Kmflett's Blog

IndyMan19: Results & Prospects

As usual I was at the Independent Manchester Beer Convention in early October with my partner Megan.

It is in one of the best venues for a beer festival, the Victoria Baths, and this year even more spaces were utilised, for example by the Mikkeller bar.

Its well organised and invariably sold out. It works on the admission charge (£10) for entry and glass and then tokens for beer plan. The (good) principle is that the tokens are priced for one third pours across a range of strengths to encourage people to sample. This year an individual token cost £2.80 while you could get 11 for £29. Certainly against beer prices in London, or indeed in craft bars in Manchester, the pricing is very much in line with what you’d expect to pay, so no complaints there.

This year there seemed to be a rise in 2 token beers (£16.80 a pint for any tabloid journalists reading this). I didn’t drink any but can see the logic for beers air-freighted in from the US at substantial cost or above 10% imperial stouts. I did notice one 8.2% dipa requiring 2 tokens and I’d suggest the organisers need to take action to stop that or perhaps at least do half tokens if we can accept that it might not be unreasonable to expect to pay £3.50/4 on occasion.

The beer range provided much of interest and quality.

I wrote last year that the organisers need to bring cask and that remains the case, but more so now. Obviously you don’t want huge amounts to be sold in a limited time but some cutting edge cask perhaps particularly in a location like Manchester should be possible

I particularly enjoyed several beers from Burning Sky perhaps especially the Raspberry Monolith and a cider/beer mix saison. They were all one token btw. A Thornbridge imperial stout at 12% impressed as did a Wild barrel aged plum beer. In short as you hope for and expect at IndyMan some examples of the best in where beer in the UK currently is and is going.

Elsewhere there was perhaps a little too much of the familiar (but then I’m familiar with the London beer scene). I really enjoy many of the beers that breweries like Deya, Siren and Verdant do. Equally I can find them on a bar near me in North London any day of the week. I accept that this is not the case for many and there were some excellent up and coming breweries also there. It’s a matter of balance.

Still all this is a matter of detail. IndyMan remains an essential part of the beer year and the organisers should be congratulated on that.

The Times

According to The Archers Year of Food and Farming (Keri Davies, 2019) ‘a splash of Worcestershire sauce’ could be the vital ingredient in an Ambridge Shepherd’s Pie or possibly ‘100ml red wine’ (drink the rest of the bottle while the pie is cooking obviously).

However a letter writer to The Times has suggested that Branston pickle is the vital ingredient. What’s your view?

The Archers Year recipe (serves 4)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled & chopped

1 celery stick, chopped

2 carrots, peeled & chopped

2 garlic cloves peeled & chopped

600g leftover roast lamb,diced or lamb mince

100ml red wine

300ml lamb or chicken stock

1 tbsp tomato puree

thyme sprig

1 bay leaf

Worcestershire sauce

salt and black pepper

Ambridge Shepherd’s Pie controversy

Letter to The Times (2^nd October)

Sir, in reply to David Aaronovitch’s article on the Archers recipe for shepherd’s pie my vital ingredient is a tablespoon of Branston pickle.

Sue Vincent, Padbury,Bucks

Beard Liberation Front

October 7th

Tribute paid to Ginger Baker, one of the most iconic post-1945 beard wearers

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has paid renewed tribute to the musician Ginger Baker who died aged 80 five years ago this week.

The campaigners say that Baker had a distinctive beard and the combination of his energetic drumming and beard together was one of the most familiar positive images of hirsuteness in the 1960s and 1970s.

Ginger Baker’s lifestyle did not always live up to his iconic beard but there is no question that the musician was one of the best known post-1945 exponents of beard power

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, with both red, or ginger, hair and beard Ginger Baker uncompromisingly stood up as a positive symbol for an appearance that is often belittled or ridiculed. For that we salute and keep his beard power in the collective memory of the Beard Liberation Front five years on

The Ambridge Socialist

^6th October

Reporting on the Class Struggle in Borsetshire

Tracy Horrobin to head up the Borsetshire 100 cricket team

With players being announced for the new ECB sponsored cricket competition for 2019, The 100, the Ambridge Socialist can exclusively reveal that Ambridge CC’s star player Tracy Horrobin is set to captain the Borsetshire 100. With BBC association with broadcasting rights it is thought possible that a long hoped for link between the Archers and Test Match Special can be achieved.

