Great beer story MLCMM. I think you can be forgiven that minor detour given the opportunity.
Overall, you seem to be leading the way Sir.
I brewed an Oatmeal Stout myself this year. It was a bit tame in some respects (strength, body, mouth-feel) but had a great flavour profile (plenty of chocolate and coffee going on). Probably something I need to try again to get better.