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Let's Take A Look In Mopatop's Shop
Sep. 5th, 2016 11:03 pmIt's been a busy couple of days, what with Wolfie's birthday at the beginning of the month, but my mind has frequently wandered towards our proposed move to Germany. In an ideal world, I would like to move to Berlin in January, before the triggering of Article 50 when I think our right to free movement will ultimately be curtailed (although I accept that nothing has yet been set in stone and everything is very much still up in the air). Of course just upping sticks and moving is not that simple, particularly as I have a house and life here, and there is no guarantee that should we move there we won't be sent back again based on whatever arrangement is eventually agreed. Having scouted around the area last month and having looked at apartments, I do know it's financially viable, but I am reticent to leave my current place of employment as it's an excellent job with a fantastic work ethos. They have been - and indeed still are - incredibly supportive, and although they have told me that they would try and accommodate the move, I do want to be fair to everyone, particularly as I owe them so much. I have started looking for alternative employment, with moderate success, and I have been busy polishing my German as this would obviously be advantageous, but the ideal scenario would be that I can do my current job over there particularly as this is also the option which carries the least risk. Of course, I also have to consider Wolfie too, which is one of the reasons why no firm decision is likely to be made until around Christmas time as he has commitments too. However, since coming back from Berlin a fortnight ago, my heart has increasingly been aching for the move and I have started to feel I have somewhat outgrown Leeds. I do love the city, but I have been here nearly seven years and perhaps it's time for a new adventure. I certainly don't think there's a mid to long-term future for me in the UK.
One of the things I will miss, should we leave, is the beer and we are right now in the middle of Leeds Beer Week. Fortuitously, there was an event on Thursday evening which meant we could celebrate Wolfie's birthday rather uniquely. It was a beer and whisky pairing session at Lazy Lounge, run in collaboration between the Bad Co Brewing Company and the Yorkshire Fellowship of the Still, a whisky appreciation society run by a Portuguese man which we didn't even know existed. They meet every first Thursday of the month to sample some whiskies and while I am not a huge fan of Scotland's favourite alcoholic beverage, Wolfie is, which is why I thought this would be a good present for his birthday. I normally struggle drinking whisky, particularly peaty ones which set off my acid reflux, but three of the four sampled on Thursday were smooth enough for me to manage. Two of the beer pairings worked quite well - particularly the porter and sweet whisky which was akin to a sugary cappuccino - but two of them were a little off. We were given talks about all of the beers and whiskies, while we were encouraged to give feedback and enjoy the range of flavours and styles on show. We were advised to drink the beer first, then the whisky, but you could combine it whichever way suited you best, and indeed the revelation was drinking the two simultaneously, particularly when the flavour profiles complimented each other. There was a lot to drink though - four cans of beer and four generous double shots of whisky (which kept being topped up) - so by the time we left some 90 minutes after the scheduled ending of the event, we were quite trollied. We were even given some beer to take home with us - seven bottles/cans in all - making the £21 price incredibly good value. As it was Wolfie's birthday, we went to BrewDog to get his free beer, meaning he only spent £3 on the whole evening, having picked up some sundries with his free Bar Burrito with which he had started the night. We are now considering going down to the whisky society every first Thursday, if only to try some more whiskies, but as the group organiser said, Leeds is not as much of a whisky town as Manchester or Sheffield so variety can be quite slim.
