mixture. The bitterness of the sloes combine exceedingly well with the natural sweetness of such a strong porter and produces a very well balanced ale indeed. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was lucky to get a firkin of this beer, as they had only brewed enough to fill ten firkins this year. I very much doubt if I will be able to sell it for another year, (a firkin holds around seventy pints.) I was worried that I </span>would<span style="font-family: inherit;"> be able to sell all of these within the five or six days that a strong beer such as this would stay at it's best. It sold out in under three days. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I </span>sincerely<span style="font-family: inherit;"> suggest that you contact the brewery and try to track down where the other nine casks are. You might find one near to yourself. </span></div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-62743254147687935152012-02-13T13:29:00.000+00:002012-02-13T13:29:21.828+00:00Malcolm. First Blood, Part One.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTKbBxrz91qDOn8_XaDVkNiHq7T1FYEI8_cpNUdnSdxrZ8m4whqxgjtA4lAe6qvFIU-rTeJKf69OEcDbQM98ppBIoqpHtZGg2nZqdxfJQyIOAhICARscto1Eh3RCBVhJwvh7qhtDq8ePGu/s1600/Malcolm-relaxed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTKbBxrz91qDOn8_XaDVkNiHq7T1FYEI8_cpNUdnSdxrZ8m4whqxgjtA4lAe6qvFIU-rTeJKf69OEcDbQM98ppBIoqpHtZGg2nZqdxfJQyIOAhICARscto1Eh3RCBVhJwvh7qhtDq8ePGu/s320/Malcolm-relaxed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I clearly have not spoken about the most popular thing in my pub enough in this Blog. This is of course Malcolm the Guard Kitten. Like all kittens, he reverts from fluffy ball of affection to fluffy bag of claws and teeth in a micro second, and back again. yesterday he drew his first blood proper, fortunately on my hand, not on a customers. A nice young lady was giving him the required amount of fuss, in his mango box, when he started to get playful. I thought that I ought to demonstrate his vicious streak to her in person, which I did by attacking his belly. As usual he attacked with all five sharp bits of his body, but this time, I couldn't easily detach myself. I lifted up my hand, and a determined killer was still attached. Malcolm is just over four months old now and looking more like a proper cat every day. This week, he is getting chipped, and then we are going to cut out a cat flap, so that he can take his aggression out onto Brandon Hill and it's residents. It might just make for a slightly more mellow pub. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Himmv7InP1Wrtean7kTsDcyUD5KwoEZmPEAGz-RBzzRkk2-ct2R_RHll9Vz005656fHUzDqOG9ELPuF0BBfch2zxjT7mQ92k0qJ6FljpNtS_SD5adq7RAdKbCIb7O4Bbfddld0BuM3W0/s1600/Blooded-Hand1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Himmv7InP1Wrtean7kTsDcyUD5KwoEZmPEAGz-RBzzRkk2-ct2R_RHll9Vz005656fHUzDqOG9ELPuF0BBfch2zxjT7mQ92k0qJ6FljpNtS_SD5adq7RAdKbCIb7O4Bbfddld0BuM3W0/s320/Blooded-Hand1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-23765655187734967822012-02-11T13:28:00.004+00:002012-02-11T13:32:28.918+00:00Comedy spirits, Part 1; Unicum.<div style="text-align: center;"> In the Bag Of Nails, we have accumulated a number of strange and obscure spirits, which can only legitimately be described as 'Whut I found on my holidays.' These include such useless bottles such as Metaxa, Galliano, four types of orange liqueur and something unknown called Kibowi ,which has a picture of a kiwi fruit on the label. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjIl0A3D4D6H9UFALoi7D6rujdv_ZeBIB9WbO1Huia5Py_yEdH97z2ZSvyXb9nwph9Pd2CcoPw_vLqHHqucbSVkkcw-1XBDKKa1wxIqrphc4F7vZGm0x9cU_FOzCXTNoD8kPZ9n6V6okr/s1600/Unicum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjIl0A3D4D6H9UFALoi7D6rujdv_ZeBIB9WbO1Huia5Py_yEdH97z2ZSvyXb9nwph9Pd2CcoPw_vLqHHqucbSVkkcw-1XBDKKa1wxIqrphc4F7vZGm0x9cU_FOzCXTNoD8kPZ9n6V6okr/s320/Unicum.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> A few days ago we acquired a bottle of the rather unfortunately named <a href="http://unicum.hu/start.php" target="_blank">Unicum</a>. Wiki describes it as a 'Unicum is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary">Hungarian</a> herbal <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitters">bitters</a>, drunk as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digestif">digestif</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ap%C3%A9ritif">apéritif</a>.'<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> </span>I would describe it as a potential torture method yielding results similar to waterboarding or forced Simply Red listening. Jamie is the manager of the excellent <a href="http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/23/23718/Hillgrove_Porter_Stores/Bristol">Hillgrove</a> Porter Stores. Last night was his first visit to the pub since he saw me sat in darkness, amongst the detritus left by the previous landlord and council, brassoing a metal drip tray. He was suitably impressed with my decoration, which I appreciated, and so I treated him to a free taste of our newest spirit. Here are the pictorial results.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaTbyzKu_lKcCTFo9DCCBZ7NydwbaDb2c09aJtQOuGMlVa1ANMnXuhl2egqf7irWrI4INHCspz68xbsPMnh3cy9bquUGzP6Y3knt1jf7rnOoA3i2LOpBi_uKVha1RAsThGDFqiVODsH123/s1600/Jamie-Unicum-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaTbyzKu_lKcCTFo9DCCBZ7NydwbaDb2c09aJtQOuGMlVa1ANMnXuhl2egqf7irWrI4INHCspz68xbsPMnh3cy9bquUGzP6Y3knt1jf7rnOoA3i2LOpBi_uKVha1RAsThGDFqiVODsH123/s320/Jamie-Unicum-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJmU9MQr8i9AVvLO6y2D5PnHq7Vdo4bYOccCiKboClosLEaVf4MOxqXbgV973l9TSvi0JGut-cvA6LRKSxg28TUHfIGI1oFI2FGbZe9lm1vindVD0UNtW9UOphLPt6Rr_04JjYp5NatxA/s1600/Jamie-Unicum1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJmU9MQr8i9AVvLO6y2D5PnHq7Vdo4bYOccCiKboClosLEaVf4MOxqXbgV973l9TSvi0JGut-cvA6LRKSxg28TUHfIGI1oFI2FGbZe9lm1vindVD0UNtW9UOphLPt6Rr_04JjYp5NatxA/s320/Jamie-Unicum1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeoj2bs585MzDOkX2xeOku0Syn-wFCdamNv8OFMvsAhIUbz8tYzGSlPfGyPw3aejp7iviMmkCQcC-ijukqRL03ByAT7R1t2FjZvKCWF5N15MctbDyo4ITxlqqJSfq_7uRY9vKX25mVF1j/s1600/Jamie-Unicum-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeoj2bs585MzDOkX2xeOku0Syn-wFCdamNv8OFMvsAhIUbz8tYzGSlPfGyPw3aejp7iviMmkCQcC-ijukqRL03ByAT7R1t2FjZvKCWF5N15MctbDyo4ITxlqqJSfq_7uRY9vKX25mVF1j/s320/Jamie-Unicum-3.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The excellent Dom who also works in the Hillgrove was with him. He was pretty drunk already, and so we gave him a slightly larger glass. Unlike Jamie who had warning of just how foul the drink was, Dom had no warning, and downed the whole shot in one. Because of his drunkenness, there was a delayed reaction. No expression on his face for five seconds or so, then slow realisation of the nasty bitterness that had just irreversibly tainted his mouth. The subsequent look that he gave me was identical to the one given by a dog who loved you, after you had just punched him on the nose for no reason.