Author: wilco

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Misc

Cardiff International Comic Expo 2011 : Highlight for me must be Darth Vader’s Force Grip;)

I went to the first Cardiff International Comic Expo for a few hours on Saturday..

My son is a big fan of Manga and wanted to go, so I had to be the wallet carrying senior – In my younger days I used to love a good comic, of course they are called graphic novels nowadays;), I was an avid reader of Deadline magazine of old, particularity Milk and Cheese by Evan Dorkin and other great stuff such as Hewligan’s Haircut which the artist went on to other things 😉 but I have not picked up a proper comic for years, so may have to ask a few people to lend me some…

Anyway – If you you are a geek in Cardiff then you needed to be at this convention (I think Iam too old to be a proper geek nowadays), the Cardiff event was small but perfectly formed, next year they said they will be having two days, with more strange people and more artists.

Cardiff Comic Con

After the rush of the main floor with various artists showing off their skills, and lots of suppliers selling merchandise and books, luckily I only got stung by buying a Genki T-shirt for my son and not tons of manga books that my he had his eye on.

There were a lot of people dressed up for the occasion – but knowing some of these lot it was their normal day where, there was a very fetching young lady dressed as storm from X-men, a few zombies, a few Ramona Flowers and quite a lot of Japanese characters, Cosplay style – which to be honest I was not sure if they were Male or Female 😉

The highlight was members of the 501 UK GARRISON bothering people in the queue and people on buses going past the Mercure Holland House Hotel where the convention was held, unfortunately my Son would not take a photo of me with Lord Vadar , what’s wrong with teenagers today, why being embarrassed with their parents and a Sith lord.

Cardiff Comic Con Star Wars

Cardiff Comic Con - Star Wars

Cardiff Comic Con Star Wars

The various panels they had were very interesting – and we will go to more next year – We saw Matthew Savage who is a concept/storyboard artist who has worked on Dr Who, Torchwood, The Dark Knight, Prince of Persia, The Wolf Man, Kick-Ass and the forthcoming X-Men film – a very talented concept artist – who was straight up about the industry but was very positive.

As my son is interested in being an animator after A levels, we also sat in on the Skillset Media Academy Wales panel, where various people from Welsh education institutions talked up their courses, the guy from Swansea Metropolitan University Al Kang got a great cheers as he showed off some of his past work – including Ed, Ed and Eddy!

The chaps from Glamorgan uni Atrium were very passionate about their course and they had a row of their students to cheer them on, which helped 😉

in all very positive for the creative education system Wales – now

Next year I am going to take more photos of the people dressed up but felt a bit odd taking shots – but I suppose that’s why these people do it to be center of attention in their Sailor outfits, various tails and panda faces, oh and Dalek doing their part for Help the Heros

Cardiff Comic Con dalek

Categories
Beer

Tickets avaiable now for The Great British Beer Festival – Britain’s biggest beer festival

I have a few days off in August to go to the Britain’s biggest and best beer festival this year ( 2-6 August 2011), my hotel is booked, and the tickets for the event have been released today – now only need a cheap train fare from Cardiff to London and I will be sorted.

I have not been for many years – since 2000 in fact when Bullmastiff Gold jointly won Gold for the bitter class , but can’t remember much then as we had a bus from the now closed Royal Hotel (which was Bullmastiff brewery tap of sorts at the time)

As you would expect there will be a great selection of beers from lots of brewerys, big & small.

The Camra Bars

* B4 – Harris Bar
Featuring Real Ale from Aberdeen & Grampian, Argyll & The Isles, Ayrshire & Arran, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Borders, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cumbria
* B5 – Nelson Bar
Featuring Real Ale from Channel Islands, Cheshire, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Durham
* B6 – Montgomery Bar
Featuring Real Ale from Devon, Dorset, Dumfries, East Sussex, East Yorkshire, Edinburgh & Lothians
* B7 – Scott Bar
Featuring Real Ale from Essex, Fife, Glamorgan, Glasgow & Clyde Valley, Gloucestershire, Gwent
* P1 – Wellington Bar
Featuring Real Ale from Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Highlands & Western Isles, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight Kent, Leicestershire & Rutland
* P4 – Treo Bar
Featuring Real Ale from Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Loch Lomond, Stirling & The Trossachs, London, Merseyside, Mid Wales
* P5 – Cavell Bar
Featuring Real Ale from Manchester, North East Wales, North West Wales, Northamptonshire, Northern Isles, Northumberland
* P6 – Jones Bar
Featuring Real Ale from Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Northern Ireland
* P7 – Mountbatten Bar
Featuring Real Ale from Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset
* P8 – Budd Bar
Featuring Real Ale from South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey
* W4 – Kitchener Bar
Featuring Real Ale from Tayside, Tyne & Wear, Warwickshire, West Midlands, West Sussex, West Wales
* W6 – Trenchard Bar
Featuring Real Ale from West Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire
* B2 – Dobbs Bar
Young and Upcoming Breweries – sponsored by JD Wetherspoon
* B8 – Drake Bar
Featuring Real Ales in a Bottle
* W5 – Cook Bar
Freaturing Real Ciders and Perry

The Brewery bars

Some great names there

Categories
Beer

Happy days for Cardiff Real Ale Fans -Goat Major beer festival Feb 2011

Great news on twitter from @TheGoatMajorPub, they are having a beer festival next week 21st Feb 2011 until 1st of march

Goat Major Best Pub in Cardiff City Centre

I had the Adnams Oyster Stout in the City Arms the other day and it was great.

