Unusually Cold

It has turned out unusually cold here at the top of Brewers Hill.

However, some regions across the United Kingdom reached -17 over the weekend.

Here's hoping that wherever you are, things are not too bad.

A cool clock

I came across this you tube video and just had to share it with you all.
It and the track are cool

Hi everybody- I'm back again

Hello one and all,
I must start with an apology, I have been away cruising the ports around the world, with a lovely long stay in Monaco, and I have returned to enjoy our fantastic U.K. winter weather.

Whilst I was away I took the opportunity to practice my photography and I have taken my appreciation of art to a higher level.

That's right, you guessed it, I have been taking lessons in how to produce and sell my own works of art.
Only small personalised items mind you but it's a start and I intend to eventually start selling my work on ebay.

I have also been taking lessons on how to sell other items on the internet with my own Upton Spoon, online shop which I'm going to call, well I don't know yet maybe I will call it "Upton Spoons" :)

Keep popping back to read how things get on.

Regards
Upton Spoon.

So one day soon, you my online friend, you could bid for and purchase one of my fine works of art

Hi Everybody

Hi Everybody,
I have once again returned from my travels and hope to send some time on the computer processing photographs to share with you.
What have you all been doing whilst I have been away, Write in and let me know.
Till next time, Bye for now.

I forgot to say

Hi again my good friends, How are you on this the first day of May?
A pinch and a punch,
the first of the month,
I'm rather thirsty
so I'm in the pub for me lunch.

After a sport of rain the sun has shone at last on those of us that are as we speak, in the Pub enjoying a nice pint of good Ale. Come on up, imbibe and enjoy yourself.


For some real "news" read on:

I have had such great feedback from you the visitors to my site about my travels and my critique that I have been asked to take my blog to the next level and host my own site and sell special Upton Spoon Item's, Maybe my own line of beer or tableware or a line of my own rather special natty attire.
what do you think?

Let me know in the usual way good readers.

I had to share this joke with you.

I've been sailing.

Hi there friends,
I apologise for the lack of posts on my blog, I have been away sailing on a friends sailing yacht in the Med.
We had an absolute ball of a time as you can probably well imagine.
Should anyone get the chance of a sailing trip of any chance abroad in the sun then my advice would be to jump at it.
It is hard work, of course, but what a way to get a deep suntan whilst getting fit and visiting far away places via a different route. None of that waiting around in airports you know, just sail into the local peurto, sign the harbourmaster's papers, pay the feee and get to the taverna.
What a lifestyle.

Well what's been happening whilst I have been away?

I see that young pike has copied me something dreadfully and started a Facebook page.

The new season Badgers is on sale and there's something wrong in the kitchen.
I came down last night for my evening meal and I can tell you, I was less than impressed.

I will have to investigate further, probably with more meals and copious amounts of ale, but the standard of the meal and the service has slackened off.

Maybe it's the credit crunch, maybe Charlie needs a holiday, maybe it's time for a change of tableware... I can't tell at the moment.

What I need really is assistance, Perhaps you should all get down to the Upton and order an evening meal and post me your opinions. I promise to post your comments here.
Anyway, that's enough for me

Those Australian Fire Pictures.

I am sure that we know by now that the most horrendous fires have burnt to a cinder a fair proportion of the state of Victoria in Australia.
No doubt there will be horrific and devastating pictures of the destruction available on the net in due course, if they are not already available.
I thought I would attach a photo sent to me by one of my fans of the Victorian countryside when the fires were first being reported.
I am unaware to to the resolution of the photograph or the zoom height in miles but it resembles the 50 mile high resolution you can get with Google Earth.
I don't know how many fire victim funds there are but the Red Cross is always a safe bet.
If anyone would like to donate to the Red Cross fund that has been set up they can do so here

Upton Inn Announces First Birthday Party

It will be as it says in the advert.
However there will be the added bonus of seeing Jamie drooling and fondling with his microphone when all my model girlfriends turn up and drape themselves all over me on table 25.

Come one come all, everyone is welcome to come and celebrate what is going to be one hell of a first Birthday bash.

See you all there.

Ever been to the (Motor) Races?

Have you ever wondered what a real live racing car circuit is like?

I am of course an advanced driver and I have driven some really fast and expensive cars in my time but I have never visited a racing circuit like Brands Hatch or Silverstone.

