A Special Relationship

Winston Churchill once said that the US and the UK had a “Special Relationship,” and that phrase has carried on until this day. In fact, the entire reason why I was in the UK was because of this phrase. So when Obama visited and attended the State dinner at Buckingham Palace, he once again affirmed the state of affairs. Today I participated in my own form of this type of democracy, taking my two coworkers to nearby Nottingham and meeting up with our host to toss back a few ales and listen to some music.

So we headed to the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem (http://www.triptojerusalem.com/) for dinner, a pub built into the side of Nottingham castle that as reportedly been serving ales since 1189. It’s a must stop for US visitors, and we always manage to make a trip over for a visit. We stopped for dinner, and got to sample some ales in Snog ( a quiet section of the pub good for talking and apparently other activities). I got the sampler (surprise, surprise), 3 half pints from there draft list, and I tried the Olde Trip, Nottingham’s Legend, and Milton’s Pegasus. I didn’t feel like fish and chips (and the inevitable mushy peas), so I got the Ham Hock Pie (with the mushy peas). The pie (heated ones, not the ones they hand out cold) is also traditional pub food, with different ingredients, and they are typically delicious. Our tour guide met us there, Robin from Nottingham (and yes we’ve teased him about that many times before).

Robin had a couple of favorite stops in mind, so we followed his lead down to the Canalhouse, a Castle Rock pub. The Canalhouse is right on the water, with music and plenty of outdoor seating (must be real popular in the summer). It also boasts of a waterborne canal boat in the center bar, a unique fixture if I’ve ever seen one. Castle Rock is locally brewed, and is famous for their Harvest Pale ale. I had the Harvest Pale before, so I tried their Preservation Fine Ale and their Black Gold. Both are excellent session beers. I could see having this be a “must stop” for future trips. Next we headed over to the Malt Cross, a beautiful venue in the center of town (at least I thought it was the center of town) that had a great stage for bands. The ceiling was high and curved, and there was 2nd floor seating on both sides, but the musicians played on a platform half way in between, presumably so that the bar area and dinner seating could see them. I could easily see Jenn singing up there. We saw two bands, both very good and not too loud. The beer was also excellent (of course), and I was able to enjoy a Blue Monkey Blue Moon and a Glastonbury Spring Load and FMB (Robin, what did FMB stand for again?).

It was a great evening. We were able to make good decisions at work, and believe or not we were able to make good decisions at play (Mike drove to and from Nottingham for practice, thanks for the assist Mike!). I was happy to do my part as a patriot to contribute to the Special Relationship between our two countries. – 5782/10746

"May the roof above our tavern never fall in, and we friends beneath it never fall out." – Celtic Proverb