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#cloudbeers is an impromptu gathering of people that spend more time than they would necessarily like at tech conferences; and have an appreciation for the outputs of the fermentation process. There’s a Facebook group and the occasional …

A few years ago I was on the Tetbury Woolsack Committee, which organises the "internationally famous and world record breaking" Woolsack Races in that otherwise quite sleepy Cotswold town. As befits an event of such esteem, we generally …

It must have been the beetroot detox smoothie. After 6 months of what I believed was less than adequate preparation, including a pulled hip muscle in September and a fortnight of man-flu in February, and carrying a stone more than last …

In the pocket of my dog-walking coat was a small Lego trumpet. I vaguely recall how it had got there: it had been glinting on the road, I had reached down to pick it up, as much to see what it was as anything. Unthinkingly, I had pocketed …

Big Big Train, the band with the dumb name, playing nostalgia-laden music, seemingly derived from some forgotten glory years. But. Big Big Train, a symbol of determination, of uncompromising musicianship, of continuity. A decades-old band …

Some may have spotted that I have a thing about baking. As it happens, I also have a soft spot for the music of Big Big Train, and a repeated theme across the past few decades has been, believe it or not, beer. By happy coincidence, the …