"that upon an average we cleared about five pints a head"

Being in Ireland, of an age to be drinking, and inspired by Mr A, I decided that I should try as many different stouts as possible. I quite like Guinness at home, but know that it is better in Ireland, closer to the source. Though having tried a can of Guinness after making a Beef and Guinness stew for Mr A, we thought that it was a bit on the watery side, even though everyone kept saying that it was thick oily stuff. Thinking it was perhaps because it was in a can, I was determined to have it on draught to see if I was mistaken.

On our jaunt to Belfast we tried a Chocolate Stout which was brewed using cocco, and while it was nice, it wasn't on draught, and didn't quite have the taste that we were looking for. Whilst in the first pub we fell in with some men, one of whom was a member of CAMRA who was bemoaning the evils of Guinness and their monopoly on the Stout market. He pointed us in the direction of the John Hewitt Bar hoping they would have a non-Guinness stout. They didn't have one on tap, so we settled for German Black beer instead, which was lovely. It wasn't pretending to be thick like one imagines a stout should be, but was full of flavour. The two we tried were bitburger and Kostritzer, the latter of which was the favourite.

I headed down South last week, and was determined to work my way through a good few pints of stout. The first evening I had a Guinness as there was no other stout on offer. It was better on draught than in the can, but still was lacking a depth of flavour. Perhaps, I thought, I was seeking a holy grail of stout that didn't exist. In Dublin I backed my Dad's enthusiasm for a slightly dodgy looking pub because they offered Beamish, a stout from Cork, on Tap. This was getting closer to what I was after. A fuller flavoured stout than Guinness, though not bitter. A nice creamy head and no disappointing watery texture. I was very impressed. For dinner we trooped into another pub off O'Connell St, and another stout was on offer, Murphy's. Again it had a fuller flavour than Guinness, but was lovely and smooth, like the Beamish.



A small pub in Roscrea was our next stop where I had a pint of "Good Guinness" according the the barman, and indeed it was good, better than the previous pint, but a lighter option to Beamish and Murphy's.


In my uncle's pub I indulged in more Murphy's and then I pulled myself a pint of Guinness, which had its merits for having pulled it. All in all I am pleased that there are other stout options than Guinness, and that I am now an established Stout drinker, to add to my love of Ale which was carefully nurtured and trained whilst in England. I won't know what to do with myself when I go back home and have to make do not only with no real ale, no varieties of stout and worst of all no pint glasses!!

" I do not like to eat the bread of idleness"

Apart from my recent misadventure, my research and family time I have also been enjoying being in Ireland and the excuse to cook and eat as many potatoes as humanly possible, including chips with Chinese takeway. Potatoes and Nutty Krust bread. Nutty Krust is the Northern Irish answer to sour dough. It is dense, tasty bread, which I could eat by the truck load, toasted with a good whack of butter and if in the mood jam. I am sure my carb conscious self will reemerge when I return home, but for now I am enjoying eating too much toast. (Though I don't really believe such a thing is possible!)

Though I clearly am not carb conscious at heart, because not only have I been indulging in Nutty Krust, I have also been making potato bread, or Irish Griddle Scones, as my recipe states they are called. These delicious little pancake crossed with a scone triangles are wonderful, simple to make and can be eaten at any time of the day or night. (As I have proven, and are particularly good for absorbing beer when one hasn't had any dinner and has drunk several pints). They are made in a similar manner to scones, rubbing butte and flour together, then fork though some left over mash potatoes, add milk to bind and then knead the mixuture until pliable. You then roll out and cut into triangles and cook in a dry pan until browning. They are also good in these credit crunchy times, as any scrap of mash potato that remains from dinner can be made into bread, and they also go well with baked beans, another staple of the frugal. (Apparently, baked bean sales have sky rocketed in these trying times!). They are also healthy (until you fry them in oil or fat rendered from bacon, or toast them and smother them in butter) and children and grown ups alike love them. I love them toasted with butter and tomato sauce, though with equally as part of a fry, with bacon and beans. I will have to make sure I continue making it when I get home, and never throw out mash spuds again!

"Hope had already entered; and feeling all its anxious flutter..."

Historically Hysterical had been going to the library to read old letters day after day. The staff started to recognise her and her presence in the reading room. One in particular, Mr Archives, was drawn into conversation with her because of her accent, having spent a time living in HH's homeland.

HH and Mr A, from then on always exchanged smiles and small talk, but HH thought nothing of it, just that Mr A was a nice fellow, though their eyes had met across the reading room several times with some degree of intensity, HH went back to her work and Mr A to his. HH decided it was time to finish her work at the library, and on the day she was set to leave, she didn't see Mr A, so never said goodbye to him, which she regretted. After going to a bigger, less inviting library, HH decided that she wanted to go back to the other library, and so she did.