Being an International Jet-setter, with a round the world lifestyle, I recently travelled to Australia to attend the International Licensed Victuallers Association's "World Happy Hour Rules" summit. (a very important American lady, whose a bit of an old soak on the side, was there by the but this spoons too much of a gentleman to name her at this time as she is in recovery from loosing a certain nomination)
Anyway, my lady friend is a bit of a racing fan and she suggested a trip to Phillip Island Race track.

Phillip Island is one of the greatest MotoGP tracks in the world . The fast flowing nature of the 4.448 km circuit is apparently the reason that makes Phillip Island one of favourite MotoGP tracks among riders for the last 15 years. The one big drawback can be weather on this outpost of Victoria coastline . Heavy rain and winds can cause chaos at this time of the year to the Island, which is linked by a bridge to the mainland, some 100 kms south of Melbourne.

If you ever get the chance I would thoroughly recommend you visit the centre, take the tour and look around.

Biff Baff Boff - It got released

Well the good news is that the long awaited "I'm a Celebrity" record Biff Baff Boff finally got realesed. hurrah I hear you cry.
The bad news seems to be that you can only appear to buy it through itunes, mind you I have yet to get out of the pub and donw to asda to see if it's for sale there.
You can check out a sample of the song here
and if you do decide to buy it, well it's only £1:50p any way.

So come on every body, buy a copy and see if we can upset my good mate Simon Cowell by getting it right up there at the top of the charts.
[ I bet Simon's on his way round the Upton Inn to bash me as soon as he reads this :-) ]

A Belated Happy New Year 2009

Hi everyone, I'm back.
As is normal during December and January I have maintained my international Jet setting lifestyle and I have been abroad travelling the worl.
I have loads of photos and stories about the things that I have been up to while I have been away enjoying foreign parts.

I will be posting some of the more interesting pictures here over the next coming weeks.
There are so many to go through first though.

I must say a very very big THANK YOU to all of those you that visit my little place here on the Internet and contact me through e-mail to ask me questions.

To the hundreds of you that have posted asking where I am.
I say thanks for asking and for caring, please accept this blog posting as my answer to you for now.
There are so many it will take me some time to answer each and every one personally so please be patient as I get round to you.

HAPPY 20009

Fashion Picture Competition at the Upton

It's official, in the New Year there will be a fashion picture competition held at the Upton, just for fun. The winner might win a prize but seeing as I am so fashionable we always announce it as being for fun so there is no chance of anyone saying the result has been fixed :-)

Anyway, all you have to do is what I have done here, get a picture taken of yourself in your most fashionable T.shirt together with a current copy of your favourite newspaper.

I have started it off with a picture of me wearing the latest Badgers Promotional T-shirt with a copy of a Red Top Newspaper, I obviously don't qualify for page three !

Get your photos taken, male or female and send them to me here at my blog and they will all be published and the winner announced at the end of January.
As always, wet t-shirt photos are invited and accepted.

I will post all of the entries on our photo gallery, once it's up and running, for all to see and the winning entry will be posted on my facebook fan site which you can view here
Also don't forget that tonight's quiz is going to be extra special so make sure you arrive early to secure a table and adequate seating for your team as tonight the Upton will be full fit to burst.

Have you planned ahead?

I know you are going to goan at the thought of planning ahead. We are only days away from the fantastic Xmas Quiz Night and then Christmas itself and that is what is at the forefront of your mind, but you have to think now at what you are going to be doing to see the New Year in.

I have the answer, if your not going to be on a Fireworks Dinner and Cruise in Sydney Harbour that is.

Come to visit the Upton Inn, we are not like the rest, we are the Best.

For starters, we wont be clawing at your cash trying to sell you a ticket, Oh No. it's free.
But the amount of space available in the car park, and inside the pub is limited.

So, my advice to you, as a seasoned New Years reveller is:

Come in a pre booked taxi or mini bus that can pick you up around 1am.
Cut costs and come with a group of friends.
Come early because it is going to be packed to the ceiling with revellers wanting to enjoy all of the fun.
Pay for the buffet because it's going to be a long fun filled night that you will never forget.
and there's music provided by Disco Phil.

It's going to be a night to remember.

Don't Cry for me - Anthea Turner !

