After the Eight, Reflections on Abortion in Ireland (With Artist Eamon Reilly)
Good chat with artist Eamon Reilly, where we reflect on Abortion and the Repeal the 8th Referendum,, being Pro Life in an increasingly hostile Ireland, bias in the media, life as an Artist, country life…….
Eamon lives in the small country town of Finea, drawing inspiration from the lovely lakes and rolling fields of North Westmeath, calm and tranquility with its abundance of flora and fauna and farm life a great setting for any artist.
Eamon also takes uses his art to express his views on social issues that he feels are important. Issues such as the battle for pro life to be heard, the attack on Catholicism in modern day Ireland, and the recent affects Covid is having on people.
Check out Eamon’s art:
John Smith acquired the long established Backhouse & Hartley Brewery in 1852. A well run organisation and always utilising modern technology, John Smiths expanded rapidly. Following a series of acquisitions in the post-World War II period, the company became one of the largest regional brewers in the country, operating over 1,800 licensed premises. Although these acquisitions diluted the original family stake in the business to around than 10%. The company was taken over by Courage in 1970 for £40 million, who extended distribution of the brewery’s products into the South of England. Courage was acquired by Scottish & Newcastle in 1995, and the operations were purchased by Heineken in 2008.
John Smith’s became well known for a series of highly successful “No Nonsense“-themed television advertising campaigns, featuring the dour Yorkshireman character “Arkwright” during the 1970s and 1980s, followed by the comedians Jack Dee during the 1990s and Peter Kay since 2002. The brand also has an association with horse racing, both jump and in the flat, it was the principal sponsor of the popular English Grand National between 2005 and 2013.
Yes, the appearance looks fantastic, very good creamy white head, with a copper colour. Looks as good as one can expect. Lacing present. 100% on the looks.
With Covid reeking havoc on my football schedule in the year 2021, I could only get to do one Swiss football groundhop for my blog. I managed to get a game in the scenic town of Schaffhausen to see the local team play against FC Aarau.
The name of the town derives from Scafhusun which comes from Schaf (a sheep), as a ram (now a sheep) formed the ancient arms (traceable to 1049) of the town, derived from those of its founders, the Counts of Nellenburg. Todays coat of arms for the town still has a representation of a ram and a castle. 
I have on many occasions ventured from Schaffhausen to the Rhine Falls in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, and why not. It really is the only reason people visit Schaffhausen, lets be honest. You can get a direct link there via train, or by bus from the town. You can actually hop on a self driving bus to the falls, if you dare! 
Knowing I could walk from Schaffhausen to Neuhausen am Rheinfall, I decided to make a trip to the family run Restaurant CM Brauhaus as I read they brew their own beer, and felt it might be an interesting place to see. 
The CM Brauhaus restaurant opened its doors for the first time as a Brauhaus restaurant in 2016. The interior has a very modern feel to it yet their is also a nod to its vintage location as there are some artifacts to brewery and local history dotted around. Its a nice place to sit down and relax. I ventured in to see the copper tanks, but many people were seated outside enjoying their food and beers with the lovely day that it was. A nice atmosphere at the brewhouse, everyone enjoying themselves. A definite touristy kind of feel going on, happy to be out and about. 
FC Schaffhausen is a Swiss football team from the town of Schaffhausen. They participate in the Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football. Founded in 1896 as “football club Viktoria”, they are one of the oldest teams in the country.
As for honours, they won the third division titles in 1945 and 1984, and in 1963 and 2004 second division titles, and qualified for the final in the Swiss Cup in 1988 and 1994. Not a whole lot for the old club to be fair. 
(At half time I managed to go out of the stand area and get some cash from an inhouse cash machine, with the help of one kind official, so was able to buy some more beer, and pay for the free beer, afterwards)
That was the kick up the backside the home team needed, as less than ten minutes later they managed to scramble the ball home, Qollaku shooting home from close range, albeit it looked well offside to me, but there you go, the fightback was on.
But then the referee had a brain fart and sent off the defender, Kaiser in the 71st minute, for the most gentlest of tug backs, and also award a penalty to FC Aarau, the bastard! Never a penalty. Slotted home expertly, right hand top corner, by Schneuwly, who came on as a substitute and was involved in everything in the latter stages for the away team. A good player to spring from the bench. 
