Winter Olympics Day 8-Saxony House

Winter Olympics Day 4-German Fan Fest

Guinness Floats!

At the last Whitecaps game I attended, Sparky and J-Mac and I were talking about Guinness Floats. Lately, at the Whitecap's matches, they have been serving Guinness in waxed paper cups that make me think I am drinking a milkshake. Or a float. And because I'm drinking Guinness, it makes me wonder what a Guinness Float would taste like. So, I decided to find out.



I really thought it might be good. I thought the sweetness of the icecream would balance out with the bitterness of the stout in a flavourful way. I thought wrong. It wasn't very good. Oh well, now I know.

Just what the Doctor ordered...

Thanks, Donna.

люди!

This, right here, is why Russian men are super tough and you're just a great big sissy. A Russian man was knifed while drinking with a security guard at his workplace. He woke up the next morning, still at work, took the bus home, ate some sausage, then went to sleep. His wife noticed the knife handle sticking out of his back. Yuri Lyalin, the man who was stabbed, apparently has no ill will towards the man who stabbed him. He said:

"We were drinking and what doesn't happen when you're drunk?"

That reminds me of the time I once stepped on a dried lentil with my bare foot and it stuck there. I found the lentil in my bed and wondered how it got there until I later found another lentil stuck to my foot and did the math. What I'm really trying to say here is that I need to sweep my floor more frequently.

My Irish Pub Crawl

Spanning a number of days, cities, islands and, of course, pints...

Uisce Beatha!

I'm just after going to the Old Jameson's Distillery. There was a brief tour through the building where Jameson's was distilled for almost 200 years before moving to near Cork. But most importantly included in the admission price was a sample of Jameson's at the end. But even better than that, I was chosen as one of 6 volunteer whiskey/whisky tasters. First we sampled three different Irish whiskeys; Powers, Paddy, & Jameson's. From those we had to choose our favourite. Not surprisingly, we all chose Jameson's. No pressure, seriously. Though I must say, I'd be interested in trying Paddy again. Mellow stuff. Then we had to compare our favourite Irish whiskey to the number one selling Scotch in the world. (Johnny Walker Red Label, should you care) Then we compared the Irish whiskey to the number one selling bourbon in the world. (Any guesses?) Then we had to choose our favourite from the three international whiskeys. I can keep the 'e' as no one chose the Scotch. Even the Scotsman, though I think he chose the Jameson's a little begrudgingly. Again not surprisingly, all six of us chose the Jameson's. So there you have it, scientifically proven, Jameson's is the best whiskey in the world. Okay, there was no rye whiskey involved, nor a whole host of better, longer aged whiskey's but you get my point. And now, I'm an accredited whiskey taster. I even have the certificate to prove it.

Kilkenny vs. Guinness

I was in a pub last night called Tynan's Bridge House in Kilkenny. Being in Kilkenny I was drinking a pint of Kilkenny. Earlier that night I'd had a Smithwick's, also from Kilkenny. So, I was standing at the bar, drinking my Kilkenny, chatting with an Irishman and a Welshman. Doesn't that sound like a joke? ACanadian, an Irishman, and a Welshman are at a bar...? Actually, the Welshman did tell me a joke: What's the difference between an Irishman and a Welshman? I don't know what, I asked. One of them learned how to swim? Which one, I asked. Well, that's up for debate. Alright, it isn't really much of a joke, or at least it isn't a funny one. Anyhow, I was standing there talking to those two when along came Paddy Ryan. Seriously. From Calgary, no less. Seriously. Paddy was there as a representative of Arthur Guinness' fine Dublin based brewery. It was his job to sign up people to come to that particular pub for the next three Tuesdays. In return they'd get a free pint of Guinness each week and if they went all three they'd get a Guinness windbreaker. I was unable to commit to that, though I'd have liked to, but he then took it upon himself to show me why I should be drinking Guinness rather than the locally brewed libation. I mean to say he gave me a free pint, charged to Guinness, or rather to whatever non-Irish multinational it is that owns Guinness now. I'm not a huge fan of Kilkenny to begin with, and I am a huge fan of free pints of beer and of Guinness, so needless to say, I was easily convinced. Good work, Paddy!

Lock Up Your Camels!

A Christmas party at a riding school in Ireland was postponed after a camel that was part of Santa's Magical Animal Kingdom show got out of his pen, which had been left open. While the staff were getting ready for the party, Gus, the camel, got loose, ate 200 mince pies and drank 6 cans of Guinness. By all reports, Gus is fine. And why shouldn't he be? Guinness is goodness.

Story

Note To Self

Dear Self,

(re: the previous entry)

Please don't write blog entries after you have been drinking. They make no sense.

Thanks,
Self