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8V1R9ljTva-uNkCce6uP873MKR1Q6nX5eQN78RCPRfqGbpPWQuOQFMxtV8iyIe7uOEnaoF4C1wEMIGTOrlGUsE0ClJsmpnwRVTaSMxmTgspgISW0qsTNXOzhGorsjV9kv3AAcQ5MJm3bS/s1600/Dom-Unicum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8V1R9ljTva-uNkCce6uP873MKR1Q6nX5eQN78RCPRfqGbpPWQuOQFMxtV8iyIe7uOEnaoF4C1wEMIGTOrlGUsE0ClJsmpnwRVTaSMxmTgspgISW0qsTNXOzhGorsjV9kv3AAcQ5MJm3bS/s320/Dom-Unicum.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Poor Dom. I'm almost sorry.</div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-16218692048734311042012-02-09T15:17:00.000+00:002012-02-09T15:17:28.987+00:00Modifying Pump Clips.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pump Clips are just the (usually) plastic badges that the breweries supply to pubs, to advertise what Cask Ales are for sale. In a Freehouse like mine which has regularly changing ales, the breweries just supply the plastic ones, to keep costs down, but where an ale is a permanent feature, many breweries supply quality ceramic, enamel or sometimes clay pump clips.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I already have a large bag full of used pump clips, as we have sold well over fifty different ales in the two months that we have been open. I'm pretty sure that the buggers multiply in there. There are definitely some clips in there for beers that we have never had in the cellar.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyhow, sometimes we have to modify the pump clips that we are given. Sometimes this is because a brewery has made a cock up and forgotten to supply us with the correct clips, sometimes it is us that make the cock up, or sometimes the production of the clips gets delayed by whoever makes them, as is the case with the <a href="http://arborales.co.uk/">Arbor Ales</a> clip. Marynka (no I can't pronounce it either), is the latest of Jon's successful and acclaimed Single Hop series; each named after the hop that was used. And very nice it is too. (We had a young couple come in the other day, proclaiming that they only ever drank lager. One free sample later, and the both of them are happily drinking ale for the very first time.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6toj2gSRvKZDJ8QCBx0GmEaVX0NPu5vm3BipTsAQAMThHXShms5dA9buHZLxbr_DUFaeURLKEpIjuFx5115sy5WA-KufkiFlLJIXsxYIgaDpJb6KBJnvPZDgmcJeCooPahcfpq1aCx_M/s1600/Arbor-Barnstormer-Pump-clip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6toj2gSRvKZDJ8QCBx0GmEaVX0NPu5vm3BipTsAQAMThHXShms5dA9buHZLxbr_DUFaeURLKEpIjuFx5115sy5WA-KufkiFlLJIXsxYIgaDpJb6KBJnvPZDgmcJeCooPahcfpq1aCx_M/s320/Arbor-Barnstormer-Pump-clip.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The modified Bath Ales clip is a different matter altogether. I'll probably get intro trouble for this, but hey, who wants a boring life. For the last twelve or so years, <a href="http://www.bathales.com/" target="_blank">Bath Ales</a> have been producing a highly drinkable beer called Barnstormer. This was named after a bloke called Stuart Barnes who apparently played rugby for some teams. (Huge bloke. I met him once. Roger told me to look after him. I have never seen anybody in less want of needing to be looked after.) However, some large, faceless drinks company headed by a man who was obviously bullied as a child also makes a drink called Barnstormer. Unlike it's namesake, this Barnstormer calls itself a cider, but you and I wouldn't call it such. We would all call it a shit, sickly concoction that only tramps and student drink. But as is the way with these evil companies, they apparently decided to trademark the name for themselves and then told Bath Ales that they had to change the name of their beer. So when, last week, I ordered a few barrels of the old favourite, they turned up with the new pump clip, titled Barnsey. I'm not having that, so one evening after a few (many) pints, I decided to change the badge back to it's old name.<br />
Although it could have been executed far better, I like to think that I have added a unique sense of style to the pump clip. :)Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-82286850566613856302012-02-08T14:34:00.000+00:002012-02-08T14:34:07.881+00:00To run a pub to maximum efficiency you must be thoroughly organised.This is my attempt to be organised, and to show to my staff that I am fully prepared and equipped to deal with all of the issues that might arise.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjEiGRcPSvxBuGeA0Jnu48Rejn8Byv87QOyNlxhyo8VtFjpqNZN8SqZ3gkkeK5TDeugZb-EXT2tu2Z5jYX27UUUQYoaAri2tHniwj9cvgb7_oMW02drLUPz_EZrq6ZlA4ZxfrrPvcmaiu/s1600/LSD_0085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjEiGRcPSvxBuGeA0Jnu48Rejn8Byv87QOyNlxhyo8VtFjpqNZN8SqZ3gkkeK5TDeugZb-EXT2tu2Z5jYX27UUUQYoaAri2tHniwj9cvgb7_oMW02drLUPz_EZrq6ZlA4ZxfrrPvcmaiu/s400/LSD_0085.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>These are just the two brushes that we use to clean the glass washer machine before every shift. (I love Wilco's. Budget toothbrush for five pence.) But of course for anybody to see the real picture, they just have to take a quick glance into the office upstairs, to see this.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJxK3EQkun5JY8d0P3py2uRpLP8OHTE878BLLNZzPG7pc4PMiWumdbmLBWNfNdZxV84Dff20LGFlhRuU7i969uvrliQ2KDx1Mn453no6oj0sRoxubugJGjBvFcj8FOhXX1qAyH9GEEe5PS/s1600/LSD_0086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJxK3EQkun5JY8d0P3py2uRpLP8OHTE878BLLNZzPG7pc4PMiWumdbmLBWNfNdZxV84Dff20LGFlhRuU7i969uvrliQ2KDx1Mn453no6oj0sRoxubugJGjBvFcj8FOhXX1qAyH9GEEe5PS/s400/LSD_0086.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the usual state of affairs in the office, and indeed in my own head. Occasionally Hayley will do a big tidy, (and even more occasionally I shall myself,) but experience shows that this is what my office usually looks like. Personally I'm blaming the kitten. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(And yes, I did forget to take the bottle bin out last night again, so we have to store them in the cellar for another week.)</div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-71648818336711362312012-01-14T18:00:00.000+00:002012-01-14T18:00:34.390+00:00Before and After.Now that we have been open for a month or so, I should really attempt to show people some of the difference between how I found the building, and what we have done to it. I did methodically take a series of photo's from specific points, when I first took the keys, in October, so that I could highlight the difference with exact before and after pics. But, of course I'm highly disorganised with a memory like a goldfish, and I must have forgotten where I was stood. In due course I shall post many more of the before and after pics, if I can, but for the moment I shall just post these two pics up.