It is becoming a, sort of, annual pilgrimage, this foray down to the banks of the Thames at Chiswick for a beer (other drinks also acceptable, unless they do not contain alcohol) or three with my friends A and M, with this year's being the 2nd annual! And what a load of fun it is too, especially in the sort of weather we have been having recently; out come the shorts, t-shirts, sunglasses and off we go to various enchanting hostelries by or near the river to catch up on news, dissect life and generally enjoy ourselves.
You, innocent creature, may think all this to be easy, even a game, but let me assure you it is hard work, requiring dedication and stamina over and above the call of duty! Luckily all three participants have had lots of practice in the art of drinking over the years (no, do not call us piss artists...), appreciate quality and know about limits - when you reach them, even exceed them, and when it's time to stop, at least temporarily! A hot summer's afternoon makes refreshment essential, but pace and rhythm are also important; we are finely trained athletes, machine-like in our approach and execution!
None of this would be half as much fun, of course, without access to a sensationally beautiful part of London, down by the river Thames in Chiswick. The setting here is serene, almost rural and quite unlike the Thames that you know and love in central London. There's hardly any street noise but little river traffic either, gently swishing along; the ducks seem to make more noise than most other than the few humans wandering about or, like us, relaxing in a riverside hostelry. Unlike us many choose to sit in the sun to either acquire a tan or top up an existing one, but we find that the drinks get warm at an alarming rate and we suffer correspondingly, so we give it a miss and, if need be, head indoors.
Be that as it may we had a cracking time, despite our late start due to rail tracks distorting in the heat (yes, really, at 30 degrees Celsius...) and other such idiotic happenings and me getting my timing wrong... Starting with an ice-cold pint of dry cider as a cool-down sort of warm-up, I continued on real ale for the rest of the afternoon; my buddies stayed on cider for the remainder. So obviously this post should not have 'wine' as a label, strictly speaking, but the term is used loosely to describe alcoholic beverage, at least for today. The main object of my affection was London Pride bitter, made just downriver in Chiswick by Fullers, at its best a great pint, rich and complex with a hint of acidity and bitterness, discreetly hoppy and lightly aromatic. And, before the ignorant among you wonder how I could drink warm beer on a hot day, check your facts - real ale should be served at
cellar temperature if served correctly, and that is cool, not cold. These beers are complex and full of taste, something obliterated when they are chilled making them bland and over-bitter; too warm or too cold are both wrong for the good stuff, much like good wine - ah, I just reclaimed the label... I think! Anyway, as two of the three pubs we visited that afternoon were Fullers pubs I was mainly able to stick to Pride, with a couple of interesting interlopers just to keep me on my toes.
Good company, good drink, gorgeous surrounding - I'm already looking forward to next year's pilgrimage, though the chaps and I will probably meet up for a session or two before then at different venues to fine tune our philosophies of life etc. etc., so keep reading and learning.
It is becoming a, sort of, annual pilgrimage, this foray down to the banks of the Thames at Chiswick for a beer (other drinks also acceptable, unless they do not contain alcohol) or three with my friends A and M, with this year's being the 2nd annual! And what a load of fun it is too, especially in the sort of weather we have been having recently; out come the shorts, t-shirts, sunglasses and off we go to various enchanting hostelries by or near the river to catch up on news, dissect life and generally enjoy ourselves.
You, innocent creature, may think all this to be easy, even a game, but let me assure you it is hard work, requiring dedication and stamina over and above the call of duty! Luckily all three participants have had lots of practice in the art of drinking over the years (no, do not call us piss artists...), appreciate quality and know about limits - when you reach them, even exceed them, and when it's time to stop, at least temporarily! A hot summer's afternoon makes refreshment essential, but pace and rhythm are also important; we are finely trained athletes, machine-like in our approach and execution!
None of this would be half as much fun, of course, without access to a sensationally beautiful part of London, down by the river Thames in Chiswick. The setting here is serene, almost rural and quite unlike the Thames that you know and love in central London. There's hardly any street noise but little river traffic either, gently swishing along; the ducks seem to make more noise than most other than the few humans wandering about or, like us, relaxing in a riverside hostelry. Unlike us many choose to sit in the sun to either acquire a tan or top up an existing one, but we find that the drinks get warm at an alarming rate and we suffer correspondingly, so we give it a miss and, if need be, head indoors.
Be that as it may we had a cracking time, despite our late start due to rail tracks distorting in the heat (yes, really, at 30 degrees Celsius...) and other such idiotic happenings and me getting my timing wrong... Starting with an ice-cold pint of dry cider as a cool-down sort of warm-up, I continued on real ale for the rest of the afternoon; my buddies stayed on cider for the remainder. So obviously this post should not have 'wine' as a label, strictly speaking, but the term is used loosely to describe alcoholic beverage, at least for today. The main object of my affection was London Pride bitter, made just downriver in Chiswick by Fullers, at its best a great pint, rich and complex with a hint of acidity and bitterness, discreetly hoppy and lightly aromatic. And, before the ignorant among you wonder how I could drink warm beer on a hot day, check your facts - real ale should be served at cellar temperature if served correctly, and that is cool, not cold. These beers are complex and full of taste, something obliterated when they are chilled making them bland and over-bitter; too warm or too cold are both wrong for the good stuff, much like good wine - ah, I just reclaimed the label... I think! Anyway, as two of the three pubs we visited that afternoon were Fullers pubs I was mainly able to stick to Pride, with a couple of interesting interlopers just to keep me on my toes.
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