Unhappy Families – the one with the long lost brother.

From previous posts you might have got the impression that there was a family member shy of a family. The youngest child had mysteriously and inexplicably decided to shy away from contact with the family and for years became estranged from the family.

You'll probably also get that we're not exactly a close family.  8 children and not a one of us lives in the same town, city as any other one, and in fact two of us live in different countries.

You'll also have been intrigued by the implosion that the death of the mother has caused within the family an some apparent greed being played out.

I'll put my hand up and say that since 1987, when I left the UK apart from the occasional call home to Mother that I hadn't made any attempt to talk to my brothers or sisters, and it was decade before I met my older brother in Australia.  Yes a brother and also my mother came to visit in NZ, but that's about it. We're not a big on being a family family.

So it was with unreasonable joy that the youngest brother had decided, coincidentally, to make contact with the family  again. I really was elated. This made me feel whole again in some strange way.

And it was with trepidation that I emailed him, just a touch-base email, just in case.

What I wasn't expecting was the quite harrowing and upsetting reply that I got back. And even now I'm saddened even to think about reading it again. The opposite of joy unbounded.

Because, quite frankly, the horrors that my brother has suffered through. Alone.

I'm ashamed, so very very ashamed. Even now I'm close to tears with emotion and distress. It's not a bad thing, it's just very confusing.

The bit that makes me cry is this:

"PS. Please excuse my grammar, I suffer terribly with dyslexia since I had a course of ECT treatment"

I don't want this to be true. I don't think that my wonderful life should be so wonderful when your own brother is having what is a horrific treatment for depression. It's not what fair is.  It's such a gulf, a chasm between what I have and what he's had. I know that it's not same/same and it's not a fair compare. But it's not something that I'm comfortable with.

I'm ashamed because I have a wonderful family (mostly), which is clear because even though after many years we can pick up where we left off, except older, grayer, fatter, wiser. And I'm so bereft, so alone, in a country where I have no family, and the relatives are all from MrsPdubyah's side of the tree. And! they're immigrants too, the family tree isn't so much a tree as a stick.

So quite apart that I like it here and it is my home, it's also been a prison of my own making and that belief that things are things, and that family will always be there at this point aren't actually stacking up.

I wish I could have made it better, obviously I can from now, or I can try, but for my youngest brother I shall cry a few shamed and painful tears of regret, anger and frustration. I'm so so sorry.

Sporting your life vicariously – the one where they end in tears.

It's down to the final few games of College hockey for Ms17 (MS18 in 37 days she informs me), and last night was the final of the local secondary schools tournament.

I'd forgotten how intensely competitive Ms17 is, her not playing grade or club Hockey this year has meant that I've not seen her play since the pre-season ANZAC tournament thing a few months back.

Last night, having lost 4-0 MS17 arrived in the clubroom clearly very upset. At a point midway int he second half, the coach had changed the on field formation taking off one of the 'inner' (and captain) and a 'striker'.  Now either this didn't register with MS17 (who plays at 'back') or wasn't communicated very well on field. It did lead to some dis-array as the opposition made a bit of hay and mayhem as positionally the team were all set up wrong.

She says that after the game she approached the coach, Dave, and says she said that "it would have been nice to know about the changes" and had received not the reply she expected along the lines of "get over it".  Which is where, it seems, she loses composure.

In the clubroom she tells us that although she really enjoys the school hockey she hasn't gotten over the fact that Dave, the coach, and age grade selector, had told her in the past that "she wasn't fit" and that "she couldn't hit a ball" and that her "grade level opportunities were limited." Coupled with the fact that he's chosen s strange combination of co-captains, one of whom is clearly not a teams player makes Ms17 a bit tetchy.  That the co-captains are picked at age Grade level might be why they are co-captains, and that MS17 chose not to trial for the teams may also be the reason.

It's clear though that there is a lack of something in the relationship that MS17 expects with the coach/selector, and it's clear that she lacks the tools to be able to deal with and get the answers / feedback / input that she's looking for. It's all very challenging.