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FiR-1Ki5DyB-zurl1Yv2urbNEc1zDixBqXNmeEEKFG-XLFk8McNLuqZLIFJg3EO73XtghUMKSD2mRlS1cne_4qFV4BC8dOoOkev2rGYBUOvGRAl-EOBQqZU0SePwU4XgyR-06BOF_L9P/s1600/Before1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FiR-1Ki5DyB-zurl1Yv2urbNEc1zDixBqXNmeEEKFG-XLFk8McNLuqZLIFJg3EO73XtghUMKSD2mRlS1cne_4qFV4BC8dOoOkev2rGYBUOvGRAl-EOBQqZU0SePwU4XgyR-06BOF_L9P/s400/Before1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV_CQmj4tvsVPPguemjEiXLXBHU68G_QQUYxAZZi6o0ibyowc9VHOexT7pj8wz1z81mLXDqDZFBUUd1SHzaZPdkmjOJ4nuTUI51LQlru6Hf9KpfLUZn8ABA_KhibGgWnK7qYuWSleOKTNf/s1600/After1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV_CQmj4tvsVPPguemjEiXLXBHU68G_QQUYxAZZi6o0ibyowc9VHOexT7pj8wz1z81mLXDqDZFBUUd1SHzaZPdkmjOJ4nuTUI51LQlru6Hf9KpfLUZn8ABA_KhibGgWnK7qYuWSleOKTNf/s400/After1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div> Pretty much everything has changed. We took all of those sad looking pump clips off the walls, (more about that later. Much more.), changed the weird seat in the alcove into the place where the record deck now lives, and lit it properly. Threw that horrible fake Bristol Heritage Pubs poster away, that you can see on the far wall. Obviously we have painted the walls of the pub what I like to call 'Light Terracotta', but as you can see, is actually pink. And we hung some sexy wallpaper, which has gone down considerably better than I thought it would. The photo in the oval frame is something that I picked up for a song, from a Clifton antique shop, called 'Focus On The Past', as is looking up Bristol High Street, somewhere near the turn of the century. Mr Hitler put paid to all the buildings on te right, sometime in 1940, but most of the rest is still around. I painted the pillar with magnetic blackboard paint, and this is where the now famous Rules of My Pub reside. </div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-46268202382963742002012-01-14T16:49:00.000+00:002012-01-14T16:49:09.108+00:00Back into the swing of things.<div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Firstly, please let me apologise to the people who have been following this Blog, for not updating or writing anything for the last month or two. This shall change, and hopefully I shall be posting a few times a week to catch up on all the things that have happened over the last few months. Life began to get hectic in late October, building up to a crescendo of activity and stress in November as we approached opening day, followed by much hard work, and activity and energy through December as I tried to keep a really disorganised pub afloat in it's first working month, for the busiest month of the year. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I must say thank you to all the friends and customers who have supported me and the pub, and come through the door to help make the place work. Without you it would have been a massive balls up.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Right then. So the most important news that has happened since we opened is a little fluffy thing called Malcolm. A month or so ago, Hayley asked me if I wanted a nine week old kitten for the pub as she was unable to keep him. It took me almost a second to say, yes, yes, YES !!! Since then Malcolm has become very much the most popular and favourite living thing to set foot in the bar. Along with all kittens, Malcolm has three modes which he can switch between in less time then it takes him to jump on your thighs and draw blood. These are Sleep Mode, Attack Mode and Affection Mode. He is at his most sweet in sleep mode, and you may see him curled up in his box next to the radiator, near the record deck, and in his most cutest pose will arch his back nearly 180 degrees backwards, showing off his exquisite clouded tabby belly. Do not be deceived by this apparent slumber. He can switch from this to Attack Mode quicker then you can remove your fingers from his belly, and many people have been so far caught out by the switch.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgtKKKBnhxlZ9bOdVr6yomyqgUmyNqFjqYntxbCyUoGhJx9HHkLnSRMNIX6Ix7r4h-W4d1S-zsBHw70I1gP3aXTS9Rxjv2ijTStxAnjubyLKHMjzEdKo74ifERkBIjnMpvb8x30Fxsb6A/s1600/Malc3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgtKKKBnhxlZ9bOdVr6yomyqgUmyNqFjqYntxbCyUoGhJx9HHkLnSRMNIX6Ix7r4h-W4d1S-zsBHw70I1gP3aXTS9Rxjv2ijTStxAnjubyLKHMjzEdKo74ifERkBIjnMpvb8x30Fxsb6A/s400/Malc3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Anyhow, this is one of the first photo's that we have of the little monster, from mid December ish. He has grown quite a bit since then, but his cuteness has not diminished at all yet. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> Now that I am back into the swing of things properly, I shall ensure that I update this blog properly and regularly from now. Cheers.</span></div></div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-15401058336039019692011-12-05T09:20:00.001+00:002011-12-05T09:21:31.309+00:00Aaaaargggghhhhh !!I'm not usually one to start yawning on about what dreams I had last night and what their significance or lack of, means. But when you wake in the middle of the night as I have just done, and you can remember lucidly most of your night's dreams and in all of them you end up starting an argument or fight in them, even to the point of shouting at children that you don't even know, then you know that you must be pretty stressed.<br />
The difference between my life three months ago and now is striking and can e highlighted in the respective times that I took/take coffee down at the excellent, <a href="http://www.doliicoffee.co.uk/index.htm">Do Lii Coffee</a>. A few months ago Dominic or Claudia might see me roll in, bleary eyed at no earlier than One O' Clock for my morning coffee, and sometime it could be as late as half past three. These days, I can sometimes be waiting for him to open his doors at half seven.<br />
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Anyhow, the pub. What's going on ? Well apart from myself transforming from a sedentary sloth into a hyped stresshead once more, great progress has been made with the Bag of Nails, and problems have been solved, bypassed or mostly wallpapered over.<br />
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I wrote the above a few days ago and was rudely interrupted from my rambling by a call from some supplier or other telling me that they were outside my pub waiting for me and if I wouldn't mind could I get my ass down there ASAP so that he can continue with his daily work. Since then I have spent a total of one hour at my home, which mostly consists of rushing to put some soap on my face, and then digging deep into my many piles of junk to unearth some crucial piece of the jigsaw puzzle that make up my pub. I cannot write much more now as today is the big day, and my friend John and I have a full day of running around the city, tearing our hair out at the latest crisis. At five o clock today, we find out if we have a working pub or not. Wish me luck.Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-68338482040128248192011-09-20T00:24:00.001+01:002011-09-20T00:25:32.806+01:00Finally ....We have the keys to the pub. It's been so long. We took them last Friday and have been in the building since then. I would say that I have hit the ground running, and we have accomplished a huge amount so far, but this would be far from the truth. I'm going to get up to speed a little bit more slowly than I did at the Nubes, because I managed to utterly knacker myself out over the course of a year.<br />
