No pop, no style

Under pressure: a lack of fizz might
have done for this porter

Today has been a big day in which I put into action a decision I had pretty much already made and started the long, potentially painful process of moving flat. 

It was the last rent hike that did it. An extra hundred quid a month out of a fairly meagre salary that needs to go a long way just wasn't sustainable in the end, so back to the old flat it is. Now I've made the decision, I do rather wonder why I hadn't done it earlier.

There's no mistaking it, though, it's going to be a squeeze. An accusation that couldn't be levelled at the one-and-a-half bedroomed place is that it's spacious. Not even estate agents in their wildest imaginations would venture that far. So there will be a fair bit of chucking out to be done before I decamp. Never mind. It's about time I got rid of some of the cack I've been carrying around for the last 10 years or so.

Obviously, I will need a trip to IKEA as well. I'm not sure you're even allowed to move flat without heading therethese days -  by law. Current plan is to hit it in the festive perineum, if you'll pardon the phrase. For those not in the now, that's the bit between Christmas and New Year. The thinking is it'll be less busy then. What does the panel think?

Earlier this evening, I had a quick drive past the old gaff. There's something of a hefty construction project going on a couple of doors down, which I hope is'nt anything to do with subsidence. It probably isn't. What I have noticed, though, is that the area has become considerably more well-to-do. For what seems like the first time in years, I appear to be moving to a fashionable, up-and-coming neighbourhood. Estate agents have even appended the word 'village' to its name to lend it even more cachet.

The local green (yes, a green. Get me) boasts a range of traditional shops, a few new arrivals aimed at the new arrivals, three pubs, a bike shop, some quality takeaway joints, a specialist beer shop and, oddly, two establishments where you can top up your tan.

Personally, I'm most looking forward to the curry delivery place. I think I've still got the loyalty card I had for it somewhere about. It did (and I hope still does) some of the most generous, tasty, not-to-salty curries around for only just more than it would cost you to make it yourself. That's the first meal in the new old flat sorted, then.

Beer: Pressure Drop Strictly Roots
Strength: A wholly unnecessary 6.5%
Smell: A particularly dusty cardboard box
Tasting notes: Would that the contents were as good as the label, which looks like Pete Fowler may have had a hand in it. What's billed as a dandelion and burdock porter doesn't seem to get anywhere near either. Maybe it's because this bottle is really light on the carbonation (there's no need to pour carefully as the label suggests), but what could in theory be a really good beer seems to fall flat. In an alarming development, the dustiness of the aroma drifts quite obviously into the flavour, but thankfully that's washed away by the all-too-watery finish. I don't want to be unkind about it - it's entirely possible I've a duff bottle - but this one's not doing it for me. I've had Pressure Drop beers that are much better than this, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Session factor: Pretty low on the strength of this bottle. One or two at the outside as a warming, fireside nip, but that's about it.
Arbitrary score: 10,116