I've no idea how to fix this, but I'll work at it though.

Related articles

• Jolly Hockey Sticks - the College edition (pdubyah.com)

Beer – #31 – Crabbie's Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer

Crabbie's Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer. It's a beer, ok it's a beer not a soda, a beer, says on the label.

I thought it would be dark like dark beer, but it's golden like golden lager. And it does smell like Ginger.

Crabbies Ginger Beer  however, on investigation, is not made from barley. It is a keeved cider and it's flavoured with ginger and sugar.

At 500ml of 4% ABV it's not going to make you woozy, in moderation  But if you had  sweet tooth, a thirst on, and it was a warm or hot day, this would be the one that you'd go for.

It's a bit like the Lion Red of alcoholic Ginger beer.

If there was a coin toss though between this and the Rekordlig Cider for instance I'd hope like heck that it was for the Crabbie's Ginger Beer. Not that the Rekordlig Cider isn't nice but.

It's not bad, but it's not what I was expecting. It's not unpleasant, it might be a bit sweet, and it is very quaffable. I could see why this would be "on the list" for a summer party, and is very popular.

Lucky I brought two as one sort of went in a hurry. It's very tasty and has a spot that it hits. It won't be for everyone, and it won't be for every time. But for difference, taste and just plain old enjoyment in a glass this isn't demanding, testing or dangerous to your palate. Get some in you.

Thanks to the wonderful @leggully on twitter who put me right about this, and the wonderful "The English Corner Shop" in Onehunga from where I also brought some  Adnams Broadside - stand by.........

To  the pdubyah-o-meter for some arbitrary stars out of a arbitrary number and this would have to be 4 from 5. Just because. I brought two and I'm looking forward to the second, It is a Monday and it's a work day tomorrow, I think somehow I'll get through it ok.

Related articles

• Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Ale (flamingspork.com)


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The Movie Critic in me.

Let the Right One In (2008 / Sweden) v Let Me In (2010 USA)

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Both of these films have merit. Usually a remake is a chance to add amend or fix problems that may have existed in an original work. Often they are shoddy ill-thought out fiascos, losing any content that made them what they were or were about, moving a film set in one country to another might be a red flag.

However in this case, in my opinion, that's not the case.

The American version uses plot devices that make it more a thriller. It also addresses a couple of the questions about the relationship between Eli/Abby and 'the father' It also replaces the irate neighbor with an irritating cop, and frankly neither the neighbor or the cop angle works out well.

I did watch them in the wrong order, the Swedish one today  (in Swedish and with Subtitles) , the American one last week, But I'm not sure that it would really change much about what I think.

Underlying the vampire story though is the fact that 'the father' and 'Oskar/Owen' are Serial Killers. Sure a 12 year old child might not actually be a Serial Killer but it's clear that they are different children, and that like Eli/Abby they are different for a reason. One needs the other.

A couple of things that I couldn't quite get though. If Eli/Abby is indeed old old, then the plot assumes that emotional growth and knowledge somehow stops when you become a Vampire. There was little or no wisdom in the character, no worldliness.

The other was that in the Swedish film Eli shows off some treasures and has money. It's obvious about the money but not the treasures. The American version skips this bit.  It just left a hanging question

The american one also had a stronger emphasis on the bullying, but less on the relationship with his father.  That's not to say that the Swedish version isn't good, it is, but it falls a little short of "great" or "fantastic".

Of course I have a pdubyah-o-meter that I can crack out that uses some arbitrary stars out of some arbitrary number.

For the Original version of this film I'd say 7 1/2 out of 10, the remake would be 8 1/2 out of 10.

Beer – #30 – Duvel

Duvel - a Belgium Strong ale. I went the family sized 750Ml bottle of 8.5% ABV beer.



It's hard  to be expecting anything other than magnificent from this beer. It comes with a reputation and a promise.