To be fair, at the Nubes, I didn't actually ever know how long I was supposed to or going to be running the place. I was only actually brought in for one day to hold the keys until the new manageress turned up the next day, and she never turned up at all. I was running it on a daily basis for a month before Mike decided that I was the best man for the job. And even then we were constantly expecting the company to go bust on any given day, (which it did a month or two after I left the company.) I like to think that I was the only thing holding Hidden afloat and certainly the Nubes was hemorrhaging money when I arrived, and when I left it was the only profit making part of the company left.<br />
Anyhow, we finally have the keys, and I'm really excited. The place is in quite a state, in so many different ways. The council or the old owners ripped all of the carpets out, and so the bare floorboards are covered in twenty years of dirt and dust, mingled with a smattering of rubble and other roof fixing things.<br />
The first executive decision was to buy a Henry hoover from my nice local electricians, <a href="http://www.ablectrics.com/">Able Electrics</a> on Gloucester road, which was cheaper than any of the major suppliers would have been. The next executive decision was to cover the Henry with Sonic the Hedgehog stickers, just to make him feel loved. Don't worry, we didn't cover over his eyes at all. He needs to be able to negotiate those flights of steps after all.<br />
Since Friday, I have been generally seen around pubs and bars with a tape measure in my hand, taking measurements and thinking deep into my pint. A lot of decisions need to be made, and most pressingly is what to do with the back of the bar. The Bag of Nails was never really built as a proper pub, and so the facilities are, lets just say they are certainly lacking an amount of functionality. To be honest, behind the bar is actually just shit all around, and I am tempted to just rip it all out and start again. I am generally against people doing this kind of thing, because they are just ripping out something lovely only to put their stamp on a palce, and once they inevitably fail, then the next owners are just left with some kind modern rubbish that doesn't fit the venue. But the Bag was never actually put together properly in the first place, so it makes it difficult to build onto it in a decent fashion. The back bar is just thin hardboard painted matt black, and you couldn't affix any proper shelves or mirrors onto it. So I am in a bit of a quandary between wanting to keep the character of the pub, and wanting a bar that has been built properly in the first place.Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-54246092684345502422011-08-13T04:03:00.002+01:002011-08-13T18:08:05.996+01:00Balloon Photo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoidHkV0aW2t11zbLzGqYBn6MYZ0rMgrreTxMDb-MvwS05Dz7nDTCqvg8LcrGSG7fSD44d2jo3Zd3zlCKwWHMOsIy0_DYnIcvEYS59JzI-yrXp5uRZmJP3L7mdp1ntT78kDSsMnI5C5ALz/s1600/Bolloon-Telescope-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoidHkV0aW2t11zbLzGqYBn6MYZ0rMgrreTxMDb-MvwS05Dz7nDTCqvg8LcrGSG7fSD44d2jo3Zd3zlCKwWHMOsIy0_DYnIcvEYS59JzI-yrXp5uRZmJP3L7mdp1ntT78kDSsMnI5C5ALz/s200/Bolloon-Telescope-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I was drinking beer when I took this which is the flimsiest excuse for showing off a picture I can think of.Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-5398691009132596002011-08-01T02:18:00.003+01:002011-08-01T03:30:52.674+01:00Goose Island IPA.It has not been unnoticed that so far I have not mentioned beer at all in this journal, a mistake that I shall now improve. While cask ale shall be the main focus of drinking in the Bag of Nails, I shall also be stocking a very wide range of world beers. It is only fitting that the first one that I mention is also one of the first really good American craft beers that I came across. Five or six years ago, while working for Bath Ales, as an assistant manager, we had a music night booked for the evening, called the Chicago Music Explosion. This consisted of three or four rock/funk bands containing various hirsute Chicagoans, and the tour was organised and lead by an Englishman called Ben 'Shakey' Ruth. These bands needed somewhere to stay after the gig, and my manager, Paul, knowing that I lived in a big house asked if I could put any of them up for the night. Having seen Spinal Tap, I was very hesitant. Shakey finally bribed me to permit nine hairy, smelly Americans and one Lancastrian to stay across our house with a six pack of this beer, Goose Island's IPA.<br />
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Goose Island IPA is from the Goose Island Brewery in <a href="http://dingdingletsride.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/tdf_crazy_bikes2.jpg">Chicago</a>, and they have been brewing for nearly twenty five years now. Being American it comes in the standard funny sized bottle, which is 12 fluid ounces. No, not our fluid ounces, but ones of their own invention, which are nearly the same volume as ours, but not. After all they do have to prove that they are not like the British really. So anyway, 12 American fluid ounces translates as 12.49 Imperial fluid ounces or 354.88 ml. (or nearly two thirds of a proper pint.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaahlVul0qaLcj-aTT2ocJwOCntQYEl2vPd4iIMmXu2RioFS9Sm3PtDulQAq5AJ3ar-5vRgSryBhhUY0ky9coIEsJ3oJa2ZJIjG8ESU1Efi5U3NLroGDBB7SN3jkU3WrSoxEoiS2cP9BS/s1600/Goose-Island.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaahlVul0qaLcj-aTT2ocJwOCntQYEl2vPd4iIMmXu2RioFS9Sm3PtDulQAq5AJ3ar-5vRgSryBhhUY0ky9coIEsJ3oJa2ZJIjG8ESU1Efi5U3NLroGDBB7SN3jkU3WrSoxEoiS2cP9BS/s640/Goose-Island.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Coming in at 5.9% this craft beer is strong by British standards, but is par for the course in it's own country. It is bottle conditioned, and to pour it getting the correct head of over an inch without some of the yeast slipping into the glass can sometimes be quite tricky. Because of this I often drink it a little hazy, but I really don't actually mind this as much as maybe some people think I ought. (But of course if I'm serving it to you in the Bag then I will serve a perfect drink every time without question, m'lud.)<br />
Goose Island describe the colour of the beer as 'Bourbon' which is a nicer way of calling it light orange :). <br />
