WATERY BEGINNINGS
Week 27 nearly didn't happen at all after my afternoon walk around York found me ignoring this sign just outside the Golden Ball pub, thinking it had probably been left there since the year 2000.......
Continuing my progress down towards Skeldergate, I soon realised I couldn't walk in either direction, and for a moment, I thought I'd need the York Sea Cadets to ferry me home. With the water lapping at my feet, I reversed quicker than an ungraceful dump truck and retraced my steps to Wotsit Towers.
Typical, the rest of the UK are basking in a winter wonderland and I'm here in the wettest place since Venice, not the merest flake of snow anywhere to be seen. Boo, now I needed a lie down, and that meant a 6:45pm WWWSI start, which meant a late wine finish, which meant a worse hangover on Friday morning. It can all be traced back to the floods. Boo York, boo.
WOTSIT WEEK
It has been a great week for the humble Wotsit. Trending on Twitter as recently as Tuesday last, sadly not due to #WWWSI (who'd want to 'trend' anyway, sounds terrifying!) but because a lad from Lincoln called Dan did this rather genius manoeuvre.
We had a nice little Wotsit appreciation exchange, I wondered if he might join our merry band of followers, he didn't, and then Hull City thumped Accrington Stanley 3-0, knocking his beloved Imps off their perch, is that the mildest form of karma ever?
I only rolled a '1' this week, though my hand was unsteady during the weighing of the Giant Wotsits, and it may have been more like 20g than the 16.5g that this should represent.
In fact, the Wotsit dice roll has been 'kind' to me of late, or it cruel, not enough 5's or 6's so I'm sure to have jinxed it now.
THAT'S WHEN GOOD NEBBIOLOS BECOME GOOD FRIENDS
We stayed in Italy for a second consecutive week, with this little beauty of the Nebbiolo grape variety.
Another weather phenomenon beginning with an 'F' gives this grape its name, 'nebbia' meaning fog.
It was strangely rusty in colour as I poured it into the glass, and the taste was proper complex, all sorts of craziness going on that my tastebuds couldn't handle. Liquorice, chocolate, spice, truffles, black tar? If ya say so Wine Book! 14% meant it was quite a brusier too. Very enjoyable, but no surprise it recommended I pair it with some of the most ambitious #WWWSI foodstuffs to date!
OUT FOR A DUCK
You can tell I'm not spending my hard earned wonga on extortionate train fares, pints and rural taxis when I can add 'duck' to the #WWWSI food alumni.
Not just that, but a mushroom risotto with truffle oil & parmesan. Flippin' eck, this took a bit of prep so I put my original Western mixtape on (thanks Matthew) and got both sides A and B listened to in full.
The duck came out pretty decent.
But the risotto went a bit wrong, NOT that I followed the recipe. The flavours were there. But the rice was too chewy, and it was more oily than creamy. Overstretching myself perhaps, scotch eggs and dairylea lunchables next week? Well, let us hope that the Red Wine book says so.
.....AND BREATHE
So quite a relief when I could actually sit down and watch the film, a little after 8pm.
This week we were watching a film 90 years later than last week's 1924 effort, Greed. The Homesman from 2014 is, according to Rotten Tomatoes, the 34th best western out there. But the 52% audience approval rating is the 3rd lowest in the top 100. Uh oh!
Luckily for me, I really enjoyed this one. Whilst the whole thing had the atmosphere of a wild, barren slog at times, it didn't drag.
We had Hilary Swank, a fine independent woman living in this backwater village a bit like Clophill, Bedfordshire. She wanted to get married all the same, but the men all thought she was plain and bossy! Charming. The menfolk were pathetic anyway, so it was up to her to take these three troubled women across the vast wilderness where Meryl Streep was waiting with a kind expression on her face to take them in.
Hilary encountered Tommy Lee Jones, hanging from a tree. She cut him down on the basis he helped her with this task. He was a bit of an ungrateful tosser at times, but he warmed to the task, and even set fire to the only pub in the film because the staff and clientele were a bit unfriendly, and the only handpull had gone off. We've all done it, let's be honest.
At one point, a tired Scandinavian woman quizzed her Mum on her favourite character in The Sooty Show .......
Then there was a 'twist' which made my jaw drop to the floor and for me, that is why I'd class it as a great film, though I suspect may have upset the audience hence the 52% rating. Recommended if you haven't seen it.
NEW FOLLOWERS & SECOND ROUND CUP DRAW
A record FIVE new followers in one week to tell you about, we're building up a real head of steam now and I don't mean the decent but fairly nondescript pub chain.
First up, Chris Moran (squad number 58). A good friend of Quosh, had an epic Friday night pub crawl around all those lovely East Lancs towns with them and half of Chris Dyson. Lovely chap, felt like I'd known him ages by end of the evening. Secondly, we have Mairi Spaceship (#59) who may've noticed me as a result of the Wotsit trending fiasco. Mairi is into online gaming, especially women's role in what is probably a very male dominated industry. And as a result of her follow, Glitchers (#62) followed suit, a mobile game company who've made socially conscious classics such as Plunderland, Sea Hero Quest and Chippy. Mark Shirley (#60) is this week's 'marquee signing' (£200k from Kettering or summat), no one knows more about Northamptonshire pubs probably, and he's a witty chap too. And last but not least, BRAPA pre-emptive pub of the year, my friends the Hop Inn, Hornchurch (#61) love them so much. Their mascot WIM is BFF's with BRAPA mascot Col the Cauli. If that last sentence gave you an aneurysm, I do apologise.
So welcome all five, but for you 32 long term followers who won your first round #WWWSI Trophy matches (or got a flukey bye), here is the 2nd round draw for next weekend, all games Sat 3:45pm unless stated. The overall winner of course, will win the Golden Wotsit Trophy with a free bag thrown in.
Citra (Mick) v Matthew Thompson (Sat 12 noon, live on Quest from Hartley Wintney F.C.)
Becca Robertshaw v Ben Bales
Pub Ticker v Dyfed Lloyd Griffiths
Pour Some More Beer & Wine v Glasnevin Beers
Ellie Fin v Joanna Miller
About Western Movies v Dave Basic
Joydip Basu v George Poulton
Donald Murison v Emily Keith
Scott Johnson v Ed Wray
Katie Fuller v Roger Protz
Dave Southworth v Reg Veg (Sun 3pm, live from TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis)
Duncan Mackay v Tony Lea (Sun 3pm, live from Love Street, Paisley)
Christine Andrew v John Watson (Sun 3pm, live from the Easy Buy Stadium, Barton)
Eddie Fogden v Tim Thomas (Sun 3pm, live from Black Rock Stadium, Wakefield)
Si Everitt v Matthew Lawrenson (Sun 3pm, live from Wotsit Towers Rec Ground, York)
Good luck all, apart from Lawrenson obvs. Next week's film is Blackthorn, food & wine come from Sicily, Wotsits TBC and it might happen on Wed 27th Jan as I have a day off work woopy doops.
Ciao for now, Si