And it's in a big bottle. And It's been one of those weeks, and frankly I deserve this.

Hazy, White head, fluffy, snappy,  and from the reviews this is solid but not spectacular as Belgium Beers go.

For trick beer you have to undo the cage and pop the cork, all part of the experience , and then set in for an hour or so of taste sensation. This is almost Albino Pale, and it really does get a head on. It might be that I don't own a "tulip" but I was impressed and amused at my result.

I thought this was a tad  'sour' as taste goes. Not really sure what it is I am tasting, it's grassy. (and here I pause to contemplate 'grassy').

It's almost a bit the opposite of what I expected which was a richer longer taste, and that's confusing.

It does have a myriad of flavor in this, and begs for a food to go with it, so I'm going to pause and get the blue cheese out.

On the arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter for some arbitrary stars out of an arbitrary number I'd give this a 3.5 out of 5 which is fairly solid and not a disgrace, which I might be after drinking what essentially is a wine bottle's worth of beer.

Related articles

• Beer beer! (lilyblu.wordpress.com)

Unhappy Families – at least you can pick your friends – part the fourth.

You might have been following the "Unhappy Families – at least you can pick your friend" story and the fall-out from an innocuous question and answer, and of the aftermath of the death of the mother and the intestate will. An again I make no apology for airing this, it's as bizarre as it reads, and probably not a million miles from the way it happens with regularity for many families.

Briefly as a recap: #3 Child suggested that when the mother passed that she would have all the money in the estate, #2 Child agreed, based on a knowledge of one post office account, that would have covered the expenses, and left some money over. Not all the family was present (I'm in NZ, #1 is in Australia, #8 was at the time whereabouts unknown) but it seems reasonable to have been suggested, has some merit and if it'd worked out like that, a win-win.

Post death it transpires that there is a banking account, and unbeknown a building society account and a life insurance policy.

So whilst the "agreement" between #2 and #3 on the face of it was acceptable, based on one account with enough money to cover funeral expenses, a drama ensues.

But in graphical terms the latest chapter looks like this;

How the family sees "the family"

How the family is represented to a bank.

The family is represented to the bank as 7 - yes that's right, 7 individuals. #8 child having been incommunicado for reasons of his own, and was whereabouts unknown (at the time). Bank require signatures from "Every member" of the family to be able to release the money in the account.

Meantime : How the family is represented to a Building Society.

Seems that a declaration of entitlement was lodged with the Building Society and an amount of money paid out, and kept, and not reported or communicated with the other Eight (or Seven - depends on who's telling the story) children

Meantime: How the family is represented to a Life Insurance Company.

As far as the Insurance company know there is only one child in the family, a sole beneficiary, and have documented declaration to the same. Of course being an only child there are no other family members to report this to.

How the family reacts.

It was decided, based on #8 child being whereabouts unknown, and incommunicado for many years, that #7 would seek and be granted a probate of administration. Essentially a warrant to settle an intestate will. And this would involve full disclosure, reporting and investigation of the financial position.

#1 child is furious, #2 child is incandescent. The two other sisters are strangely silent on this (or they may be having in-private conversations with the Administrator (#7) ), I'm #6 and a bit miffed. #7 is righteously furious and #8 child has made a sudden and coincidental re-appearance (which bring much joy and smiling, and it's a genuine re-appearance it's not like we're about to inherit a bazillion monies or anything)

MrsPdubyah shakes her head at me and tells me to stop making excuses or allowing myself to belive that #3 was acting with good intention. I'm beyond that today, it's now just wickedness and wilfulness, and I'm all for the boys in blue paying a visit.

Related articles

• Unhappy Families - at least you can pick your friends - part the third. (pdubyah.com)

Beer – #29 – St. Peter's Cream Stout

A gift this one. And never look a gift horse in the mouth. From the St. Peter's Brewery Co Ltd in Bungay, Suffolk then the St.Peter's Cream Stout.

