Now I don’t have a strict mantra that I live my life by. But, and call me old fashioned here, the rule of ‘never drink an unknown liquid from an unmarked glass bottle found at the back of the kitchen cupboard’ has served me well thus far… But then again, they do say that some... Continue Reading →
When I was in secondary school, there was a rumour that overtook the corridors and canteen queues for a good week or so one summer. There was a buzz of excitement and a feeling of incandescent disbelief. A teacher had only gone and won the flipping lottery!… …or so he had told a class of... Continue Reading →
Down on my luck and with my back against the wind, I was literally down to my last few pennies. Whilst I had always been told that a life of gambling never pays - ‘the banker always wins’ and all that - I had entered the fray full of confidence and with a fist full... Continue Reading →
It turns out that we, as a nation, must have completely misheard the chanting amongst all of the excitement. It would seem that they were actually saying footballs coming ‘Rome’…not ‘Home’. Ah…Balls. (Pun intended). When I published my fuller review of Sky Wave Gin at the beginning of July 2021, we were captivated by the... Continue Reading →
And it was just before the moment of impact that my life flashed before my very eyes… You see, I had never been great at football. While my head tells me that I’m ‘Lionel Messi’, my brain to foot coordination ends up producing a display more befitting of a poor-mans Michael Flatley. Though it’s fair... Continue Reading →
5th February; a day that a ‘Very Special’ legend was born...I’ll admit that legend is a word that gets thrown around quite a lot. But in this case, I think it’s more than warranted! Now, despite also being born on 5th February, I hope that after getting to know each other over these last few... Continue Reading →
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you Matthew. The website states that it has been delivered and signed for, so it must be there!”... Oh dear. We had reached the point in the conversation where my full name was being used; my mom only calls me ‘Matthew’ when I’m in trouble or she is... Continue Reading →
Guilty pleasures - we’ve all got them. But ‘in the year that was’ 2020, a lesson learned for all of us is that perhaps we need to start considering pleasure as being guilt free? You know, time is short and life’s for living and all that. Take some of my personal experiences for example... I... Continue Reading →
I was recently stood in my kitchen staring at a message in a bottle. Though this was a very different kind of ‘SOS’ altogether... Rather than a cry for help, this was actually the latest gin drop to arrive from north of the border; SOS Gin, Scotland’s Other Spirit. I was recently very fortunate to... Continue Reading →
I saw his face drop, to punctuate an awkward silence, as soon as the words had passed my lips. It was a look that signaled both annoyance and despair, a difficult balance to strike but in this case masterfully executed. But you know what stung the most...the genuine sense of disappointment. Ouch! So what had... Continue Reading →
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