Harriet & Hermes

You have to be very careful when photographing other people's tattoos. Long lenses are fine if your subject is on the other side of the street; but if you're standing within touching distance of your quarry then usually it's the tried and tested method that works best: 'Excuse me, but I couldn't help noticing...'

The lovely Harriet, it transpires, had never had a tattoo done before her beloved Persian cat passed away. Harriet gave me the green light to take her photograph, but not before she got her phone out and showed me a delightful snap of Hermes.

I want to ride my bicycle (but not in lycra)

The lovely Heidi

We had the Tour de Yorkshire pass through our region yesterday. The whole town saw fit to deck itself out in blue and yellow - the race's colours: even the sheep. The sprint stage was at the rear of our local, so it was only a hop skip and a jump from my bar stool to watch the ten seconds of action and return to my beer. In that ten seconds I managed to get a photo of the leading bunch. Note to self: lycra is not a good look.

Upside down you turn me

Today's canvas is an ambigram. It was inspired by the splendid Brass Castle brewery just up the road. Someone pointed out to me that their logo reads the same even if you turn it on its head; I could have stared at it for ten years and still not seen it. The Number One Son was taken with it too, so this is for him.

York, so good they only named it once

Always half full

Situated next to York Racecourse this year's York Beer & Cider Festival, showcasing beers from all over the UK (and a none too shabby 'Beers of the World' section), and the fourth festival to be held on the Knavesmire, is shaping up to be the best yet.

I shuffled along on Wednesday (Press Day) and witnessed brewers (major, micro and macro) together with sponsors, outlets (aka publicans) and end users (that's me and you) all raising a glass or two and discovering, quite literally, what makes ale real.

It was hardly surprising that Yorkshire brewers (pictured right) took centre stage; Wold Top, Saltaire, Leeds, Brass Castle, Roosters and Great Heck once again showed why many pubs in Yorkshire concentrate purely on indigenous beers. That said, it's always good to see southern brewers giving the northerners a run for their money - Brodies from east London and Itchen Valley in Hampshire were certainly holding their own.


Highlights? I can honestly say I didn't have a bad beer all day; and our programme certainly had plenty of scuffing up notes complete with footnotes and Enigma type legends. Anyway, here's my Top Of The Hops (sorry):

No.1 Knaresborough - American Style Milk Stout (7.0%). This stunning beer cleaned up on the awards front and rightly so.

No.2 Revolutions/Brass Castle - Cool for Cats (4.5%). They say sumptuous coffee porter. I concur. Probably because it's made with elements of:

No.3 Brass Castle - Bad Kitty (5.5%). My wife blamed the uneven footpath for her fall whilst walking away from the Festival. I, on the other hand, lay the blame at BK's door. A truly magnificent ale.










York Beer Festival runs 'til Sunday 22 September.

Follow them on Twitter @beerfestyork