Fab Feb

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I've always found Fridays to be rather odd days for me. I don't know why, but I suspect it has something to do with many years of shift work, where the end of the week is rarely Friday, is even more rarely at 5 p.m. I've never therefore been one of the regular "let's have a few drinks after work on Friday evenings" kind of guy. Or, as my brother and his office colleagues call it, "DAWFNAR" - Drinks After Work For No Apparent Reason.

It could also be because I was born on a Friday. A Friday the 13th, as it happens (my father still calls me "Jonah" to this day). The same date (but not year) as Margaret Thatcher ... although she wasn't born on a Friday. Even so, it gives me cause to pause for thought when considering my birthday, and Fridays in general.

Interestingly, there are two phobias connected with my birthday - triskaidekaphobia, which is the fear of the number 13 or the date Friday the 13th, and paraskevidekatriaphobia, which is the more particular fear of Friday the 13th.

I have no particular reason for mentioning these, other than the fact that I am skirting around the issue of missing my scheduled run today.

Instead I did something very typically Fridarian. I had had a very long, tormenting and tiresome day, and finally found myself driving home, passing crowded pubs full of Friday evening after-works DAWFNAR-type drinkers, enjoying the delightful summer weather which I had been totally unable to enjoy.

I was contemplating attending to my running schedule when I suddenly found myself driving into one of my local pubs - formerly called the Aberfeldy, but now known as Bridie O'Reilly's (yes, the cult of Irish pubs has not escaped Aussie shores) - either way, it has always had a fair collection of British and other imported exotic beers, and it was to this section of the bottle shop I found myself being drawn.

And sooooo, rather than grind out a few k's on the treadmill, I instead drank two rather splendid English brews - purely in the name of research of course. This came about because I ran across a recipe for a chocolate stout that I rather want to make, and in the spirit of inquiry I naturally had to check out some competition. I was delighted to find Young's double choc version of same, and could also not resist checking out the Theakston Old Peculier, of which I had heard more than a few positive remarks.

The end result has been a very pleasant evening on the deck/patio whatever you call such things in your part of the world, watching the boats on the water and enjoying the cool air, whilst simultaneously scouring the RC forum, thanks to our wireless broadband (finally set up after many weeks of frustration, and then one 5 minute phone call to the person who actually knew what he was doing)...

For beer-o-philes, my reviews of said beers are thus:

Theakston Old Peculier Legendary Strong Ale. 5.6%. A smooth, dark and enticing ale of a rather fuller figure. A very good ale, though slightly insipid compared to my strong ale benchmark, the Malt Shovel Brewery's James Squire Strong Ale. Still, a great 4 out 5 beer.

Young's Luxury Double Chocolate Stout. 5.2%. Best drunk well chilled, when the strong dark-chocolate flavours predominate. A ripper, this. A world away from Guinness of course, but then this isn't trying to be like anything. Very, very rich and mega-yummy. 4.5 out of 5.

This then, is my repentance for a run not done