I hope to get a few pints at festival on Thursday but will try a few halfs during the week as well.

Categories
Beer

Beer we are in this club together : Cardiff Beer Club launches

The excellent City arms in Cardiff now has a Beer club for it’s customers.

City Arms Beer Club & pint of Adnams Oyster Stout

For every £1 you spend we’ll give you a point on your card.

Overnight we’ll turn your points into money for you to spend in the pub. We’ll give you 10p for every point you have!

You can then use your points to buy pints in the pub! Beer Club members will also be invited to attend special events.

This week they also had the lovely Adnams Oyster Stout – some would say a saintly pint

Adnams Oyster Stout - Saintly

Adnams Oyster Stout

on another note another Brains pub, The Yard has just been done up, with designer style and posh touches

Half a Half of Dark in Yard

Light as art

but they do a great quick lunch for a £5 and their Brains Dark is pretty good as usual, but served in a posh glass.

Brains Dark

so Cardiff has the lot from decent real ale boozers to upmarket pubs (that ladies who lunch enjoy) 🙂

Categories
Food

A nice sit down, cup of tea and massive Gammon bap in Barkers Castle Arcade Cardiff

As anyone who knows me would realise that I am not a follower of fashion so would not normally go into the many hipster boutiques scattered around the Victorian arcades of Cardiff, but I made the exception to go to this one, well, the cafe anyway, It’s an add-on to the trendy shop on the corner of Castle Arcade, Barkers.

The food was not cheap , but once I got my smoked ham and brie (I know sorry) toasty I evaluated the price – it was well worth it.

It has the thickness slice of Welsh ham that I have not see since my nan used to try and feed me up when I was a boy.

barker's cafe Massive Ham

It tasted great… and I even had to share some with mrsuw.

They had a great selection of I assume home-made cakes and lots of posh teas (from those teapigs lot) and the obligatory shiny coffee machine – in fact everything was shiny from the bespoke designer chairs to the lamps on the tables there was ironic indie covers of rubbish pop songs in the background, maybe they need to get some Richard Cheese on as well.

barker's cafe Cakes

The cafe looked great design wise (sorry for the photos there was a lot of chrome) – a bit fancy for me – but will be popular with trendies and ladies that lunch, if only they can find it as there are no signs on top of St Mary Street or by the arcade to say their is a new cafe open..

barker's cafe

barker's cafe

If you are of the Fashionista type and are too stuck up for the costa’s, starbucks etc that are littering every high street round the country, then bring your man bags here, but watch out a for bearded tramp like bloke in the corner snacking on a doorstop of ham it maybe me.

Categories
Beer

New Years Eve 2010 in Cardiff – Good pubs shut shock

I spent the late evening on Friday in Cardiff with the Mrs, her brother and his mrs.

We watched the early fireworks from a great vantage point and went out for a few pints of ale and some food around 9.30pm, but there was not much choice.

Fireworks in Cardiff

To my horror all my normal watering holes were closed by this time, The City Arms, the Goat Major and most of the other Brains houses.

We managed to get a few pints (Wye valley HPA & Black Sheep) in the recently reopened Rummer Tavern which was half empty before a quick dash over to the Civic centre to see in the new year with a T-rex tribute band and an overpriced Guinness in a cracked plastic glass.

I can understand that people don’t want to work on New years eve (well I was working till 8ish), but to have a so called exciting capital city’s decent pubs closed mid evening is not a good advertisement for Cardiff as a “Destination City”

Some of the large chain pubs/clubs were still open but we decided to go back as spending the rest of the New years night in a ‘spoons (even if they may have had ale on) was not something we wanted to do (drunken gangs being one reason), of course Iam happy to go to them most nights the rest of the year 🙂

anyway a good time was had by all even if I do sound like a moaning wossname.

Happy New Year and hope you have a great beery one.

Categories
Beer Food Misc

My life in video – including beer, sheds, food & my dog done via @pummelvision

It’s a bit scary when you see your life flash before you in most cases but in this case it’s my Flickr Stream put together with a music track from those clever people over at http://pummelvision.com/

As you would imagine its mainly photos of Beer and Sheds, but what would you expect from me, but there are some photos of Torchwood filming in Cardiff, holidays in West Wales, Paris, Portugal & Venice, me singing with the Punks Not Dad and the Great Welsh Beer & Cider festival features a few times along with the Otley arms

My muckers including James,Neil, Arfur turn up along with Sprout my lovely Parson Russell Terrier, Mrs Uncle Wilco & the associated kids don’t feature once – mainly as they don’t like having their photos taken, but at least I have my beer!

