Return to active service

Sorry this blog has been dormant due to a long hot summer - obviously spent mostly outside rain-sodden Britain - which took me to Ukraine (Euro 2012 and a few beers from the Chicago Bikers' Bar in Donetsk, no longer the industrial slag heap it was 20 years ago, via an orange tide of partying Dutchmen in Kharkiv, to a Sweden-England drinking competetion on the streets of Kiev), Italy, Corfu, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia (on a magnificent Mediterranean sailing holiday on board Star Clippers' Royal Clipper, the largest full-sailed schooner in the world, which served draft Flensburger Pilsner and bottled Schneider Weisse on board), four weeks back for the Olympics and Paralympics (blighted only by the ubiquitous Carlsberg - probably the world's worst lager - and John Smiths's, unquestionably Britain's worst ale-substitute), then to Cyprus for a few days on the beach (washed down with a little local Keo, which could be a lot worse - they also served Carlsberg and Carling - yeuch!). So welcome back. More rants to come.