Founded in 2011 by four Estonian beer enthusiasts, Põhjala are now the largest craft brewery from the Baltic countries.
Comes in bottles, cans and kegs. The name Kosmos refers to the IPA you are about to drink, as described by the brewers, “an intergalactic IPA brewed with huge amounts of citra and mosaic”, ……. hitting the stars, well lets hope so!
The aroma is very nice, a typical IPA aroma that hits the nose immediately after opening resulting in a very pleasurable smell. I get the citrus and assorted tropical fruits, the malts, the hops, pine, very nice.
Feldschlösschen is the best known beer brand in Switzerland. Their beers have been brewed at the Feldschlösschen brewery in Rheinfelden, the biggest brewery in Switzerland, since its foundation in 1876 and has been the leading Swiss beer brand for more than 100 years. Today its by far the leading brand in the country with 45 per cent of the beer market, with more than 40 Swiss beer brands, mineral waters, soft drinks and wine produced and shipped all over the country and beyond.
Comes in an all brown can, not the prettiest sight but it will do. Also can get in bottles.
After his discharge from Israel’s air force in 2007 following a 30-year career as a pilot, Ori Sagi 54, decided to become a brewmaster. Putting his hobbyist’s love for brewing and his business degree to use, he launched Alexander Beer with the support of investors. The name of the brewery of course is named after the Alexander River that runs close to the operation, while the logo of the turtles, well they are a plenty in that said river! Today, Alexander Beer produces about six different kinds of beer, bottles and kegs combined, as well as special edition beers a few times a year. 
On pour got a very nice frothy white head, very good, and a yellowish golden colour. A decent appearance. Head maintained very well and stuck around, standing tall in this good looking brew. Looks the business. Some lacing present.
The company make a large variety of different styles of non-alcoholic beer, including a sour, a regular lager, a golden ale and a milk stout, and sell far and wide, including to Hong Kong, Singapore, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Canada and Australia. They are savvy with their network distribution as they have many large supermarket chains selling their wares, from Tesco’s, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons (all in UK), and Albert Heijn in the Netherlands. And it isn’t only cans, they even are on draught as well in certain places in the UK. 
And seeing their pen pics on their site, they have that soy look down to a tee, go figure as this is non alcoholic after all……. They do have the whiff of the BrewDog about them, definitely tapping into that hipster market, with their snazzy can designs, crowdfunding platforms and appealing to the upper and middle class tippler. They are even into movement therapy and yoga, yes, fucking yoga of all things. Not football but yoga, lol. Look at the Covid year, to say a big thank you to the NHS staff, Big Drop visited various hospitals in and around London and gave the staff free pints of their piss to “enjoy”. “What, a 20 hour shift? No worries, have a pint of our non alcoholic pish” That’s tone deaf marketing, really scraping the barrel stuff. Look I know the market for non alcoholic beer is expanding rapidly at the moment, but still……ffs
From the pour we get a massive white head, pretty big, a lot of carbonation going on. The colour is golden amber. Not bad on the eye. 
Founded in 2007 by Joey Redner, Cigar City Brewing, is a craft brewery in Tampa, Florida, the Sunshine State. Joey had previous experience with Dunedin Brewery (Florida’s oldest microbrewery), and was also a well respected beer reviewer with the Tampa Bay Times, so it was no surprise when he decided to start up his own beer enterprise.
The name of the beer is a reference to the sport, Jai Alai, a game native to the Basque region of Spain, which is played on a court called a fronton. Jai Alai players attempt to catch a ball using a curved mitt, whilst the ball travels at speeds of up to 188 miles per hour! Tampa was once home to a busy Jai Alai fronton but sadly no more. At least Jai Alai India Pale Ale remains!
Smell is a typical IPA, hoppy piney notes and caramel sweetness, all nice on the nose. Get the tropical fruits, the grapes, the orange peel and the citrus and lemon, and an earthy feel to it. Good start. 
Coming in a brown bottle we get a cute drawing of a doggy. Plain and simple, I like it. Pretty much why I went for it in the off license! 
Onto the taste. Very sweet, those malts definitely coming to the fore. The hops are on the low level, not so bitter, manageable and calm enough to enjoy.