It’s quite hypnotic

Categories
Beer

The best Craft Beer Pub in London is the Euston Tap

OK that’s just my opinion and I only visit the City a few times a year, but hey –

I was down that London for a meeting about something else I do…

And after recommendations from Twitter and Rob, in fact he said I had to go, so not wanting to make a ‘port boy angry.

Before I headed back to Wales (and the impending snow doom) I jumped on the tube and went to Euston, but it took me 10 mins to find the pub as I had no idea it was in a Grade II listed West Lodge right at the front of Euston Station but you can’t really miss it – but being a slow Welsh boy..

Euston Tap

Its a tiny pub with great looking bar and the beers served from taps behind the bar, both Keg & Cask with two large fridges with various bottles of unique beer, there is a tight stairs which leads up to a small lounge area and toilet (since changed)

Euston Tap

Euston Tap

There was about 6 people in there when I got there, and I can see it getting very busy with commuters so will get full very quickly, but its a great looking pub and the beers are great.

Euston Tap

The barman was very helpful & friendly (should have asked his name) and we had a chat about Welsh Beer and the brilliance that is Odell labels!

odell brewing bottles

I only had four halfs before I had to get to Paddington.

My photos are a bit blurred and I never write down what I have as I normally take photos of the clips:(

Thornbridge – Winter brew (Merry?)

Marble Porter (McKenna’s Revenge ?)- wonderfully brilliant! I would love it in bottles

Ossett Big Red (4.0% ABV) – very good…

Marble Best – a great one to end on..

I will be revisiting the Euston Tap and will try and sample some of the 150 bottles beers sometime in the new year and its currently my favourite pub in London – usurping the Jerusalem Tavern

If you like beer and are visiting London then give some time and divert over to Euston.

Euston Tap

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Categories
Beer

Review: Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds & Social Media

Last night I had the pleasure of going to see Jeff Wayne conducting the 10-piece Black Smoke Band and 36-piece ULLAdubULLA Strings playing his version of the The War of The Worlds, I have loved this since I was a kid (it must have been the prog rock that Jeff used back 1978 production) but also the voice of Richard Burton (as George Herbert, The Journalist) that haunts the whole thing – and in particular with this production his hologram hangs over the CIA in Cardiff.


We were treated the brilliant vocal talents of Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues) and Chris Thompson (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band ) who were in the original recording and they were accompanied by Rhydian (off the telly) as Parson Nathaniel who did his own camp opera version of the character that Phil Lynott originally played, his wife was played by Liz McClarnon who was in a girl pop band Iam told my the Mrs.

My surprise of the night was Jason Donovan as The Artilleryman (played by a certain sheddie lady’s favourite David Essex in the original) – of course it would be no surprise to Jason’s fans, as he has done so many other musical theatre shows but his maniacal singing in the 2nd half (Brave New World) was great..

The visuals and effects were exciting from where we where sitting and smoke and fire effects added to the atmosphere, but it was the music that shone above al,l the mixed of the orchestra and rock band worked just as well today, as it did in my bedroom in the 80s on cassette – some of the tracks were a little dated but maybe retro is the word to use nowadays.

The Black Smoke Band were top notch and some perfect guitar solos and banging percussion.

I love the long pieces like the “Horsell Common and the Heat Ray” but the more popular and well know “Forever Autumn” got the most reaction from the audience- it’s a shame that the falling leaves from the ceiling did not reach us 😉

A great “modern/interwebby” audience participation feature was that punters were asked to Tweet to the shows stream @twotwofficial and certain ones where picked to appear on the giant screen at the back in the break.

It was a great way to engage the audience in the interval and we got a few “I Love you Jason” and “Terry from Barry visiting the show with his mum”, a few of mine ended up on screen as well – which was nice.

Waiting for @twotwofficial to start the food/drink prices are not the only thing out of this world (@ Cardiff International Arena)less than a minute ago via foursquareuncle wilco
unclewilco

@twotwofficial brilliant prod rock with 3d wossnamesless than a minute ago via TweetDeckuncle wilco
unclewilco

Anyway tickets may be still available for the rest of the tour, its not cheap but if you are a fan well worth it.

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Categories
Beer

Spoons have “gone to far” with their price rises this time & Christmas Ales

Popped in the Gatekeeper to keep warm today and notice this outrageous promotional poster 😉

IMAG0469

on the plus side they are still doing their great selection of Christmas Ales and terrible but very British Puns

“Full of Christmas Cheer from Daniel Thwaites” Was the quaintly names Santa’s Sack a gorgeous Dark full falvoured ale at a easy drinking 4.2 ABV

Santa's Sack

and the other week I had these great ones as well

Exmoor EXMAS “There’s NOALE LIKE IT” a nice full bodied with a fruity hint

IMAG0457

And the excellent Adnams Yuletide

Adnams Yuletide

the downside to these ales is their lower ABV then I would really want from an Christmas ale, but I suppose they are going for general drinkers, but they are very drinkable.