A 500mls (pint) of  6.5% ABV beer, It's very dark, he says, surprised, it's noisy fizzy too. Smells like dark beer. If you drink dark beers you'll know what I mean.

Not much by way of head on the pour.

But this is very very tasty. It's very tasty.

And that I wasn't expecting.

I think by the minimalist label that somehow I was expecting something a little less bold, and timid. Wrong! If anything this is a little sweet, and the head, what there was, has disappeared, leaving a flat looking beer. And it's up the strong end of the beer scale in relative terms. I think this one could catch a few people by surprise.

St. Peter's is an independent brewery founded in 1996 by John Murphy in former agricultural buildings adjacent to St. Peter’s Hall in Bungay, Suffolk, England.  Top work Mr.Murphy,

Interesting and different, pleasing and yet not inciting. But for a gift beer FTW!!!

So on the arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter this would be 3.5 out of 5 arbitrary stars. Given the chance that this was ever available on tap I'd give it a a nudge.

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Unhappy Families – at least you can pick your friends – part the third.

I make no apology for the airing of dirty laundry and tawdry family behaviour in what follows. I'm as amazed and amused as you might be;

The cast, a family of 8;  5 boys, 3 girls :

#1 Son - Australia / #2 Son - England /  #3 Son (#6 child)  - New Zealand #4 Son (#7 child) England #5 Son (#8 child) - unknown
#1 Sister - England (#3 child) / #2 Sister (#4 child) - Norfolk / #3 Sister (#5 child) - Derby

The prequel....

• My mother died suddenly and unexpectedly, and without a will.


• There are 8 children, and we all live in dispersed places through the world, I'm in New Zealand, I have a brother in Australia. The rest of the family are salted throughout England.


• Only one child, #1 sister lived in proximity to where the mother was living, in a sheltered accommodation (granny ghetto), and spent a fair amount of time with her.


• That we were from a poor background led us to assume that the 'estate', such as it was, consisted only of a small amount of money in a Post Office account.


• It was suggested, by #2 Son, and it was a good suggestion, that should the mother die then that fund should cover the cost of the funeral and anything left to go to the #1 sister.

And it turns out that on her death we know that there was at least a HSBC banking account with some money in it.

Part the Second - the waiting bit  - And this is where it went a bit wrong.......

We have a brother who for whatever reason has decided to go awol. He's been unheard of for a few years. His choice. #1 Sister decided to tell the HSBC that there were only 7 children, which raised a few eyebrows, and caused some discussion between us, we all by consensus acknowledge his fair entitlement to inclusion in the family (As if that's not the law anyway).  #4 son was volunteered to take things in hand and to take legal steps to become the administrator of the estate, since settling with the HSBC would have been impossible with only 7 of 8 signatures required.

A year or so (quickly) went past and I, in a fit of pique, decided to contact the family (Actually rather un-tactfully I put a post on FB) about how I was getting a bit miffed about not knowing what was happening. I got a fair old mouthful of feedback from the brothers (and wives of brothers) about how I needed to take a chill pill.

#4 son then starts to pursue vigorously the steps to become an administrator, which means swearing something or other in front of a judge or some such. Very important, and clearly it comes with a bunch of requirements and obligations, such as accounting for all the estate money, and assigning it to the right places.

#1 sister is asked, politely, to provide a statement or receipts of the money spent from the post office account (As mentioned above), as part of that. Also a general enquiry was made to the banking system to discover any other banking accounts that may have been active.

#1 sister sends a letter and at the end turns on the family

"May I remind all my family that on mum’s birthday it was agreed that as I had looked after mum for many years that when she died I would get everything when she passed. The agreement made still stands.
I do not want anything to do with anyone in my family. So you can take all the bank a/c money & stick it where the sun does not shine. Please do not bother me again."

The list of expenses was a mish-mash of things, but included some items of dubious veracity, and an admission that about 50% of the money that was left had been taken by her for personal expenses and "by this agreement".

Part the third - the bit where you go mmmm...