This beer has a big, full flavour, which you begin to experience straight away upon sipping. As you would expect with an American IPA, hops play a large part in the taste. But along with the hops you do have a fuller fruit like taste, and also a clear hint of citrus. There are quite a lot of individual flavour forming one composite which is very pleasing indeed. There is a floral hint and or course malts in there too ('pales malts' they unhelpfully embellish on their web page,) but just enough to counter the natural astringency of the hops, and so this beer would never be described as overly bitter. In fact without being cloying at all, I would say that it was more on the side of sweet than bitter. You are never close to experience the sucking in of cheeks which does happen with some American craft beers.<br />
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This is a beer that tastes a lot better in it's own glass. So if you do find it in a pub and they pour it into a pint glass,and try to charge you four fifty for it, send it back and tell them that I told you too. <br />
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This is actually a beer that I can drink all night long, but I would recommend caution before doing this, as you really don't notice the alcohol content, and getting carried away and falling on your arse can be a real possibility.<br />
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This beer is mostly imported by James Clay, although I suspect that it shall be much more widely available due to a recent deal with some evil purveyors of '<a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1C1WZPD_en-gbGB419GB436&biw=1166&bih=663&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=shit+lager&oq=shit+lager&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=2000l2746l0l3903l4l4l0l0l0l0l173l499l2.2l4l0">UniFizz</a>'.. I do hope that they allow the brewers to retain their craft beer integrity, Else I'll be buying a plane ticket, an eyepatch, a false moustache and a chainsaw. (like that one in Doom.)<br />
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Just time to thank Shakey Ruth for introducing me to this wonderful beer. After that first night, he bagsied the floorspace underneath the pool table, and came to stay again quite a few times more. He leads a band called The Convulsions, and you should always get to their gigs if you get an opportunity. But take your drinks of off the bar if you do. They're not safe when he's around.Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-43176768929032934992011-07-21T13:57:00.001+01:002011-07-22T05:41:56.741+01:00Find a penny, pick it up..<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Today I feel good. Despite the fact that I was out drinking again and actually feel like shit this afternoon. I woke at half one, having not been able to sleep until five, last night. I wasn't even any drunker than usual, but had been smoking, which is the stupidest thing that I ever do in my life. Even though I feel wretched and sick and everything, I feel really positive about things today for two reasons. Firstly the lease for the pub arrived in the post for me to sign today. This is exciting for me as you can imagine. I just have to sign it and drop off a huge amount of money, and the place shall be mine within days. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DEg8LoXy4-v7nM7RcA8k3Cc0NPJL_5_CBkjTDHMWWXCUtSNBDnUZBC9tnISmBwb6K35v-UDvc9PtMKZ8LoTSb-FwegbxjLpLhr4QKgWSkXvmj46O3q77QayFnbCG7WBY9iwXHJb_vdM_/s1600/Lease.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DEg8LoXy4-v7nM7RcA8k3Cc0NPJL_5_CBkjTDHMWWXCUtSNBDnUZBC9tnISmBwb6K35v-UDvc9PtMKZ8LoTSb-FwegbxjLpLhr4QKgWSkXvmj46O3q77QayFnbCG7WBY9iwXHJb_vdM_/s320/Lease.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Secondly; well I'm not a superstitious person, but I do tend to pick up pennies when I find them. In my mind I usually tend to go through the mantra that we all learnt of discovered pennies as little children. Most of the time I pick the coin up and perform the ritual, and forget about the penny later that day. Perhaps this is why I don't ever seem to have any money. This time I found a dirty, discoloured coin sitting on the wall of our garden, near the rocks and neighbours' hedge. I picked it up, thanked my luck, and began to clean off the mud and dirt on the coin. As chance would have it this was not a lucky penny, but a lucky sixpence from 1950. It must have been buried in our garden for a long time, and had only emerged very recently, to enhance the luck of a certain young publican. It just seems very apt timing to find it on the very day that the contract for my future also came along. I'm going to keep this coin, and hopefully I shall not need to use all of it's luck up too soon. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOA2ZKSpBnStz_JBgPbwNwm7PLnmneNP4k__XN3fi6WqDHobe5N8kE6djkiysd6REpExdxiojYbEc73rRK1TjirWyswc9yc3OFxrsKFYIXHclqbvIdGQDSqGlYivH_0hgV1SXAG-28nTn/s1600/Sixpence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOA2ZKSpBnStz_JBgPbwNwm7PLnmneNP4k__XN3fi6WqDHobe5N8kE6djkiysd6REpExdxiojYbEc73rRK1TjirWyswc9yc3OFxrsKFYIXHclqbvIdGQDSqGlYivH_0hgV1SXAG-28nTn/s640/Sixpence.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">:) </span></div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-19910208167122797612011-07-15T17:15:00.001+01:002011-07-15T17:19:01.932+01:00My Records.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnW6wYs5gOIJ9IEbDfYb_KbxHei5NnTj-zP9VYB8L-O1kVRnmZBMK98y4louOkPB88Cx8DF-5yU6rg3SAKkWvShf_NmNfVJoGcv_Wvxb-ULlyrfcsi6JyQigV6gZZYt5eri_9uXXEiRqBu/s1600/Deck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnW6wYs5gOIJ9IEbDfYb_KbxHei5NnTj-zP9VYB8L-O1kVRnmZBMK98y4louOkPB88Cx8DF-5yU6rg3SAKkWvShf_NmNfVJoGcv_Wvxb-ULlyrfcsi6JyQigV6gZZYt5eri_9uXXEiRqBu/s400/Deck.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Somebody yesterday asked me to elaborate on my record collection, which I shall do. It's big, heavy, takes up a lot of room, and is almost without exception worth less now than what I paid for it. Over the years I have acquired a lot of records from local charity shops, and various assorted means, for usually not a lot of money. A few years ago I did have a phase of buying new records from Ebay, Fopp and Rise, but more often than not I have paid less than a few pounds for my records. While this is a good thing when I get very lucky in the case of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Folsom_Prison">At Folsom Prison</a>, in other cases it may not have produced such dividends. I have had eBay accounts but usually get thrown off for forgetting to pay for a week or so, and everybody is so impatient these days. In fact one time an Ebayer had actually sent the record to me, and given me positive feedback before I had paid, which was interesting. I did of course pay him in the end. I hope. Anyhow without resorting to the word eclectic, I'm not really certain how to adequately describe my ever-expanding collection without actually listing every record that I own.<br />