The next day, she saw Mr A again, who was surprised and, it would appear, pleased to see her. Mr A said how lovely HH's hair looked, and HH, though flattered, thought he could think nothing of her other than a reader, and went back to her work. Another day went by and HH thought that she would finish up at the library that day, and told Mr A that she was going to Ireland. Mr A was sad to hear that, but thought that the ship had sailed. However, HH was not quite finished her work, and left some letters in the library to read the next week. Mr A, seeing these when he was locking up the library, hurried out to where HH was packing her bag. He asked if she was coming back to the library, and she said, with a smile, that she was and that she would see him next week. HH left the library with a smile, wondering what Mr A could mean by rushing out to see her in such a fashion, and may have frightened some of her fellow commuters by smiling the whole way home.

HH's friends told her to ask Mr A to share a cup of coffee with her, but HH thought that it would be much to forward, but determined to wear her hair in the way that Mr A liked when she returned to the library. When she returned, Mr A was there and said that they should get a coffee, which caused many smiles from HH. The next day HH and Mr A not only had coffee, but also went for a drink after work, and a lovely time was had by all. HH had to go to Ireland the next day, so that was it, or so she thought. Many emails later, HH decided that being in Ireland would not do, so headed back to England to see Mr A, and again had a lovely time. Much historical sight seeing occurred, including Portsmouth, and cooking and walking and all in all having the most marvelous time.

HH had to go back to Ireland for Christmas, but Mr A came to see her just afterwards and stayed until New Years. Mr A and HH had a lovely time in Ireland, particularly spending hours and hours in a pub in Belfast. HH and Mr A will have about another week together before HH has to return home, so who knows where the story will go after that. HH is all hope, all anxious flutter.....but no more on that today.

HH

"I believe I am the most absent creature in the world"

I have been a tremendously slack blogger for the past few months, well by slack I mean non-existent, but I will endeavour to improve myself and my blogging now and in the future.

A lot has occurred since my last, several months of research, a month and a half of living in a London Lounge room, lunch with the gorgeous foodycat, a trip to Ireland, back to England, and now back to Ireland again.

My research has gone pretty well I think, I spent a week in Ipswich and then a week in Winchester, I didn't see any sights though, just the inside of the record offices, not very exciting. A few pub dinners along the way and a few pints which kept me going. I took a week off to work from home and then headed to London where I spent a week and a half at the National Archives at Kew, which is an impressive building, and they have an excellent system for the archives, though nothing riveting there. My next point of call was the National Maritime Museum, which is officially my favourite place, and I spent the rest of my time in London going there, apart from one day at the British Library. I must say here, that I had planned to spend more time at the British Library, but went back to the Maritime Museum, and I am so pleased I did... more on that later, but I will hint that there may have been a mild 'misadventure'.... but more on that later.....

I found some great material and now I have the fun task of going through hundreds of digital photos of 18th C letters and taking notes on them all!!

I headed to Ireland mid-November, but the work I had counted on there didn't quite come to fruition, so I eagerly headed back to England for a little more work at the Maritime Museum, some nice walks in the park, and a little sojourn including a trip to Portsmouth to see the Victory and the Dockyards, a Dickens festival, and a little domesticity....

Well I am back in Ireland now, and am trying to get ready for Christmas. It feels a bit strange and my Christmas spirit hasn't really kicked into gear because I haven't baked 10 cakes, too many mince pies for words and a pudding, and I am not in charge of all the food for Christmas, there will be no Christmas Morning Muffins, no Boxing day pie, no pistachio and cranberry stuffing for the chickens....but I will just have to take a back seat and try and enjoy myself, and if nothing else, I will have the Doctor Who Christmas Special to keep me going, so that will be a nice consolation prize....

Well that is it for tonight, but more on the misadventure later and perhaps something a bit more reflective or a little more insightful!



HH

Rochester Castle

Christmas Tree, Grafton Street, Dublin


Nelson with the Victory

Nelson with the Figure head of HMS Trafalgar

Her tour to the Lakes was now the object of her happiest thoughts

The Lake District was my destination for last week. My cousin's had booked a holiday up there, and there was a spare room where they were staying, so I decided a pre-research holiday was in order. We took the scenic route up, driving past Chatsworth (I couldn't see it... just the gates and the grounds, but if filled me with a warm Pride and Prejudice feeling). Unfortunately my chances of meeting Darcy were dashed as we continued on to the Lakes. We drove through some beautiful countryside on the way to Buxton, it was stunning, before arriving at the bottom of the Lakes and our accommodation. After such a long drive we only managed a bit of dinner and then a pint which was nice.

Tuesday was set to be a miserable day, so we didn't set out on a grand walk, but went shopping and wandering around villages including Hawskhead and Ambleside. It was a bit grim and we couldn't see much, but there were some lovely quaint little villages.

