ozzieeagle

Yehp had some of that in the bottle also some Wells Bombadier on tap very nice indeed ..... Check out the 2015 Weatherspoons year book and their beer of the year is.... Two Birds Golden Ale from Melbourne.

I think craft beer in Aus has well and truly caught up and probably matched and obviously surpassed it on certain levels.

50 Australian beers at one of the closest pubs to where I live. Just a pity it's so damn expensive. So on the price factor it's far far easier and accessible to get good beer in the UK. But I reckon I actually have more beer choices locally back in Melbourne, which is quite amazing. There are a lot of independent brewers now.

Here actually....

The Woodlands Hotel

ozzieeagle

Torquay and Bonsall (Peak District) were fantastic......In fact I drove right across the top of the Peak District today. Certainly got my fill of things I never experienced when I lived in the UK. I saw the Peak district via my fairly well to do Cousins place in Bonsall and we had a couple of days of road trips and pubs. His house was perfect, complete with appropriate antique furniture and comfortably fitted out house, indulged in Chatsworth farm shop produce.... So I've had a taste of the country life done well. He and his wife were great company as well... especially as I've only seen him a couple of times in the last 36 years.

I don't feel the need to do it again though, or that I've missed out on something that I'll always want.

Been there done that..... The 'what if' question has evaporated now.

Had my best beer yet....Thornbridge Jaipur.... Guess what, you can get it in Melbourne.

Pollyana

Doom Bar is rather tasty isn't it, one of my beers of choice whenever I'm home now

Swerv-o

You can apparently buy it in canned/bottled form here, but it's brewed in Burton-on-Trent, not in Cornwall...


S

Amazulu

I had a couple of pints of Korev Cornish lager over there last year. Very nice ot was but not cheap

ozzieeagle

Tribute is good as well

I think beer is something that Aus is now suffering from unnecessary cultural cringe.... Plenty of good local craft beers in pubs now especially Pale ale and IPA's.

BadgeIsBack

Wouldn't say there was even cultural cringe : there's a myriad of Pale ales which I drink.

Ozzie, I've been following your posts with interest.
When you imply there is suspicion about yourself in places is it that you are a stranger of sorts who is an Englishman on one hand but has been out for a generation. Do people think you are telling fibs? Do they question your story?

Massive generalisation, and G will be on to me and say it's the same in Aus, but I find that on first meeting, English people are more suspicious of a new arrival, esp in a pub etc, it's a sort of interested but guarded wary suspicion which does not last long. Also Londoners are often seen at worst, as wide boys in the way Northerners are seen as gobshites (ie as bad as each other).

Aussies seem to be more apathetic not fussed either way so you can pop up and no one is offended either way, a sort of tolerance.

Cheers

Beoz

Good post. Avatar not available on phone.

ozzieeagle

Wont be near a computer after today... So wont post properly until I'm back in Melbourne.

Sitting here summing up this trip. The England I had wanted to be in does exist, but it's damn difficult and inaccessible and so expensive that it really is for a select few. Even if I had the necessary funds to keep in the manner and comfort to which I've become accustomed in Aus, I'd still have to face the issue of overcrowded carparks and roads and everywhere else.

So the idea of a few months of every year in a potential UK pad, is now sadly over. I think my wife is relieved I've come to that conclusion.

I've also been unlucky with my eating out unfortunately.... must have trainee chefs on i the week or something. No excuse for burnt or undercooked food eh. I'm not one that complains at the time either, living by the philosophy that I wont go back to that venue if I have an issue in Aus. That attitude wont work for me on this trip obviously... except maybe I can apply it to the whole country.

Worst food I had was here.... be warned.... You can tell by the venue how disappointed I was that became the outcome. There again, I'd say their best chefs aren't available at midday on a Tuesday.... It must have been cooked by a 17 yo learn on the job school leaver.

Barley Mow


Dont ever ever ever order Steak in England. I stupidly tried 3 times. Only woke up to the fact after the 3rd time that a 6oz or 8oz steak is impossible to cook well, on account of the restaurateurs cutting it so thin to make it look more substantial on the plate. How I managed to get 3 x 35day old steaks so tough is a bit of a mystery to me. Wonder how they do that ????

Tr1boy

Not much point in getting into a back and forth but yours and Steveenglish' experiences have been very different to where I live. I guess you've both been extremely unlucky!

However, the bit of your post I've left does resonate with me. We don't live in a particularly crowded part of the UK and may have an opportunity live in an even less crowded part soon ( Dorchester area) but when discussing with Mrs TB, I do come back to this point you've raised. My 25 yrs in Sydney has always seen me live in a more crowded situation than any of the places I have lived in the UK or any other country I've lived in ( except Colombia).

There is however, something fundamentally different about the way things are crowded here, and I can't put my finger on it but it's something that makes me hesitant about handing over £400k for a house which would have a double garage and be detached, just to join the melee a few miles down the road.

I think the UK gets a lot of unfair criticism on here, mainly from those that can't see any negatives about Oz but as I wrote in the MBTTUK forum, we are nearly done with the UK and I can't exactly tell you why. Everything on paper is good for us here, we don't struggle, have a nice life and good friends but something isn't gelling whereas it was before.

I suspect it's having our child and looking at things differently but I don't know for sure. Having read about other peoples experience, I'm glad we live where we live in the UK and we seem to have it good and for that I'm grateful.

But,,,,,,,,,

Beoz

I felt that way when I left the UK ...... London specifically. I love so many aspects of living in the UK and I will do it again some day, but there was something specific that wasn't quite gelling at the time. I think after my time away and several visits back I can put my finger on it now. The lack of sunshine over a long periods of winter. I think it does something to the contentment levels.

jad n rich

Safe journey back Ozzie. Its hard where is best. Especially with kids in one place. melb seems very crowded and hideously expensive if you need the inner circles and uk the same for you. Always Qld and Tasmania depending on ones taste for climate. Look at the sunshine coast, hideously cheap acerage close to every facility. Idyllic too beach mountains rainforest rolling hills .

Pollyana

I could do Tassie like a shot, but its the age old problem here, no work.

ozzieeagle

Dubai.....at least it's quiet

Pollyana

And finally....Welcome home matey