Stocklinch Ales

Last night myself and most of the usual suspects went to visit a newly opened micro-brewery in the village of Stocklinch just outside of Ilminster.
It was started earlier this year by Kevin Jones a former builder and property developer after the building trade had declined. He had been brewing on a small scale for years and had refined his craft by working with the Town Mill Brewery in nearby Lyme Regis for the past two years.
When Manor Farm in his home village became available he saw it as an opportunity not to be missed and created the Stocklinch Ales Brewery.

We arrived by taxi around 7.45pm and were shown the brewing equipment before getting stuck into the ales on offer. The brewery has a license to sell beer for one week per month and tonight was the last night it was open until the end of October.
I started with a Black Smock, named after a Sedgemoor Pub that Kevin and his wife used to visit and is a dark 5% porter/stout with a nice malty aroma and a very drinkable quality. This was recently given 3rd place at the Tamworth beer festival.
I then went for a Rusty Boiler at 4.5% which was a mid brown best bitter but not an immediate favorite. The third ale on offer was Ramblers Gold at 3.7% which some of us had sampled at the recent Minehead Beer Festival.. As the name suggests its a golden ale with a light and refreshing taste.
I was disappointed that Jolly Green was off as I was looking forward to trying it but it gives us an excuse to go back again.
I tried another pint of the Black Smock before Kevin tapped a new barrel of the Rusty Boiler for us. This was much better and and tasted really good fresh from the barrel.
We ended up staying until quite late and had a very enjoyable time, Roll on the 31st October and opening time again.

Signs of Autumn

Yesterday afternoon I managed to get down to Seaton Marshes for a couple of hours birding. I went first to the Island hide but it was relatively quiet with very few waders on view, the most interesting being two Green Sandpipers and a Ringed Plover.
Whilst I was there around a hundred Hirrundines,mostly Swallows flew through, skimming over the water as they made their way south and warmer climes. A sure sign that Autumn is on its way.
I then walked up the path past Stratford Marsh to Colyford Common. This was much better with a two Ruff, a Greenshank, two Dunlin and a Wood Sandpiper. They were all too far away for any photo opportunities though.
This brought my pathetic year list total up to 174 and It looks like I'll not make 200 for the second year running.

Seaton Marshes looking towards the town

Duck Season

Last night the Hustlers played our second game of the season against the Skylarks on the Perry Street Club number two alley. The alley played no better than Monday when the Jockeys played there and was again a close fought contest until the final hand.
We were chasing this time and our opponents started with a score of 72 pins which we passed with 79 and both points. The next hand was a closer affair and we lost 2 of our 7 pin lead when we only hit 75 to their 77 and shared the points one each.
The next hand was a disaster for me as I managed to score a 'duck' and a 5 but we still managed to overtake the Skylarks score of 67 by one pin and again shared the points one each.
Their last hand was only 68 so it left us with 63 to win which we breezed past with a score of 95 that included a 'flopper' (all 9 pins down in one ball) for Nick, our stand in captain and meant we won the game by 33 pins and 14-2 on points to maintain our winning start to the season.

Winsham and Lose Some

On Monday night the Jockey's played skittles at home to the Bell Bandits from the Bell Inn in nearby Winsham. The alley was playing very hard and it was a close low scoring game which we ended up losing by 7 pins but winning the points on  5 out of the 6 hands.
We were playing first but didn't quite leave our opponents enough on the last hand with their target of 92 to win so we shared the points 5-7.
I started well with a 7 & 9 but got progressively worse and finished on 37, my lowest score of the season so far.
Ale on offer tonight was a new one for me with Brains SA Gold at 4.3%. It was a full flavoured and slightly hoppy golden ale and was quite refreshing. It was launched in 2006 and was the Champion Beer of Wales Silver award winner in 2008

For Two Pins.......

