The Demise of the British Pint; or is it Culture?

I imagined that my first non-green post, would be about my hobby in motorsport; which I am very keen on. But, an article on the BBC website has grabbed my attention, and possibly made me conclude, that my favourite hobby is drinking!?

The article can be found here

Apparently, we all drink far less pints than we used to. A trip around town (Warrington) on a Saturday night says different; but maybe it's just the demographic that has shifted. Indeed, the new batches of youngsters are paving the streets with orange and blue bile; but are we really supping fewer pints?

Maybe, I just haven't noticed that much. My local pub is a haven of all things good about being British - a bastion of hope against the trendy bar upstarts, seemingly assimilating the nation. Admittedly, it is only one half of the pub, known as 'the bar-side'; where the other half, 'the best-side' deals with your daily Grigio, Staropramen, and lads on the pull lot.

Bar-sides, or snugs, vaults, whatever you like, tend to get a bit of a bad rap on the whole - only justified in the minority of cases (read, rough as f%^k!). They are the only sanctuaries we have left, especially in geographically built up areas; which practice the art of the British pint.

What is the British pint? Is it bitter, lager, cider, stout or mild, in a glass that measures exactly 568ml? No.

It is the British practice of bringing together common men. Common not meaning rough and vulgar; but ordinary, every day, and communal. And suffice to say, in our now modern times -men are extended to women. A British pint is as much about the community, as it is the taste and its effects. It's not about getting hammered with your mates while on the pull; it brings a community together, to socialise, relax and sooth.

The BBC article is pretty good. Rather than rest on facts and figures, it provides a rather interesting analysis, all be it with a few parts that I think are a bit off the mark, namely drug use effecting sales. And, one thing isn't mentioned throughout the article, is the coinciding demise of British culture. However, someone mentions in the comments sections, about there being 'no pubs' anymore; meaning the real pubs that have changed into commercial ventures, as opposed to the local that serves the community.

I for one love my pub; well the bar-side anyway. It's possibly one of my favourite places in the world. It is the centre of everything non-pretentious and non-conceited in my village, where everybody is the same, no matter their background. It keeps me in touch with my community, where others don't even know their neighbours' name. I urge anyone who is reading this - go find your local, go have a pint with those that live around you, enjoy the beer, enjoy the company, enjoy life, enjoy the British pint.

Compost bin mark II

Compost bin - mark II, originally uploaded by 21goodlife.

There's not much interesting to write about compost bins - especially the second one. But, here it is!

I had to build the sides using two bricks wide, and without any gaps anywhere. The good news is, it's much stronger. I'm hoping it will mean less barracking from my neighbours as a result.

The pallet that the bricks were delivered on to our house has come in handy as a removable front. We still need another bin though, so I'll be on the look out for any bits and bobs lying around anywhere that can be used.

That's another job out of the way, and the back garden is now a little more clear; much to the delight of Sally.

Decentralised Energy

I'm no pioneering thinker; let alone scientist. But, I do have my moments in a day, where I may drift off into my own mind; drafting solutions to end some of the world's problems. I imagine I'm not alone.

I've been fairly convinced for a little while, that with ever depleting natural resources, the only alternative apart from wind and hydro electric power, is the nuclear route. Scary.

I was a little surprised when I fell on top of this YouTube video, and quite literally opened my eyes. Suprised; because the concept is ingenious, and why isn't this in more main stream thought - I'd never heard of this concept, but the idea is so simple.

We produce masses of centralised power, but two thirds of it is lost in the production and delivery *chin hits floor*. Move energy production more locally, and you double the output; maybe more. It doesn't solve the fossil fuel dependency problem, but it gives us longer to come up with an alternative.

This model is already in production in some parts of the world; notably Denmark. Plus, combining energies such as wind, hydro, solar and biomass, we become even less dependent on fossil fuels, which is ultimately the goal.

It's a fairly long video, but I encourage anyone to watch it. I'm still struggling to understand why the UK government is hesitant to implement a decentralised model. More so, with current power stations being decommissioned and replaced within the next few decades.

Compost bin mark I

Sally using compost bin mark I, originally uploaded by 21goodlife.

After clearing away what seemed to be a jungle's worth of overgrowth from the embankment to Kingsway Bridge, I set about building a structure to use as a compost bin. Next time I clear nettles, I'm going to try wearing something more than shorts and T-shirt. What was I thinking!

I was trying to be economical with the bricks, so I could actually build two; or maybe three; compost bins. The idea behind having multiple compost bins, is so that you can separate the various stages of composted material. One bin will contain mature compost; ready to use, the other with new. Plus; moving compost from one bin to the other, aerates and mixes the compost, which actually helps the composting process too.

Things didn't go quite to plan though. Being 'skinny' with the bricks, and building directly on soft earth without foundations, meant that the structure wasn't stable enough. In fact, it looked like something out of a shanty town - and that's insulting slum dwellers.

In the end, I took it down. I was going to have to be less frugal with the bricks, and build something much stronger.

The wild side

The wild side, originally uploaded by 21goodlife.

Well, this is the part of our allotment that has been neglected since we got it. As the picture shows, it's a little on the wild side.

We got the allotment back in September of 2006, so it's been a year now. Even though it was a 'half' plot, it was still a substantial amount of land (or dirt as one of my friends calls it) to take on - especially considering the state it was in.

So, we got to work on the other half, which is much better. There's still an abundance of weeds there, but they are a little more controlled. We've; sorry, I've, taken it upon myself to clear this little lot, and get the ground ready for the new season next year.

We've got a load of left over bricks from landscaping the garden - like 100s. And, after asking on the 'Allotments 4 All' forum, was given a few ideas for using the bricks; rather than tipping them - tut tut!

I'm planning to build a compost bin and a cold frame out of the bricks. Quite a bit of the jungle will need to be hacked away before they can go in though; but then I'll have a place to put all the green waste; in the compost bin - Yay!

It all looks a lot of hardwork, but we try to keep chanting the mantra "just a little, and often", as most of our fellow allotmenteers recommend.