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Well, last night were playing some board games, and this is a list of singles and albums that were played over the evening; Stone roses - Something's Burning, Tubeway Army - Are Friends Electric, Barry McGuire - Eve of Destruction, Edwin Starr - Ooo Baby Baby, Donna Summer - I Feel Love, Jan Hammer - Miama Vice Theme Tune, Squeeze - Cool for Cats, Dusty - Baby You Don't Know, The Train Spotters (punk band), ? and the Mysterians - 96 Tears, Elvis Costello - Watching The Detectives, Michael Jackson - Billie Jean, Jonathon Richman - Astral Plane, The Gap Band - Oops Up Side Your Head, Giorgio Moroder - Together in Electric Dreams, Gladys Knight - To Make a Long Story Short, along with some Billie Holiday, Sonic Youth and Elliot Smith, Beatles and the Jungle Book Soundtrack on long players.<br />
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I would say that this was kind of representative of the music that I play, but of course there are some thing missing. I Tend to play quite a lot of old Blues records, such as Big Bill Broonzy and Bessie Smith, along with Nick Drake, Johnny Cash and the Velvet Underground.<br />
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Probably my favourite three albums currently are all by Canadians actually. Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. There are many things that I love to listen to which are probably not really pub-friendly music, such as say the White Stripes, Captain Beefheart or Sonic Youth, but I would say the majority of it goes down pretty well at the correct time. I'm going to put up a music page here, detailing our favourites, the kind of things that we are listening to at the minute, and maybe listing new acquisitions.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">And about the post photograph which I am quite happy with. It was taken on a Nikon D200, 1/20th, ISO1600, 50ml lens at f1.8, using a monopod. The deck is providing the only light source. It is Gladys Knight playing on the deck, and I have a feeling that for the image I may have had to cheat and slow the speed down to 33rpm in order to allow the flicky-red-light-texture- to become more pronounced. The cartridge is just a cheap Stanton, but it does produce a satisfying shadow, I hope you agree. </span>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-61208772463938944532011-07-12T20:28:00.000+01:002011-07-14T11:43:10.870+01:00Right then, it's beginning to sink in now that this is going to happen. I had a bill in the post today for over two grand, legals and taxes. And that is far from all the legals and such that I shall have to pay. I definitely need to start getting my act together. No more staying in bed 'til noon, then ambling along at a snails pace. I have done a mental assess of what I actually have, and it brought it home to me that I need to do this right, because I don't really have a lot to fall back onto. My mental stocktake revealed to me that I have a strong idea of what the best pubs in the world should be like, a large amount of junk in my house with which I am going to fit out this pub, a surprisingly small sum of money in my bank account in which to buy stock and all else that we shall need, and hopefully the experience, energy, knowledge and vision to turn an empty building into something quite special.<br />
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Time to put my running shoes on and get into those starter blocks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Fa3x3DRwKIG_02y-rfZMdoSHORaqZnYZMDUvnzdIWYr_YPvX33UJXAeB-zytTVdywP6LEezEKLiGrKfZCKEfc2BQ9M61xAT7od1211kabrzv8vl27EahO5ZkCCR3oE_Q0-E7P6i55db9/s1600/Picture-Frames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Fa3x3DRwKIG_02y-rfZMdoSHORaqZnYZMDUvnzdIWYr_YPvX33UJXAeB-zytTVdywP6LEezEKLiGrKfZCKEfc2BQ9M61xAT7od1211kabrzv8vl27EahO5ZkCCR3oE_Q0-E7P6i55db9/s320/Picture-Frames.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Speaking of piles of junk, here is one of mine. This is a pile of picture frames that I have collected mostly from charity shops over the last six months or so. The picture at the front gives a good clue to one of the themes that I intend to follow re- decorations.</span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-90680581052667988732011-07-11T19:56:00.000+01:002011-07-14T11:39:22.045+01:00More stuff.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1haYB4-1vZ3sE2CRCvuMrljSqOMeNw_zRWEL6UneAhkIEjLvVRHP0t2M4412ZS9jQgnRCfYB92o42JeTkgCRuSUdC286d1lOyPudvS-AZnUrEK4SFVhdT4vWzIVSK09g0mR7BNDv07jY/s1600/bike2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1haYB4-1vZ3sE2CRCvuMrljSqOMeNw_zRWEL6UneAhkIEjLvVRHP0t2M4412ZS9jQgnRCfYB92o42JeTkgCRuSUdC286d1lOyPudvS-AZnUrEK4SFVhdT4vWzIVSK09g0mR7BNDv07jY/s640/bike2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Tahoma;">Finally the sun has emerged long enough for me to take a properer photograph of my new bike. Here she is taking in the sun outside our house in Cotham. Research tells me that it is a Raleigh RSW 16. They were <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Raleigh</st1:place></st1:city>’s answer to the Moulton range of cycles which were first released in 1962. My bike has 68 stamped on the Sturmy Archer rear hub, which suggests it is a 1968 model, just after <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Raleigh</st1:place></st1:city> bought out the Moulton company outright. The rear tyre seems to be an original, which makes it possibly forty three years old. As I am such a shameless self publicist, I am thinking of using this vintage machine to advertise the pub venture, namely getting ,’The Bag of Nails’ painted onto both sides of the frame. The frame has already been badly painted once, so I would not be ruining anything original. This might well help advertise the pub, because I do already get a lot of looks as I cycle around the city. Sacrilege, shameless opportunism, or just the sign of an inflated ego? You tell me. Do please comment and let me know your thoughts. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIBD-rOkrIjxu2Pl_ljiy7x_19gROt8eG9ZhYwxwb-aWN328sih-UQP_6lsf_JsIXHv4TmneLVao5Msk6tauwnNSVcxN-oEziBy1d5_siMnUUWAMlgiGKiVDATVzPjV3QLHm6lwvwWMfxm/s1600/Golden-Lion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIBD-rOkrIjxu2Pl_ljiy7x_19gROt8eG9ZhYwxwb-aWN328sih-UQP_6lsf_JsIXHv4TmneLVao5Msk6tauwnNSVcxN-oEziBy1d5_siMnUUWAMlgiGKiVDATVzPjV3QLHm6lwvwWMfxm/s400/Golden-Lion.