Last night the Jockey's played skittles over the border at the Squirrel Inn against the Chard Nomads. The Nomads, Last years league champions are currently using the Squirrel Inn whilst their home alley, the Cotley Inn is being refurbished.
We were put on second and the Nomads came in with a score of 108 on their first hand.. We then replied with 101 but were unable to take the points. The Nomads kept up the pressure with another big hand of 102  which we then matched sharing the points.
Their last hand was 99 giving us a slight chance with 107 required to win. We gave it a good go but fell short by two pins finishing on 105 but taking the last two points.
I maintained my good start to the season hitting 48 which included my third 'spare' of the season.
The Pub though had a rather 'down-at-heel' feel to it with many of the beers off as they had run out. There was one ale left though with Branscombe Vale at 4.7%

A Game of Two Halves

Last night the Hustlers skittle team began the defence of last years league title with our first match of the season against the Young Guns.
We started steadily with a hand of 81 but our opponents came back with a score of 83 and both points. We improved on the second hand with 89 but again, thanks to a couple of 'spares' they took the hand with 94 and both points again.
We upped our game again on the third hand with 91 and we still hadn't hit a 'spare'. The Young Guns however had two more spares and hit 99 with both points again. We were now 15 pins down and had no points, not a good start to our campaign.
The last hand saw us hit 100 thanks to a fantastic spare from our 'anchor man' Steve P, hitting the right hand corner and sending it over to the left hand back second and making a 13. This left our opponents 86 to win but surprisingly they could only manage to hit 79 and we won the game by 6 and by 10 points to 6.
I had another good night hitting 67 without a spare to finish top score.

On another subject the result from the Minehead Beer Festival saw the Quantock Brewery scoop the 'Beer of the Festival' with their Rourkes Drift at 4.2%. Sadly the tasting notes say that its a 'Light refreshing lager style beer' which is why I didn't go anywhere near it on the day !

Two in a Row

Last night the Jockey's played the Club Jokers in our second game of the season. We started first and posted a score of 89. The Jokers then could only manage 69 so we were 20 pins up on the first 'hand'
Our second hand was 2 pins better including a 13 'spare' from me.
The Jokers improved their second hand to 84 but were now 27 pins behind. We then hit 89 again to leave them 116 to win but they fell well short and we ran out winners by 40 pins and 11 points to 1.
Our second win in a row and the best start to a season for many years.
Beer on offer tonight was the usual Sharp's Doombar !

Minehead Somerset CAMRA Beer Festival

Yesterday I and a few others went to the Somerset CAMRA's Beer Festival at Minehead. I had organised a minibus to take me and fourteen others from Tatworth and Chard to Bishop's Lydeard and the West Somerset Railway to catch the 10.25am Steam Train.

The train left on time and meandered through the Somerset countryside with us enjoying our first beers of the day. The buffet car was stocked with several bottled ales and Exmoor Ale on cask. I went for Glastonbury Ales and Lady of the Lake an amber ale at 4.2% with hints of vanilla and fruit.
We arrived in Minehead a few minutes late at 11.45am and immediately joined the long queue to get our glasses and tokens.
I had as usual made a list of the beers I wanted to try and headed off to get my first choice, Thornbridge's Sequoia at 4.5%. This was an American amber ale with hints of caramel,roasted hazelnuts and toffee and was very drinkable and a good choice to start the day.
Next up was Marble Ales Lagonda Trial 7 which was not in the program but was on the substitutions board. I suspected that this was the same ale that I had tried at the GBBF in London last month and it was. It was again absolute nectar and I already knew that it would probably be my Beer of the 'Fest.

The Marble Arch, Manchester

Marble Ales are fast becoming one of my favourite brewery's and I was lucky enough to visit the pub that is attached to the brewery back in March. I was under orders from my friend Andy J who couldn't attend this years 'fest due to other commitments to get a photo of our mate 'Dobber' drinking a pint of Marble Ales 'Dobber' so that was the next mission.

Dobber drinking Dobber

Back to the beers and my next choice was going to be Dark Star 'Kiwi' but it had been replaced so I went for the Partridge Best Bitter by the same brewery. It was a traditional best bitter at 4% and was an OK pint.
It was getting quite busy now so we found a quiet corner away from the bustle and a place to put our glasses and lean.

Beer number four was from our local brewery and the Windy at the Volunteer at Seavington, near Ilminster. This was a new beer called Hurricane, another IPA and very similar to the Lagonda but without the zesty citrus flavour but very good all the same. We later saw Colin the landlord and brewer from the 'Volly' and gave him some feedback on this new addition to his ale list.
Next was another new Somerset brewery and Devilfish. I had first tried this brewery's beers back in April at the Tucker's Maltings festival in Newton Abbot and this was another good brew. It was Apachi, another American pale ale at 5% and it was easy to see why it had won Beer of the Festival at Bath recently.