Grundy’s Cider in crisis

The Grundy’s cider press has broken and such as is its antique nature that the offending part may be difficult to replace. Eddie Grundy has already rejected new fangled modern cider presses as sub-standard and vowed that Grundy’s cider must continue.

Health and Safety at Berrow Farm

Hannah has placed herself at risk of injury by clearing a blocked gutter without adequate safety protection. Neil is furious as is Hannah who injures herself in a pothole while putting the ladder away. Justin of course has no particular interest in the safety or welfare of his employers but is furious at Neil..

Ambridge at the Tory Conference

Ambridge Socialist reporters checked who from Ambridge was present at the Tory Conference in Manchester earlier in the week. We found Martyn Gibson and Justin Elliott lobbying for further relaxation of planning controls in rural areas post-Brexit. There will be trouble ahead.

Ambridge Shepherd’s Pie controversy

Letter to The Times (2^nd October)

Sir, in reply to David Aaronovitch’s article on the Archers recipe for shepherd’s pie my vital ingredient is a tablespoon of Branston pickle.

Sue Vincent, Padbury,Bucks

In Other News

Brian & Jennifer have put both feet in

Fear & Loathing in Borsetshire as Vince Casey wins the bid for the currently closed Abbattoir.

Monty Python at 57

The first episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus was broadcast on Sunday 5^th October at 10.55pm on BBC1. It was the last programme before the weather and close down for the night.

The first episode was available on the BBC website and I’ve watched it a couple of times.

As a North London teenager I of course watched the first and subsequent episodes. The Flett household, like I suspect many other Muswell Hill households in the late 1960s, was not one that went to bed early.

Looking at it again I tend to think that its now more social history than humour but on a second viewing I’d also note that much of the humour was very clever.

Monty Python emerged into a world that is just about familiar to us but had quite recently been different. Homosexuality had been legalised in 1967, Abortion was partially legalised in 1968 and hanging finally abolished in 1969.

The world of Python, with Gillam’s graphics, was anti-authoritarian and very much not of the Britain of the 1950s.

The first episode is notable for several sketches, which seem very relevant now, where interviewers talking to people in the public eye were far more interested in their own obsessions than what the interviewee had to say.

There is also an extended sketch about the world’s funniest joke which kills people if they read it. In this case it leads to a Second World War, Nazis ending. However the war had only ended 24 years previously and for context its worth keeping in mind that the Iraq War was 23 years ago. The underlying point about the impact of humour is actually quite profound.

Students of facial hair will note that all the Pythons sported sideburns.

Would such a programme be commissioned and air on TV now? It probably would but on BBC1 even in a less than prime time Sunday evening slot? That would be rather less likely I suspect.

We talked about the Pythons at school the following day. I’m not sure TV in the main has that impact now except of course for The Traitors.

Beard Liberation Front

Media Release 5th October

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Spurs crisis: Pochettino must have more consistent facial hair policy

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that after Spurs have conceded 10 goals in two defeats in five days Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino needs a more consistent facial hair policy if Spurs are to prosper.

The campaigners say that Spurs best match day performances tend to be when Pochettino wears a full beard, adding gravitas to his tactical decisions. By contrast when he is either clean shaven of stubble-ish Spurs performances can be marked by in decision

BLF organiser Keith Flett said, we’re saying Pochettino must act on his facial hair policy or we could face a clean shaven revisionist in charge at the Lane

Beard Liberation Front press release

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

5th October

Alexei Sayle joins Beard of Autumn poll list

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that veteran comedian and commentator on events Alexei Sayle who these days wears  a full beard, has joined the list of contenders for the coveted Beard of Autumn Award.