That's ok. That  there are some dubious expenses listed Is fine, it's nit-picking to go over it with a fine tooth comb and be picky to the Nth degree, but does raise the hackles of the family who want at this point to have a completely fair an open understanding of what is what.

And all this is ok except for a couple of things,

1. Not all the family made this agreement (not that it's not a sensible and fair sounding thing).


2. Turns out from the general enquiry to the banking system that there was another building society account ! Who knew?!

Indeed who knew? #1 sister knew and had produced a statutory declaration signed by her which stated she was legally entitled to the money, and had been paid out in full. #4 son has requested a copy of the declaration as part of his administrator status.

Follows though is a bit of  response from me and fury from #1 Son, #2 Son, and #4 Son. Along the lines that "Any agreement that was made only covered the post office account" and that a building society account was in place was unknown at the time (but not by everyone it seems). The #2 and #3 sisters have been silent on this issue so far between the whole family, they may have or may offer something to #4 son in due course.

What is clear that #1 Sister may have made a bit of a mistake. She's clearly done something that has upset the family and gone against any spirit of agreement or understanding. It might not even be strictly legal.

From the ensuing emails the ongoing consensus seems to be at this point that

• It's not about the money (as if it ever was - the amounts are in reality small).


• It's about fair, and everyone being given the chance to say what happened to the money, and not have some arbitrary "you said in passing I could have it all".


• Those that have an opinion don't think that the money is recoverable from #1 sister.


• Those that have an opinion seem to agree that a legal recourse might be required to make a point.

I'm glad we live so far disbursed from each other, reasoned and judged emails, I think, are the way we're going to resolve this, and resolve it we will. Can you imagine this as an afternoon meeting that you wouldn't want to be at. I have to point out too that MrsPdubyah is convinced that there are more skeletons to uncover, such as the insurance policies that are yet to come to light.

As I get older - the one with the Baker's Cyst

Baker's cyst? You're not a Baker. Dur.

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Baker's Cyst then, basically an inflammation of the soft back-side of the knee, that means that you have incredible pain in the knee joint. For me it also means that I have limited ability to stand up if I do something stupid like kneel or squat. I know right weird as.

Stairs cause me trepidation and steep inclines give me the heebie jeebies.

I've recently embarked on a walking thing with MrsPdubyah (See the less of me page) and although I'm 'comfortable' walking I'm wary of steep inclines, and post walk I've as sore as anytime I've ever been. To the point that this morning MrsPdubyah had to help me take my shoe off, such was the difficulty in bending my knee to get to my laces.

That was at 7am. It's now 10 am and although I'm not in agony I can bend and do my laces, but I'd still not be able to get up :-) It's odd, frustrating and annoying.

Of course you "go the internet" to look at these things, and my knee 'problem' does not seem to exhibit the fluid sac at the back of the knee that you can see in some descriptions, but to me the soft part of the back of the knee is puffy and not normal.

Arthritis is the most common condition associated with Baker's cysts. This can include various different types of arthritis such as osteoarthritis (most common), rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and gout. And I have at least two of those, the last two.

I'm falling apart!

Related articles

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I just noticed

That I seem to have written a lot about beer lately! Must work on chaining that, and writing more about different things.

Less of me is more Day 7: 14th June, skip a day

Day 7: 14th June, skip a day

It's frosty as a frosty thing this morning. My knee is a shocker and is so sore that I can't bend to take my shoe off :-(

Beer - #28 - Brasserie Du Mont Blanc La Blanche

Ok, So I was in Faro Fresh  on the North Shore, looking for some Camembert from the Over the moon dairy company, and coming away from the cheesery disappointed, and not wanting a Goat version, I mooched over to the beerorium, where I had spied that they had the Trois Monts that I enjoy, but hidden behind it was some  Brasserie Du Mont Blanc - La Blanche

Well now well now well now... who can resist something like this then, a magnificent label of the most fantastic blues and a medal winner too!