Wednesday we heading back into the Lakes, to Grasmere, to walk up Helm Crag, or the Lion and the Lamb as it is known. Despite this plan, we chose the wrong path and walked several miles in the wrong direction, and once we found the right path it was too late to walk up Helm Crag. I was secretly pleased, as though my cousin assured me it was an easy walk, it looked pretty mountainy to me. At Grasmere there is the most delicious smelling Gingerbread shop, which sells amazing gingerbread, well worth going for. The landscape was truly wonderful and stunningly beautiful, I can see how Wordsworth and the like were inspired by it. I felt quite like I was in the Magic Far Away tree and was humming both the Pride and Prejudice theme and the sound of Music, though my creative genius did not kick in and I didn't write any poems. Next time perhaps.

Thursday did some more village jumping, went to Arnside and to a gorgeous little smoking house at the docks which had some delicious looking things in it. We came back with smoked haddock, smoked wild salmon and smoked garlic.

Friday we had planned to drive home across the Yorkshire Dales, and I had been reading Wuthering Heights in preparation, but alas we didn't end up going that way, so Wuthering Heights was locationally in vain, perhaps I should have read Wordsworth or Beatrix Potter instead.

HH

From the other table, where the conference was eagerly carrying on

I have been a little slack in my blogging though I have been busy, and then went on holiday for a few days, but more on that later.

Last week was the conference that had been a major factor in getting me over to the UK when I did. It was at the University of Northampton, which though a bit difficult to get to, was nice enough. I arrived the day before the conference and as the conference organiser had suggested it, went to dinner with some of the other delegates who had also arrived early. We went to a lovely Indian place, the food was delicious and the service excellent. There were a few Aussies there, one girl who was studying at Glasgow and a couple from Melbourne over for the conference. There was another fellow who was from a place about 20 minutes from where I was born in Northern Ireland, and he was lovely, it is funny how small a world it is. (What made the world even smaller was that there was another Australian girl at the conference who not only went to my uni as an undergrad, but had my supervisor!) It was a great night, though probably a bit late and a pint too many for the night before the conference, and so I was exhausted the next day, though thankfully my paper was not until the Friday.

Thursday went well, there were some very interesting papers, particularly interesting to me were the ones on masculinity and the key note speaker was excellent. Spent most of the time with my new Northern Irish friend and at dinner was at a table with him, an academic from Tasmania, a fellow from New Mexico who studies at Exeter, a Gallic speaking Scot from the Highlands of Polish descent and an English Lady. I was pleased with my efforts of talking to people and socialising, which I think was greatly assisted by the first night's proceedings. Even though the actual conference was very interesting, the most interesting thing I learnt that day was that Bob Geldof has Napoleon's penis, he bought it from a collector in California years ago. The things you learn at history conferences!

Friday also went well, my paper went well, and there was a very interesting paper given on Marine's which held my interest very well indeed. The key note was a bit arrogant, but good all the same, all in all it was a good day. I was sad to be leaving, truth be told, and doubly sad as we don't have the same conference scene at home an I can see where I am missing out in terms of getting my work out there, as well as networking and keeping in touch with what others are doing. I wonder if what I am able to produce from Australia will be able to compete with British/European works. I went back to the Indian place with the Australian couple, which was nice and a great improvement on the 1/3 a packet of pringles I was planning on for dinner.

All in all it was a good experience, I met some nice people and learnt some interesting things, mainly that Bob Geldof owns Napoleon's penis.

In the gallery up stairs you will see a finer, larger picture of him than this.

It will be a week tomorrow since I arrived in the UK. After taking a few days to get over the jet lag and to regain my bearings I did some work on my conference paper and then headed to London. First stop, Trafalgar Square. Now I have been there before, but I really do like it there, I don't know if it is just the giant Nelson , or that a whole square is dedicated to something I enjoy and am interested in, but it seems like a good sort of place to me. After subtly taking Nelson's picture with Nelson, I went to the National Gallery which was one thing I was dissapointed not to have done last time. It was very good, though I didn't have that long. I saw all the 'famous' ones plus a few of my favourite artists and all the 18th C ones. I then met up with a friend I went to school with and we went to the Natural History Museum, which, while good, was not really my thing and it was crazily hot there too. Nelson had his picture taken out the front, but he wasn't allowed out in the museum, as I didn't want my friend to think I was mental.

Today I went to the National Army Museum, which was very well done, though not as good as the Maritime Museum. It didn't take me long there so I made it the the National Portait Gallery, which was great! The Tudor section was good with several paintings of Queen Elizabeth and the wives of Henry which were good to see. The 18th C section was my favourite and it was good that I recognised a lot of the people without reading their captions. Emma and Nelson were together on the wall, which was nice, and Jane Austen was in the next room. The little sketch by Cassandra Austen really is very small but it was good to see it. It was also good to see Virginia Woolf.

The rest of the week is taken up with my conference and next week I go to the Lakes! Despite all this activity I am looking forward to getting to Ireland to see my Nana & relations and then getting back home. 1 week down, c. 19 to go.

HH