Life Is Good But The Beer Was Off

Some good, some bad, some more good.

First the good:

While walking Rosie this morning I saw a man sat on his doorstep, drinking tea. The air was grey with mizzle and he sat in the shelter of his doorway stroking a cat and looking down the steep steep hill across the rooftops towards the hard-to-see sea. On his face was a warm 'life is good' smile. I said "g'morning" and he said "morning" back. We were both right.

Now the bad:

I spent the last two days in Oxford, which was good, especially the trip up the Cherwell on a pedalo. The bad is that on arriving in Oxford the first thing we did was go for a drink at The Trout. For those of you unfamiliar with The Trout, it's on the bank of the Thames in the village of Wolvercote, just north of the city. I used to cycle up there a lot when I lived nearby and then wobble home along the towpath. It was always good for real ales, the garden on the riverbank and a feeling of simplicity.

The bad is that The Trout now is an overblown lager bar so thoroughly 'restored' it looks like a cross between a low-roofed barn and a sofa showroom inside and where there used to be a wealth of real ales served by bar staff who cared about them, they now have only two ales on tap; the Timothy Taylor Landlord (always good) was off and the Brakspear tasted sour. It was the worst beer I have ever had. Ever. Inspector Morse would have turned in his grave.

The girl behind the bar (she was so young I had to ask for her ID before I'd let her serve me) offered me a lager instead. For the first time in my life, I left half a pint on the table and left a pub unhappy. A lovely bottle of Hobgoblin from a shop we passed on the way to our friends' house was as much as I could do to put things right. Plus I promised myself that I would blog my disappointment.

Now the good again, this morning:

Further up the hill I passed a garden that I'd snuck into and photographed in the spring. At some point soon it's due to be flattened along with the bungalow it surrounds and three executive homes will be built there. But this morning there was birdsong from somewhere inside, despite the dampness of the weather, and the bird seemed to be saying 'life is good' too. In fact the whole garden had an aura of 'life is good today', and so it is. It made me think this: yesterday is done with, today we can appreciate for what it is, and tomorrow, who knows? It's not an original thought, I know, but it was a good one to have while walking the dog in the rain.

The picture above was taken in Kidlington, at our friends' house. Is it graffiti? I think so - I don't think it was an intended part of the decor. I won't post a map link to where they live, as that would be odd.