While I was out on one of my Ale Trail bike rides, I stopped at one of my favourites. The Magpie and Parrot is situated just outside Shinfield at the end of what looks to be a short by-pass. It’s the kind of pub where you feel like you’re sat in someone’s living room. That’sContinue Reading Don’t assume

One of the drawbacks of living in a Victorian terrace is the stairs. They are often very steep and rather narrow, and ours are no exception. For this reason, a handrail is almost certainly required, especially when the more senior members of our family visit. Initially my concern was that handrails are always so functional.Continue Reading A pigs ear

Having recently gone against my own philosophy when it came to buy my circular saw, I found myself again ignoring one of my general rules for doing DIY. This time, it was replacing an original feature with something new. I am a huge fan or original features, and with few remaining in our Victorian house,Continue Reading Gutting the guttering

While I was replacing a tread on our staircase, I started to think about why people do DIY, rather than pay a professional to come in and do the job. I came up with the following main reasons: Save money Enjoyment Knowledge Following on from this, I thought about why I do it. Instantly myContinue Reading D.I.Why?

We recently took up the carpet on the stairs, so we could have a new one fitted. When we did so, the stairs were in decent condition, if not a little grubby. Considering they were made over 100 years ago, only one was broken. The first challenge was to work out how the stairs wereContinue Reading One small step…

Another year, and another Ale Trail! This time of year is my favourite. Whilst many people are feeling down following the distant excitement of Christmas, the build-up to Reading Beer Festival is in sight. Things were a little quiet on the Ale Trail Facebook page. Thankfully, in the winter 2018 edition of Mine’s a Pint,Continue Reading Ale Trail 2019

Interactive ODG Tower Map An interactive map of all the towers withing the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers. This map was created using Google Map API v3, data from the Dove database (for which I am most grateful), and customised JavaScript functions to manipulate the Dove data. Click here to see the map.Continue Reading ODG Tower Map

Back in July 2017, I took a huge career change. Having worked as a Science Teacher both in the UK and US for 7 years, I applied for I job with a small but far-reaching software development company in Surrey. One of the biggest benefits, trivial though it sounds, is I can now make aContinue Reading Don’t settle for inadequate tea at work

At Noon on the 10th February, the Ale Trail kicked off at The Fox and Hounds, Caversham. I’d been looking forward to this for a while now, as the Ale Trail really is one of my favourite activities of the year. The Fox and Hound, Caversham I have to the Fox and Hounds a numberContinue Reading Ale Trail 2018 – the opening day

Having visited three of the 24 pups on the ale trail, I have already found myself needing to refer to my opinion (and it is only that – my opnion) on craft beer twice. Rather than repeat myself over and over, I thought I’d document my thoughts on Craft Beer here, and simply link toContinue Reading Craft Beer – my thoughts