 "The brewery has a long history with the first beers being produced in 1850. Like all high quality beers the key to great characteristics is ingredients. At the centre of this is the water. In the case of Brasserie du Month-Blanc, the water is from alpine glaciers harvested at the source of the Enchapeuze at an altitude of 2074m. Along with purity enhanced from being sourced at a high altitude, a low mineral content makes it ideal for brewing."

750ml of 4.7 % ABV a French attempt at a WitBeer (Belgium White) The Interwebtubes says this isn't something to write home about. But there was little else to do on a Sunday afternoon so I had at it. The bottle is presented as a flip top, but has a cap, I guess you sip and seal? or it might be some weird EU rule for export. Who knows.

It's very very fizzy, noisy fizzy, and very very pale, but no head! What's with that ? It also smells yeasty, which reminds me of home brew. I now have  my fingers crossed (metaphorically).

And that's odd. A montage of tastes in this, none of them making me lick my lips. There is no aroma to give anything away this is all on the tounge.

I lied the aroma is the yeast smell  that lingers, it's odd.

It's very thin on taste, and there are tastes in there fighting to get through, but like all things French not fighting hard enough,  My brow is furrowed on this one I have no idea what to make of it.

The pudubya-o-meter is barely moving on this, and this is going to be a minor setback in my run of good bears well enjoyed. Given the choice of the cheese or this I would have picked the cheese. Which by the by is most excellent Over the Moon Dairy Company.

I'm really struggling to get this to an arbitrary 2 from 5 arbitrary stars on this,  it's not offensive and at the same time it is. A bronze medal in how to make a beer smell like homebrew perhaps, I'm going to sulk and wish I was as adventurous in Cheese as I am in beer.

Related articles

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As I get older I get different - the birthday gift from Holden - the update

Holden in Australia rang me today, well a spokesperson did, to talk about my 2009 Holden Cruze, someone in their PR department, who knows, I didn't write his name down. Anyway...

According to the person I spoke to, and you'll get that this is my version of his words paraphrased;

• It's normal for modern cars to have rotors replaced at 60,000 kms


• The brake pads are in constant contact with the disks constantly wearing them down to keep them from warping. (for real)


• Of course it uses rotors quicker than an older car, they're modern, its a modern braking system. (for real)


• Advised that the Mitsubishi Airtrek (which he'd never heard of as a model) has never had rotors and has 160,000 on the clock was because it's older! And regardless must be lighter on the brakes because it's a 4wd SUV


• "Having worked for VW and other manufacturers I can assure you that this isn't unusual" a pitiful plea from authority.


• "You brought you car second hand, what can you expect?" (I've had it 2 years and done 40,000 kms, it been serviced 3 times at the same dealership, he tried to convince me that I'd only done 17,000kms nothing like research)


• He did concede that he'd never heard of this problem, that it sounded unusual, but it was expected.

I did point out that it was a 1.8 litre, mid-sized car, not some V8 performance car. It's a town car, a commuter car, it's a shopping basket.

He did offer to pay 50% of the costs of the Rotors/Discs, on condition that I remove my FB wall post. I told him to email me and I'd consider it. I told him how miffed I was, and resentful that a new in-warranty vehicle was supplied from the factory with items that clearly were never going to make a warranty period. I told him that I wasn't happy and that it was a poor excuse that he was offering up.

I will consider his email should it ever arrive. I'm happy to remove the Facebook wall post to their wall.

Really I'm ok with Tyres wearing out, I get spark plugs, oil filters, air filters, transmission oils. They're what you expect to have changed. I'm even ok with brake pad wear at 60,000 km (although there was no indication that they were low), but I'm not ok with having to replace the rotors/discs because the man at Holden says that "it's normal, and it's the modern way"

Oh and Giltrap Holden North Shore are a super dealership, they really set a benchmark in customer service and go far beyond what you expect from a car dealer. Can't recommend them enough.