I was back to the Pale ales again with my sixth choice and Fubar from the Tiny Rebel brewery in Wales. It was though my least favourite of the day and the perfect impetus to get me onto some dark beers.
Beer number seven was from another new brewery for me and Angus Ales in Carnoustie in Scotland. As you would expect given their location all their ales have a golfing theme and I went for Driver Dark at 4.4% a full flavoured stout with roasted barley and chocolate malts.
I stayed with the dark side for beer number eight and the Hammerpot Brewery's Bottle Wreck Porter at 4.7%. This is a traditional black porter with chocolate,coffee and roast malt flavors, it was also a particular favourite amongst our crowd.

Trains and beer, what could be better !

My last festival beer was from the Mordue Brewery and their Northumbrian Blonde at 4.0%. It was a sweet and hoppy ale with a grapefruit and lemon aroma, but not very remarkable.
We always have a beer to take with us on the train home and I went back for my favourite and the one I voted for as Beer of the Festival, Lagonda Trial 7. We caught the train at 4.55pm and were back to be picked up by the minibus at 6.15pm.

Its been a long day !

Most of then got dropped off at The Cerdic in Chard for a meal before heading home. Not a great choice of beers here so I ended up with a Directors.
It had been a super day with great company and an excellent choice of ales. Roll on next year !

Friday 7th September

Last Friday was the first chance I had to get down to Lodmoor RSPB Reserve to see the Short-Billed Dowitcher.
I left work at 12.30pm and headed down to Weymouth arriving at the car park around 1.45pm. I started to walk up the reserve path but meeting another guy on the way back learn,t that the only view point to see the bird from was back up the road on the raised bank by the chipping centre.

The bird had apparently been in the centre of the reserve all day and was only showing intermittently.
There was a crowd of around thirty or forty people there already with scopes set up and I was soon set up beside them.
I had a wait of around 30 mins before the bird showed its self again and I was lucky enough to get two brief views when it moved through the vegetation. After that I had a couple more partial views as it stretched and preened.
I waited around for another hour or so but the bird seemed to have found a hiding place out of view and most of the crowd started to disperse.
Whilst I was there I found myself stood next to a guy who seemed vaguely familiar and when I got home I remembered who it was. It was Simon Emmerson the driving force behind the Imagined Village folk group, who is also a keen birder.

New Season

Last night was the first game of the new Three Counties Skittle League season. We played the Rogues at the Poppe Inn in Tatworth.
I got off to a great start with a 16 'spare' and from then on we were never behind in the game and ran out winners by 5 pins and by 10 points to 2.
I finished on 51 pins which is my best score at the Poppe for a long time.
Ales on tonight were (as is to be expected in a Hall & Woodhouse pub) Badger and Tanglefoot. I went for the Badger.

Today I should have been going to Newton Abbot Races with the Hustlers Skittle Team but on Thursday the meeting was called of due to a waterlogged course so I took the only course of action and went birding instead.
I saw on Birdguides last night that the long staying Woodchat Shrike was still at Wyke Regis just outside Weymouth so I sent a text to Andy G and asked if he wanted to try again. We had aborted a trip last week due to the weather.
We set off at 7.30am and had arrived at the Bridging Camp around 8.30am. We set off looking for the paddock with the "Keep out - Bull" sign that was mentioned in the report. On the way we saw a couple of Whinchats ans several Wheatears. We took up position by the sign and waited, and waited and waited.......and waited.
After around 90 minutes I saw a couple walking through one of the fields back towards the camp and saw them looking at something with binoculars. Scanning in the direction they were looking I saw the Shrike perched on the fence post for about a second before it moved off.
We walked back towards the Bridging Camp and soon had the 'Chat in our scopes. It had taken a while but we got the result in the end.
We then decided to try for a Wryneck that had been at Tidworth Rifle Ranges the day before. This was a new site for us but its one we will try again. It was 'alive' with Wheatear's and we also saw a Whitethroat and a female Redstart but no sign of the Wryneck.

Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)

Wheatear

 

 

We were then going to try for a Little Stint that had been reported at Lodmoor RSBP Reserve but a message came through on the phone that a Black Tern was at Abbotsbury and a Wryneck at West Bexington so we decided to go there instead.
We struck lucky with the Black Tern and saw it straight away as it flew over the meadow pool,we then pushed on for West Bexington and the Wryneck.
We again struck lucky and saw it within about 10 minutes of arrival on the main coast path.

Wryneck (Jynx torquilla)

We watched it for around 20 minutes as it moved between the reedbed and the beach.

After a while it was was joined by a Wheatear.

We eventually had to tear ourselves away and leave for home after what had been an excellent mornings birding.