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Tahoma;">On Saturday evening, I briefly went to Glostonbury. This is the wittily named annual festival of the Golden Lion pub, on <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gloucester</st1:place></st1:city> road. You can see what they did there. It’s a great pub actually and one that I ought to visit much more. The range of ales is limited but fine, with Gem and Butcombe Gold always available, but this pub promotes itself as more of a music pub. This is not that surprising as the same bloke who has this pub also has the famous Old Duke on <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Kings Street</st1:address></st1:street>, named after Duke Ellington, I believe. Anyhow you can see how busy the Lion was on Saturday evening. While we were there, they were playing what I would call electro-dub very loudly, shaking out the neighbourhood. Incidentally, the building to the right in the picture is Horfield Nick, which is where Paul Gadd served his all too short sentence for being a dirty, dirty bastard. It must be mental torture for some of the inmates, being able to hear banging music and the sounds of people getting pissed at times. But at least they don't have to share their cells with pervy Gary Glitter any more. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCl43bARRMRKdZ3a_sqKVqiNLDt2J7i9WIMrGIbO4cU2VBqwudQlGK2aWKWZ2g-2t6IrRgvfaYZf5Pzje0VF_TMO-bxjyhFn3Iady0ai4eTNxwP1J6cod8qVaxMHheBEB-Nh3brpAoyxFs/s1600/Records2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCl43bARRMRKdZ3a_sqKVqiNLDt2J7i9WIMrGIbO4cU2VBqwudQlGK2aWKWZ2g-2t6IrRgvfaYZf5Pzje0VF_TMO-bxjyhFn3Iady0ai4eTNxwP1J6cod8qVaxMHheBEB-Nh3brpAoyxFs/s400/Records2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Tahoma;">Later in the evening, I visited various excellent pubs in the centre of the town, and at the end we arrived at The Bridge, ran by my friends Greg and Simon. A tiny pub that used to be within the estate of Bath Ales, it also has a record player and shelves full of LP’s and singles. Anyhow, it seems that they are trimming their collection down, and had a few Ikea bags of records they were giving away. Good for me because I have a psychotic need to take home and play records. I took home around ten 12”’s including this fine Jansch / Renbourne / sampler and thirty odd assorted singles. Some of the singles are excellent an I’m looking forward to drunkenly playing them too loudly in the pub, after hours. Anyhow Phoebe is guarding the records in our porch as you can see here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-6602409978404367232011-07-08T22:44:00.001+01:002011-08-01T14:42:27.615+01:00Pictures and Music<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Tahoma;">As I expected I was not exceptionally good, playing music at the Hilly the other day, for a variety of unnamed reasons. I did stick to weak beer for most of the night in an attempt to stay sober, but it’s didn’t really work. The beer that I was drinking was <a href="http://www.dawkins-ales.co.uk/">Dawkins</a> Milkmaid Mild coming in at only 2.8% abv. The Milkmaid Mild is surprisingly tasty for such a low alcohol content, with a creamy and malty taste. For me it has a warm, subtle bitterness that makes it very drinkable. After I finished playing music I moved onto something stronger which was a Bad Idea. I can’t remember what I drank after and I stayed for far too long. Yesterday was a write off. I can’t afford to do this kind of thing in the mid-week for a while at least.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrceEwauBglA6ffGP6QdqlJ6Y9eDz9i3VwhVEost7wK4Wy4jmWTV4sAmcJnkgLmh2oPBouPSTQD7MO2IKvTKx-9vDYQJAiG75WA69kdEef72v_fH7P4VG6SK7-EJxfL43FM5yBhXTyCbH/s1600/Technics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrceEwauBglA6ffGP6QdqlJ6Y9eDz9i3VwhVEost7wK4Wy4jmWTV4sAmcJnkgLmh2oPBouPSTQD7MO2IKvTKx-9vDYQJAiG75WA69kdEef72v_fH7P4VG6SK7-EJxfL43FM5yBhXTyCbH/s400/Technics.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrceEwauBglA6ffGP6QdqlJ6Y9eDz9i3VwhVEost7wK4Wy4jmWTV4sAmcJnkgLmh2oPBouPSTQD7MO2IKvTKx-9vDYQJAiG75WA69kdEef72v_fH7P4VG6SK7-EJxfL43FM5yBhXTyCbH/s1600/Technics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">The Bag of Nails is going to be a pub that reflects my character, and thus I am going to put a lot of myself into it. One of the most important things in my life is music, and I mostly choose to play music using tiny diamonds and little discs of vinyl. This photo shows the Technics 1210 deck that we shall be installing into the Bag somewhere. This is the same record player that I had famously put into the ‘<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nubia</st1:place></st1:country-region> and delighted so many customers during my tenure. It’s slightly knackered, but still keeps a good speed, and the sound will only cut away if you move the deck around too much. Initially it might have to sit on the end of the bar in the Bag until we find a permanent site. The thing that people loved at the last pub we ran, was the ability to pick and choose the next record, and the tangibility of handling and changing the records. The extra sound quality is a bonus of course. Unlike the ‘Nubes, there isn’t that much storage space downstairs there, so I may not be able to have all of my records available to play at once. I might have to employ a rotation scheme. I have been buying a lot more singles this last year and now am beginning to have a respectable collection. As long as you like old pop music that is, as most of the singles I find come from charity shops.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Tahoma;">I have pictured another acquisition, which is an antique painting with a lovely gilt frame. The painting is around a hundred years old and by a Scottish artist called <a href="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290574996468&clk_rvr_id=246471831505&item=290574996468&lgeo=1&vectorid=229508">Sam Pope Jnr</a>, 1881–1940. The painitng is quite nice, but it is the frame that I am actually interested in. I am happy that I only paid twenty five pounds, as the lady initially wanted ninety five for it, not long ago. I have been collecting these style of frames for a while and now I might just have enough. I will reveal what pictures I intend to put into them later. I do intend to make the walls of the pub very interesting to gaze upon. The two singles alongside the frame are Beats International, which was not as good as I had remembered it to be, and a Sam Cook classic, Wonderful World. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjma_9Ui_S-QFqhgJ-VGIoGbuzbWAQ5JdNvbEmR_JOaDRWw9RyamECuAKgCQHmwjzoIFPDzQHLqsqN2v8BkqafdVfHSZ0Q5BAELGrBlStLtnA1x4ZP_O7FE21-qGSzmZH6RZg_cowPaNl05/s1600/Frame1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjma_9Ui_S-QFqhgJ-VGIoGbuzbWAQ5JdNvbEmR_JOaDRWw9RyamECuAKgCQHmwjzoIFPDzQHLqsqN2v8BkqafdVfHSZ0Q5BAELGrBlStLtnA1x4ZP_O7FE21-qGSzmZH6RZg_cowPaNl05/s320/Frame1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Tahoma;">The weather was disgusting again today and I think our media ought to focus on the important aspects of our society. Not about newspapers shutting down, but why has the weather been so much less pleasant since the Tories got into power ? It cannot be just me that has noticed the link. How did they manage it ?<o:p></o:p></span></div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-4238791139000864232011-07-06T17:28:00.000+01:002011-07-14T11:41:42.844+01:00getting the ball rolling.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7x0jKrQBEH_T17qNsoqS8bU6W8nZ8R80UMdqoB4IaATg9xTM0-MuVa5mEdSsFzN0hKJHmVbX3dA5PoAUYLuWN_yT8lDFbIP7U5VF1RbSq61VFFDZ5dTSwNzucGBSepzy01bIS0NFcGfR/s1600/Till.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7x0jKrQBEH_T17qNsoqS8bU6W8nZ8R80UMdqoB4IaATg9xTM0-MuVa5mEdSsFzN0hKJHmVbX3dA5PoAUYLuWN_yT8lDFbIP7U5VF1RbSq61VFFDZ5dTSwNzucGBSepzy01bIS0NFcGfR/s400/Till.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>I now have a till. I am more excited by this then I expect anybody else to be, but it underlines to me that this is actually going to start happening. We have been waiting so long to iron out difficulties with the contract that it feels a relief to begin the ball rolling. We have not signed yet, but I expect to do this next week sometime. There do not seem to be any more hurdles to the deal. <br />