Related articles

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Ms17 and the driving licence

After the last effort, where 40 in a 50, and 50 in a 60 zone don't cut it for the examiner, Ms17 had another crack at it today, in the showery rain, and passed.

This is going to bring whole new new freedoms, such as staying out after 10pm, and being able to "lift" people to and from.

And it's just awesome.

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Beer – #27 in a series – Jaipur

Thornbridge Jaipur IPA.

"A citrus dominated India Pale Ale, its immediate impression is soft and smooth yet builds to a crescendo of massive hoppiness accentuated by honey. An enduring, bitter finish"

A tall 500ml (pint) bottle and 5.9 ABV. with a fancy new label.

This one was special delivery from the UK from a friend of mine who could not rate it too highly. The interwebtubes also seem to lean towards this being at the better end of the tasty than not.

I've been holding back on this (not really) as I've only the one bottle, and that makes it even more precious. But it's a night for a nice beer and so here we go!

Pale, straight up smells like oranges, and also you can smell the hopppiness. It's really pale did I mention that, and  Gosh that's a good taste, I'm having to tell myself to slow down a bit and enjoy it.

The initial and lingering smell of hops does not translate into a taste of hops, and there's no bitterness or metallic on the tounge. The flavor stays and lingers, and it's only later, almost an after thought that the hops break through with a nice afterglow.

Maxing lyrical on this I've got to say that 10 arbitrary stars out of 10 might not be enough, liquid awesomeness.  I'm wondering who I can hit up to get this on their shelves.

Arbitrarily then on the equally as arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter this is a staggeringly good 10 out of 10, and is almost that good to make me re-asses the other scores, because this has a bit of daylight between it and the next best.

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Beer – #26 in a series – the weekend assortment.

A quick weekend break meant that it was bulk over substance time for beer drinking.

So A little bit of Speights Distinction, and provided by the Father-in-Law and some of the Boundry Road "Mumbo Jumbo" as provided by me.

It was such a nice weekend too, lots of fine weather and warm enough to sit outside for most of the daylight time in a t-shirt and shorts

and so what to make of these two commercial beers that were on the table for the weekend.

I've not tried either of these before, and I'm not including the various other beer that I may or may not have drunk on the weekend. It was that kind of weekend.

Speights Distinction: 330Ml 5% ABV. Quite unlike it's brother the Old Dark, and pleasantly so.

SPEIGHT’S® Distinction Ale has a reddy brown colour and smooth malty bitterness unique to this premium Southern ale. It is batch-brewed with a hint of caramel, malt and butterscotch flavours.

Compelling enough to be of the 3 Speights Beers, Original, Old Dark and Distinction the one that I'd buy if I had to.

Boundary Road Brewery Mumbo Jumbo 330Ml 5.2% ABV

Back in the British Raj, elephant riding, tea-swilling settlers were in dire need of rescuing from the Indian sun. And so the India Pale Ale was born. Brewed with extra hops so it'd survive the voyage east, it was imbued with floral aromas, malty sweetness and a lingering dry finish. But enough of that Mumbo Jumbo. Stretch out on the verandah and enjoy

Yeah that. This is a beer that is thin, tinny and sharp on the tounge, it's more an American pale ale than and IPA, it's hard to know exactly what this is to be honest. Could have almost been a Pilsner, but wasn't. It tries hard to be what it says it it, but it falls away quite quickly. It's like they're trying to run before they can slightly walk a bit. Shame really.

Not worth of even an arbitrary rating on the arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter for these, you get what you pay $15.00 or less a six pack of these, a constrained commercial offering. They're fine but just don't organize a party around them, you'll lose friends.

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Restaurant Critic #2 - Deep Creek Brewing Co.

The Deep Creek Bewing Company, Browns Bay, Auckland. A birthday celebration with the family.