On Friday, we scheduled a meal with friends at Smoke Barbecue just opposite the Arena. We had never been here before so we thought it would be a rather good place to try, and so it proved. Unfortunately, Adia and Soma could not make it due to fever, but the usual crew were there and we were soon enjoying huge meat platters, excellent fries and a range of other sundries. Indeed, the food was quite mountainous and most struggled to finish, although my sausage was a little smaller, enabling me to have just the right amount. I am not a huge fan of general meat places as ribs and brisket aren't really my sort of thing, and so it proved here, contrary to everyone else's experience. The sausage was nice, but I may venture for something else next time, while Wolfie particularly enjoyed his free birthday cocktail made from Jack Daniel's and something lemony. He was also given a range of minion presents again, a little to his frustration, but I think he is enjoying the minion kigu as he is wearing it right now. I got him a card with Ha-Pea Birthday written on it, while I even got my Russian colleague to write a message in Russian inside. Marvelous. The meal was a great opportunity to catch up as a group, particularly as I feel we have drifted apart of late, perhaps because we don't have a focal event like the Gasworks any more. For some reason, most people had to leave rather early, leaving just Taneli, Wolfie and myself out by 10pm so we headed over to Shear's Yard for a final drink before heading back home ahead of what turned out to be a rather sedate and quiet weekend.
One of the things I will miss, should we leave, is the beer and we are right now in the middle of Leeds Beer Week. Fortuitously, there was an event on Thursday evening which meant we could celebrate Wolfie's birthday rather uniquely. It was a beer and whisky pairing session at Lazy Lounge, run in collaboration between the Bad Co Brewing Company and the Yorkshire Fellowship of the Still, a whisky appreciation society run by a Portuguese man which we didn't even know existed. They meet every first Thursday of the month to sample some whiskies and while I am not a huge fan of Scotland's favourite alcoholic beverage, Wolfie is, which is why I thought this would be a good present for his birthday. I normally struggle drinking whisky, particularly peaty ones which set off my acid reflux, but three of the four sampled on Thursday were smooth enough for me to manage. Two of the beer pairings worked quite well - particularly the porter and sweet whisky which was akin to a sugary cappuccino - but two of them were a little off. We were given talks about all of the beers and whiskies, while we were encouraged to give feedback and enjoy the range of flavours and styles on show. We were advised to drink the beer first, then the whisky, but you could combine it whichever way suited you best, and indeed the revelation was drinking the two simultaneously, particularly when the flavour profiles complimented each other. There was a lot to drink though - four cans of beer and four generous double shots of whisky (which kept being topped up) - so by the time we left some 90 minutes after the scheduled ending of the event, we were quite trollied. We were even given some beer to take home with us - seven bottles/cans in all - making the £21 price incredibly good value. As it was Wolfie's birthday, we went to BrewDog to get his free beer, meaning he only spent £3 on the whole evening, having picked up some sundries with his free Bar Burrito with which he had started the night. We are now considering going down to the whisky society every first Thursday, if only to try some more whiskies, but as the group organiser said, Leeds is not as much of a whisky town as Manchester or Sheffield so variety can be quite slim.
On Friday, we scheduled a meal with friends at Smoke Barbecue just opposite the Arena. We had never been here before so we thought it would be a rather good place to try, and so it proved. Unfortunately, Adia and Soma could not make it due to fever, but the usual crew were there and we were soon enjoying huge meat platters, excellent fries and a range of other sundries. Indeed, the food was quite mountainous and most struggled to finish, although my sausage was a little smaller, enabling me to have just the right amount. I am not a huge fan of general meat places as ribs and brisket aren't really my sort of thing, and so it proved here, contrary to everyone else's experience. The sausage was nice, but I may venture for something else next time, while Wolfie particularly enjoyed his free birthday cocktail made from Jack Daniel's and something lemony. He was also given a range of minion presents again, a little to his frustration, but I think he is enjoying the minion kigu as he is wearing it right now. I got him a card with Ha-Pea Birthday written on it, while I even got my Russian colleague to write a message in Russian inside. Marvelous. The meal was a great opportunity to catch up as a group, particularly as I feel we have drifted apart of late, perhaps because we don't have a focal event like the Gasworks any more. For some reason, most people had to leave rather early, leaving just Taneli, Wolfie and myself out by 10pm so we headed over to Shear's Yard for a final drink before heading back home ahead of what turned out to be a rather sedate and quiet weekend.
