The Egham United Services Club Beer Festival

In order to further my integration into English society I joined some of the UK squints at the Egham United Services Club Easter Beer Festival last night. The way it works is you visit the United Services Hall (one block from where we are staying here in Egham) pay 5 GBP (2 for a deposit on the festival glass, see above, and 3 for the entrance fee), you then pay 1.50 GBP per half pint. They have over forty of the "newest and most promising" ales on tap. It was quite an experience, I got to enjoy three unknown, but excellent ales (actually two ales and a porter). The place is sort of of ex-servicemen's club, in fact, the smell and look reminded me exactly of the folk's bowls club (Wedgewood) in the old country. There were all sorts of people, all pretty serious beer drinkers, who gazed lovingly into their pints and could discuss the pros and cons of hoppiness vs. alcohol content and such like (excellence in any form, I always say). As the evening wore on and the squints got more loquacious I found out all sorts of things about beer and serious drinking. The serious amongst you should be able to tell that the beer in the 2 pound festival glass above is not one of the on-tap beer festival delicacies, rather a regular Marston's Pedigree (Classic English Pale Ale) I bought at Tesco. The brother and I once visited their brewery in Barton-on-Trent.  It's quite good enough for me for the time being, I believe.

Keeping Pesach has not been a priority (or even possible) this year, what with the only thing to eat at work being sandwiches. So I did not feel too guilty about visiting the beer festival. Wait until I tell you about the Easter Parade, complete with a Salvation Army Band, hymns and Hot Cross Buns, we bumped into while shopping for sheets (what a punishment) in Staines today.