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I took the Raleigh shopping today. She cycles like a dream. As long as your dream is of teeny tiny wheels and fat, low pressure tyres. The riding position is difficult to describe. It is a little similar to sitting on a bar stool, holding onto a glass on the bar, but moving along on scooter wheels. I did enjoy pootling along the promenade of Gloucester Road, past the cafes and bars. And yet we did get quite a few looks, although the bicycle many more than myself. I popped into Fred Baker’s, which was the unfortunate bike shop that is next to the Tesco store that hit all of the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/apr/22/bristol-riot-police-injured">headlines</a> in May this year. Old Fred himself came out and uncharacteristically was quite disparaging about my lovely machine, but I think he was just winding me up. He did give me some tips about attempting to take this bike up the hill to Clifton, but frankly it is the return journey that worries me the most. One of my earliest grown-up emotions was dislike for caliper brakes. I will take a nice photo of my bike tomorrow if the sun emerges.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Ruceh8Hx3AnXKziWiA_6RrceUhl20rH0DNwnKIGrVN8bowJeRhF8ckQCCAAk3DPWrSRlbTpllUlTDhLAdXBgdjMN5fbHF-wg5kdY29oV1TfcICwxnYcv-ldy8UC8cFv32IcHdn_TxrNs/s1600/Records.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Ruceh8Hx3AnXKziWiA_6RrceUhl20rH0DNwnKIGrVN8bowJeRhF8ckQCCAAk3DPWrSRlbTpllUlTDhLAdXBgdjMN5fbHF-wg5kdY29oV1TfcICwxnYcv-ldy8UC8cFv32IcHdn_TxrNs/s320/Records.jpg" width="214" /></a>On the way home, I went into the second hand store near my house and made two excellent purchases. The Casio till and an old looking chair for the pub. It shall have to be upholstered, but I think that it looks really nice. The till works, but has no manual. It tallies up fine and ‘fingers crossed’ it will be able to perform accurate X and Z readings. I’m hoping to be able to use it until we need something more versatile. It has <a href="http://www.nashcashregistersbristol.co.uk/">Larry Nash's</a> service sticker on already, which is handy as I have used him before.<br />
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I’m going to the <a href="http://www.travelswithbeer.com/2010/08/06/hillgrove-porter-stores/">Hillgrove</a> tonight to play some records. I’m a rubbish dj so I hope it goes well. It’s a horrible cliché but the word eclectic ought to be sewn onto my dj hat. It’s the only way that I can play records. (Those are singles in the photo. The 28mm lens makes them appear a bit larger than they actually are.)Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412043081616722924.post-58988283127139641782011-07-06T03:24:00.000+01:002011-07-14T11:40:34.901+01:00Beginning.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2MziMY5yoxT9s4e5P4eEOoDmwZgFxD_RFVzdfQMHWras683jeaSt2K4cUbFOBctMtpEyGdfmzB2zBuNAeWTx_TqCxamgcwwavV0Bj06oWZpmHaVxSN3WlijhToHRqPYs6jsJOuBdQxCl/s1600/bike1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2MziMY5yoxT9s4e5P4eEOoDmwZgFxD_RFVzdfQMHWras683jeaSt2K4cUbFOBctMtpEyGdfmzB2zBuNAeWTx_TqCxamgcwwavV0Bj06oWZpmHaVxSN3WlijhToHRqPYs6jsJOuBdQxCl/s320/bike1.jpg" width="214" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Tahoma;">My friend, Chris is great. This evening he gave to me this excellent <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Raleigh</st1:place></st1:city> bike. It is from the <a href="http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7697/toppops69.jpg">sixties or seventies</a>, and it is his belated birthday present to me. I am really chuffed that Chris had managed to acquire the beauty from his housemate. It has been gathering dust in Chris’s small lounge, and every time I visited them, I always cast longing eyes onto it. Now that it is mine I am a very happy monkey. It needs a little work, but I rode it home from his with no problems except for the embarrassment that juddery and extremely squeaky brake pads will make. I did manage to slightly scare an elderly couple while shamefully cycling on the pavement actually very slowly behind them. Sorry. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Tahoma;">So this is my new blog. It’s the first time that I have been tempted to actually attempt to bore the entire planet with many details of my daily life. I am promising to myself to try not to start posting every mundane event that occurs every two hours in my life. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Tahoma;">The reason why I am starting a journal is because very soon I hope to agree a contract for a lengthy lease of a local, respected pub that has been vacant for 12 months. We need to spend a little time decorating and possibly converting sections of the building, and basically turning it into a working pub once again, starting mostly from scratch. There are no fixtures and fittings within the building to speak of and I do not have loads of money to spend, so this could make the next few months are of our lives interesting. Getting to this stage has been a long and at times arduous mission, but it does finally look like it shall happen. I am going to share and convey the experiences that my partner, H and myself are going to experience, and hopefully some people might find it interesting enough to follow. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 117.0pt; margin-right: -25.4pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Tahoma;">The reason that I feel compelled to start the diary today rather than any other day is that I feel the great pub adventure has genuinely begun today with the acquirement of the bicycle. I want it to be a kind of pub bicycle. I can use it to initially commute, to advertise my venture, and to visit any suppliers that are not in <a href="http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/00/62/006218_71b79cf5.jpg">Clifton</a> or <a href="http://bristolculture.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/totterdown-arts-trail-2010/">Totterdown</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>Saga Of Nailshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08891668833405154713noreply@blogger.com0