Well I had this : Potjies Kos , this iteration was Lamb Shank in a rich spicy gravy. It was the business. Came with a side of Roasted Potatoes and some vegetables (read Cauliflower and Broccoli). Chef was keen to chat about it , I think it was a new idea he'd had, I'd say he was on to a winner. A Potjies is a small cast-iron pot, like in the picture,they come in all sizes though, mine was the boutique restaurant for show version.

I had me this delight with some of their newly award winning (bronze) Leprechaun's Belle. An Irish Red Ale.  I wasn't enamored of this particular beer, pleasing enough but not different enough to make it special. It is however one of the beers they have that I would go to again, being nearer my taste, and not one that disappointed.

I also had me a Little Armoured one. It's more an Amber Ale, and sits well with me. A bit stronger then that Leprechaun's Belle.  Well it's the thing to do.

This is the sort of boutique brewery that you have to work your way through the beers on. Some are quite tart and hoppy some are one the thin end of there taste.  I'm not so sure on the Leprechauns's Belle, which although pleasant enough didn't have the depth of taste that you'd be expecting in an Irish Red Beer.

On the food front others in the family had, by way of food,

• Deep Creek BBQ Ribs  Old No7 Jack Daniels BBQ ribs with kumara fries and market salad


• Surf and Turf Angus rib eye steak and grilled prawn skewers served with kikorangi blue cheese stuffed portobello mushroom


• and The Pork tenderloin that doesn't appear on the online menu

Do we like the pub, yes we do, it's always noisy enough, and has a fair smattering of locals. And it's close enough for us to be called out local Boutique Brewery.

Do we like the food? Well there were no empty plates at the end of the day.

It's solid pub food, in a pub setting. It's good enough but not great, you wouldn't go there just for the food. Are the beers good, some are some aren't. I note that you can buy these commercially in supermarkets now, so they've gone the whole 9 yards on the business venture.

A good night out, great bar staff, a nice atmosphere, can get busy, does get busy, has an all you can eat rib night on Wednesday, that, it seems, is very popular with the locals.

I'll be there again sometime in the next couple of weeks.

As I get older I get different - the birthday gift from Holden

Today is my birthday, it should be a day to smile and indulge.

Last year we went to Queenstown for a visit, this year on the weekend we went to the beach house, where the weather was fine and dandy and I ate too much, drank too much and did too little. Had a great time of much relaxation, did some Gentleman fishing, and went to a party, had a BBQ breakfast and sat around.

But today I'm at home, taken a day off work to be communing with myself.

I also put the philmobile  into the Holden  garage for a service. Doing the right thing, keep the service plan unto date. It's not an old car, November 2009 was when it was first registered, and I brought it in August of 2010. It's now got 60K on the clock. And i presume it's still under a manufacturer warranty. Like I said not old by any definition of old cars.

Things to do on your birthday include then not putting your car in for a service, since they rang me shortly after with the news that it needs about $600 dollars worth of brakes and rotors. It seems they rotors are made from tin foil or something, and of course are "wear and tear" and not faulty and therefore not warrantable parts. Farcical. Added to the other "parts" that you need for a service and I was in for $1,302 today.

I looked up the trade in value, and it's worth between $18,000 and $23,995 depending on if it's an auction or from a dealer. $600 would be about then 3% of the value of the car.

Quandary is to keep it, and be frustrated at the expense, or trade it  in a fit of pique for a whole new bunch of expenses, or having spend the money wait a year to get some of the value from the expenses. I'm not sure MrsPdubyah is going to be best pleased when she looks at the Visa card bill later.

You know I'll still be driving it in a year.

Tempered with this is that I just brought lamb shanks and they're in the slow cooker and about 8 hours away from being ready to eat. I might be in a better mood by then. Might. If not at least I'll be tasty.

Day Five of less of me

Five in a row, it helps that it's sunny in the mornings of course, and today being a Saturday was a couple hours later. Slightly longer less pain and I'm sitting here smiling. All is good in the hood.

Day 4 of less of me

Day 4 of less of me - Colder than yesterday but that's 4 in a row. Slower though,sore shins.

Can't complain, just did though