Getting back in the groove

After an almost unprecedented gap of over a week, I thought I had better post something, just to let people know I am still here, haven’t signed the pledge or joined the Foreign Legion. As might have been guessed from my last post, I’ve been feeling rather sad and depressed over recent events in the world, and whilst I’m well aware that “shit happens,” this current “unpleasantness” in Ukraine is just what we don’t need – especially coming hot on the heels of Covid.

I’ve been keeping myself busy on various house and garden projects, including the ongoing revamp of the greenhouse, and the installation of spur to repair a damaged rotten fence post. All pretty mundane, but thanks to Storm Eunice, and probably several preceding storms as well, the repair was both necessary and essential to prevent further damage.

On the plus side, and it is a huge plus, I enjoyed an excellent day out in Bath on Friday, just gone, renewing my acquaintance with the city and a few of its pubs. Thirty-plus years is far too long a gap to leave when visiting a place which not only has some beautiful buildings, but also some amazing pubs.

You can read all about my trip once I have finished writing it up, but spoiler alert, I haven’t even downloaded the photos off my phone, let alone started typing up the article. There is however, a quite lengthy article that is virtually complete, and it’s one I wrote primarily to cheer myself up during this rather depressing time.

There has also been the small matter of a cruise to re-arrange, although it has to be said that our scheduled 16-night voyage around the Baltic had been cancelled sometime before Putin’s tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border. This was because Queen Victoria, the vessel we were due to sail on, was spending longer in the Bahamas, due to the availability of a suitable dry-dock.

We had toyed with the possibility of a different Baltic cruise at a slightly later date, again taking in St Petersburg, but as that was obviously not going to happen, opted for the Norwegian fjords instead. Far enough away from the Russian Bear, although close enough if the map you look at, extends up beyond the Arctic Circle!

Back on the home front, I splashed out on a case of 48 cans of “Craft Beer” from Flavourly. They’ve been pestering me regularly, ever since ordering a few cases during the first lock-down, so having the choice of something novel and interesting to enjoy with my evening meal, or to drink whilst I type away on the keyboards, broke down my resistance.

DPD chose the only day of the week when Mrs PBT’s works away from home, to deliver my case, which meant I had to pick I up from a local shop. This wasn’t a problem, apart from the weight, so much so that the chap behind the counter of our local Londis, asked me if the box contained bricks!

All joking side it should satisfy my beer wants for several weeks to come, whilst doing my bit to help small breweries. “What about the pubs, though?” I hear you say, well I am doing my best on the days off from work that aren’t purloined by Mrs PBT’s, for visiting family, or other non-beer and pub-related expeditions!

I do have to say though, that although I have drunk some pretty amazing beers over recent weeks at home, it is not the same as drinking something slightly less unique, but equally tasty in a local pub. With this in mind, I headed out this afternoon for a brisk walk, designed to blow the cobwebs away, followed by a brief visit to my nearest pub.

The pub in question was the Vauxhall Inn, a Chef & Brewer establishment, adjacent to one of two Premier Inns in Tonbridge. I am happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised, and what I found dispelled all my pre-conceptions. Full report to following due course!