You just have to feel sorry for poor Anthea Turner, down to her last Million and only just managing to keep hold of her 5 million pound Mansion in Surrey due to the credit crunch.

Anthea popped into the pub last night to try and win the pub quiz top prize as she is desperate for cash.
I managed to have a chat with her in the function room.

Apparently Anthea has had to let her car washer go as she couldn't afford to keep him on, no doubt like her unpaid cleaner
( you didn't think she actually did any cleaning did you?) she will be sued for unpaid wages and a book will be out soon entitled "My life as Turners unpaid car cleaner-I knew she was on the fiddle".

Anyway, Anthea shed a tear as she told me how the Tax man was onto her after her business went bust, you know the one that illegally loans her money and then doesn't want the loan repaid!

Her business only had one client, her other business which has also gone bust.
Mind you I am not actually allowed to say that her Husband's business empire has gone bust as he will sue me for lying and defaming him for just even suggesting it, even though it has and the bank have seized his assets...Funny world isn't it?

Luckily though Anthea managed to squirrel away 1.2 million pounds before the bank foreclosed, that was lucky wasn't it?
What's more, Anthea is working her fingers to the bone and mixing with the low life, just for us, she says.
She has agreed to do TV adverts for pin money, even though that's beneath her!

Ever the diplomat I avoided asking anything personal like hows her Swiss mansion and simply pointed out to Anthea that the Quiz Night is held on a Monday Night not the Tuesday :-)

Can our Landlord Tell the Time?

Well it was inevitable really !

What with the Credit Crunch, the general malaise within the licensing trade and the way the Government is now slowly attacking the drinks Industry.
We have had a Happy "Hour" at the Upton Inn for little over a month now.
A fantastic idea and one brought in to make mid week drinking more affordable.
But an hour last for 60 minutes. What's that I hear you ask, is a pub hour made up of 150 minutes ?
Only between the hours of 4pm and 6:30pm dear readers :-)

However, don't let our Landlords (he's a lovely young lad really) counting problems put you off, we have electronic tills in the pub that calculate prices exactly. Next we are getting an electric razor for some body :-)

See you there soon.

David Van Day is a scream

I don't know if anyone has been following the Reality TV show "I'm a celebrity......." I have managed to see some off it between pints of Badgers Real Ale.
Anyway, 80's singing star David Van Day, having come fourth in the contest is now back in the UK and doing the rounds of TV talk shows. His send up of Nicola "Skelator" McLean on the show was absolutely brilliant.
What's even funnier is that the clip is on Youtube and someone has complained, stating that McLean is a "Legend"!!!!!!
Being the International Jet-setter that I am I managed to get down to London yesterday via Brighton, where he lives, and bumped into him long enough to say hi and have a chat about visiting Upton Cheney sometime soon.
I really hope we get DVD round the pub on a Monday night and get him to read out the questions. I reckon he would be an absolute scream.

A Big well done to David.

Cold and Crispy

Wow, what a great night it was last night at the Pub Quiz.
When I woke up this morning I looked out of the window and saw how cold and crispy it was I just had to take this photograph.
After looking at it though I can see that some prankster from the previous evening has pinched the Santa clause statue and welcome message from the front door. I better have a good hunt around and put it back before customers start arriving.

Hey, It's Monday

Hey It's Monday.
That means it's quiz night again!
It comes around so soon.
The quiz is a genuine £250 prize split between the lucky winners, just like this lucky recent winner.
It was a great night as usual and It was great to pose with all that cash, which is quite a lot by any one's standards these days.
I do hear that another pub situated not a million miles from the Upton Inn is planning on copying the idea.
Well good luck to you and best wishes with it, you'll have to go some mind to keep up with us at the Upton.

Looking at the Front Door.

It is such a nice sunny but crisp day here in Upton Cheney that I thought I would share a photograph of the front door of the Upton Inn.
As you can see we sell Badgers Ale's here in the pub and we serve quite a lot of it.
Walking around Upton Cheney this morning I realised that there are such pretty places to photograph around the village. Unfortunately for me, after retiring, all of my decent camera equipment was returned to my employer. My current camera, whilst adequate, doest do photography of the village justice.
I have therefore added a contact link in my profile on the right of the page.
If you have any nice photographs that you would like to share please send them to me.
What's more, if you have any photographs of me that you have taken whilst I have been jet setting around the world.
Please send them in and I will share them here.