The poll is open now and will close on 17th October with the winner announced on 18th October

It is the last of four quarterly seasonal contests which lead to the Beard of the Year in December.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, early voting suggests the coveted Beard of Autumn Award is wide open with competition bristling

Beard of Autumn 2019

Ben Bellamy, Beard of Labour Party Conference 2019

Benjamin Zephaniah, poet & performer

Ben Cowles Web Editor, Morning Star

Nuno, Wolves manager

Kadeem Simmonds Morning Star Sports Editor

Steve Sweeney, Morning Star International Editor

Ben Stokes, England cricketer

Michael Rosen, author, broadcaster, Arsenal supporter

George Clooney, actor

James Anthony (UNISON) Beard of the TUC 2019

Alexei Sayle,comedian

Campaign for Real Conkers

5th October

Contact: Keith Flett 07803 167266

Campaigners provide guidance on how to choose a game winning conker

conkers collected from near the Cloudwater Brewery Tap,Manchester on 4th October 2019

How to choose a game winning conker

Its peak conker playing season, with early autumn weather bringing plenty of  conkers down from trees. The issue is, which conker will be the one to win a game, and perhaps several games?

The Campaign for Real Conkers has provided some guidelines

1 Discard any conker which has any sign of a crack

2 Scuffed conkers which have fallen on concrete or tarmac may still be OK

3 The conker must be large enough to thread with string or chord without splitting. Conkers of less than one inch in diameter are unlikely to be suitable

4 Conversely very large conkers, while they may look impressive, can have structural weaknesses which means they may split easily on contact with another conker

5 Look for a medium sized conker that has uneven shape, perhaps knobbly

6 The Campaign prefers ideally what are known as cheese-cutter conkers. These have one flat side with a sharpish edge to it. They can be very effective in games

Campaign for Real Conkers Organiser Keith Flett said,of course this advice applies to natural organic conkers. Some may also wish to bake their conker or harden it in vinegar. That is also fine but the above criteria still apply

Upper Class Twit of the Year

Given what the Telegraph is like now one might think that 55 years ago it would have roundly condemned the irreverence and anti-authority p-takers of Monty Python. It didn’t. An interesting index of changing times

Daily Telegraph 6th October 1969

Script Men Clowns Too by Norman Hare

Described by the BBC as a nutty zany comedy show, Monty Pythons Flying Circus came into town last night on BBC1 television .

Occupying the late night spot the show replaces the repeat of the religious programme which has been moved to Tuesday afternoon.. It could be that Messrs Cleese, Chapman, Jones, Palin and Idle, the writer-performers involved will prove less soporific than Mr Muggeridge, if not as intelligent.

The comedy was sopisticated and had much of the delightful absurdity which has not been on television since the Marty shows. It, took toll of interviewers and other features of television that need the sending up process. Well worth stopping up late to see

Dominic Sandbrook has a new book out on Britain 1979-1982, Who Dares Wins, covering the early years of the Thatcher Government. Sandbrook is a TV historian and writes in the Daily Mail but that is not to say he is not a decent professional historian. He noted some of the main sources used at the beginning of the book,including the Thatcher Foundation archive which I look at myself from time to time.Further the book is well foot noted and those I’ve checked are accurate.

I was interested in his reference to a rally of the People’s March for Jobs in Wolverhampton. Benn spoke and briefly records the moment in his Diary (14th May 1981). Benn refers to 230 marchers ‘bright and cheerful’ and writes of addressing a crowd of 4,000 supporters who displayed ‘tremendous enthusiasm’.

Sandbrook, in part, notes of the crowd that they were ‘stereotypical activists, beards, T-shirts, leather jackets’ which I think comes from a Times report of the same event (15th May 1981).

Sandbrook sees in the support for Benn a kind of religious revivalism (the same could be said for Thatcher and both politicians were religious).However the framework is interesting.

Sandbrook is writing the first draft of history and one question given the decline of British industry , accelerated by Thatcher, and the job losses it led to, is why campaigns like the Peoples March did not succeed.

That however would require a rather different book