I learnt nothing today

I learnt nothing

When my girls were much younger, I would greet them on my return from what passed as work and ask them about their day. “What did you learn today?” I would ask. The answer, from one or both of them, was invariably “nothing”. “What?” I would say, “you have been through the day and there is nothing that you now know that you did not know this morning?” And, of course, it is not possible to go through a day where you have not gleaned some piece of information about the world.

An amusing piece from Twitter

But there are days when not a lot seems to happen and today is one of those days. I have been a-struggling to write a piece for that pinnacle of journalistic endeavour, The Beagle, about the recently deceased Phil May. He was the co-founder of one of the most under-rated bands in the history of rock and roll, namely the Pretty Things. This will be published separate from these daily reflections and if you are fortunate enough to see it then you can judge whether it’s any good. I have no doubt that my pal Macman will put me right on matters of fact and will provide opinions on those matters that are not factual.

For some reason this piece on the Pretties did not flow. Usually I can rattle off a thousand words in a trice. But perhaps it is because the day is grey and overcast that the words did not flow as I would have liked. It is equally possible that the effort expended in making the granola was more than a body can bear. I have a list of things that I should be writing about but for some reason, but things always seem to get in the way. Procrastination is a wonderful vice.

I was able to catch on the Beer Cartel Advent Calendar last night. I had missed the Friday beer due to the visit by The Neighbours. The Friday night drop was from a brewery called, amusingly, Willie the Boatman who are based in St Peters in Sydney’s inner west. This was called Sex on the Beach and it was a sour. It was not a bad drop at 4.2%, not as sour as a Wildflower, say, but a solid beer.

The actual Sunday beer was a Two Birds beer. Two Birds is a brewery in Victoria and, as its name implies, it is owned and operated by two birds. It claims to be the first female-owned brewery in Australia, and I can well believe that. I had heard news of this pair in Froth magazine (a monthly magazine for drinkers of fine ale) and was keen to try this one. And it was very tasty. Lots of flavour. It was a hazy ale and particularly refreshing. A good one.