The Horn of Africa

Powerful infographic of the unfolding tragedy in the Horn of Africa.

(Click to enlarge)

Created by eLocal.com in partnership with The Washington Post

If you would like to help please go to the Disasters Emergency Committee site to donate.

h/t Save the Children for link to the picture. You can also donate at their site.

Thirst Ever Beer Festival

I spent the first part of August on holiday in Brittany with the family. One of the joys of France is trying out the vast array of wines from different regions, however, there does come a point when I just want to sit down with a good honest pint of beer and that is something France cannot offer.

On returning to Blighty I was pleased to discover that one of our local hostelries, The Compasses, is hosting their Thirst Ever Beer Festival this coming weekend. Alongside a substantial list of local and regional real ales and ciders there are live bands, vintage tractor ploughing, children’s activities and arts and crafts. The pub will also be serving up their locally renowned Huffers. All in all it promises to be a substantial aperitif for the following weekend when I am looking forward to Greenbelt (about which no doubt there will be much blogging).

Boston Tea Party

I was in Honiton last week with the family and we had a very enjoyable lunch and coffee in The Boston Tea Party. The cafe is one of a West Country chain named after the C18th revolt by a group of colonists who emptied three shiploads of tea into the Boston harbour as a protest against British taxation.

Apparently there are a group of self described patriots in the U.S. who have formed the Tea Party movement. Their aim seems to be to protest against all the eminently sensible laws that President Obama has introduced including the Health Care Reform Bills. There was an attempt to launch a British Tea Party movement along similar lines back in February during the Conservative Spring Conference in Brighton. The event was supported by Daniel Hannan MEP. This is the same Hannan who has made a career out of travelling around U.S. television studios trashing the NHS. I haven’t heard much about the British version since and I guess it has been made redundant by the General Election outcome.

As I was sitting munching my lunch I found myself humming a song that I hadn’t heard for decades The Sensational Alex Harvey Band’s Boston Tea Party. So here it is.