They do know the difference and I've seen a couple of the casks. They do have less after summer though, but still usually have around 5-6 even then. It's a place people go to drink, rather than to eat though.

Went back in March....The Fat Cat in Norwich. Oh my god, that place is heaven and I miss it every day!

Oh no, suddenly I'm home sick! The Fat Cat was wonderful. (as were a lot of other pubs in Norwich...)

...then there was the autumn beer festival... ('nuff sed)

I suspect it's all about timing and perception. When I left England (early 80s), outside of London you could not get a decent meal (other than an "Indian") without paying a fortune - and for that privilege, you would sit in a room full of stuffy people with stuffy waiters and could hear a pin drop. Most establishments (pubs, casual places, etc) and homes would boil all vegetables to death, and meat was just not appetizing. Salads were a joke (lettuce and salad cream, a radish or two, and a tomato). I remember despising cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots, etc.

From that situation, I moved to San Francisco, which was in the throes of a natural food revolution. Alice Waters was pioneering the natural food gig in Berkeley, and Asian restaurants were everywhere (Thai, Chinese, and Vietnamese). My taste buds were experiencing orgasms every day.

So for me, trips home were tortuous returns to bland, boiled, boring food (unless I could escape to the 'Indian'!).

I willing to believe that the UK has had it's own food Renaissance since then, with the same interest in local, natural, 'lightly cooked', etc. And I think the whole 'mad cow disease' event triggered a real improvement in beef. But my return visits were typically to my family 'up north' who always persisted in cramming as many boiled-to-oblivion vegetables onto a plate as possible, surrounding some poor cooked-to-death piece of chicken or beef.

Also when I left, it seemed obligatory to be in a bad mood if you worked in any kind of service industry, so any encounter with another person (shopping, bank, etc) was a pain. Again, this has improved over the years but not in time to change my impression.

Like I said - finally, the attitudes, the food, and even the driving have improved and my last trip was one of the very best!

Blighty update
[*]

• Asda is taking over Netto

• Its pouring in the Boro
• Had fish n chips from the local take away - bloody marvellous
• Making everyone I come into contact with sit through my wedding video
• My boro accent has come back with a vengeance - im gobsmaked at that mind!
• Lots of people waiting for the bus - in an orderly queue
• If you ask the bus driver for "the town" they know what you mean
• Everyone can understand me
• Noone has really asked me about America! Er where do they think I've been!!
• When i have been asked its all been about the food and the tele!
• Ive caught up with Emmers, Corro and Stenders straight away
• Noel is still going on Deal
• It gets dark at nearly 11pm and light at 3.30pm!!!! grrrr
• My mum has the heating on 25c!!!!

[/LIST][/LIST]

Going back for a visit tomorrow.

Will report back on dog shit and stabbings situation.

I wouldn't bother, we are quite literally fighting the Eastern Europeans back with dried dog shit missiles and you have no idea how hard that is having to always wear a stab vest!

While you are starving as the food is so terrible

Are the missiles made of white dog shit?

No, sadly the days of the white dog shit is over, we have "multicultural" dog shit now... all very PC.

Of course - I should have realised.

On the other hand, since the UK has gone to the dogs anyway, it must be nice to have a never ending supply of shit with which to make missiles . . .

Geronimo!!!!!

03:30 AM actually. Up here in Scotland it's been quite light by that time and when I was up in Dingwall, up beyond Inverness, it didn't get properly dark at all throughout the "night"....still a glow in the sky from the very late dusk to the very early dawn. A totally different story in mid December.

If Scotland opts for independence from Britain (not likely in the reality of a referendum) we may retain our own time zone up here, one hour behind England. That will cock up the train and air time tables between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley and Heathrow and Edinburgh.

Opps yeah - i meant 3am - im still jet lagged!!!!

Why on earth would it cock anything up? Trains and planes cross time zones the whole world over.