Time flies when your being worked to death

Two years since I posted something on here, wow... My excuse is two fold, lethargy and a firm suspicion my company is trying to work me to death. My blood pressure is sharing numbers with NHS heart patients just after being told their doctor will see them once he has received his immigration papers. So its been an eventful time.

So, what have I been up to I hear all 3 of you, my dear readers, ask? Lots, to be true. In a draft stage I have the events of two exciting adventures. The first sees my intrepid work friend Gavin and I cycle into Hell's Gate, totally unprepared and loving every moment, until we had to cycle back and nearly died and eaten by Baboons. Gotta love Kenya... The second is part two in the continuing series "Two Go Mad In...". Following on from our adventures in Devon, Ellie and I jet off to visit the Olds in Vancouver, meet up with dear friends 25 years after stabbing them in the head, play golf on the border with the States with GT and Jay and live it up on Granville Island and Bathtub Ferries with JD and Dana, plus much more! I can see your excited, it will just probably take another two years to finish writing them.

In the meantime, lets talk cocktails. Traveling the world for my job like this means my main travel rule is well used, "Always eat and drink the local." Now food is easy. Kangaroo in Oz, whatever your served in Kenya especially ostrich, frozen halibut in Siberia, you get the picture, its an adventure. Drinks can be more interesting at times and cocktails are a great aid to location. A martini is different barman or woman to barman or woman. Now I have three favorite cocktail bars. In Stockholm we have Le Rouge, in Amsterdam there is Door 74 (yes that is all their website is) and my new favorite here in London The Experimental Cocktail Club. The last two are just black doors, but well worth the search. Luckily, there are good friends working the bar in Rouge and the ECC, so a trip there is a great time catching up, and great mixology to boot. Now the classics are the classics, Martinis, Dempseys and the like are great just about everywhere, but the devil is in the detail, and a barkeep with love in their craft is a glorious thing to share in. Being introduced to Absinthe by Anders was an amazing experience which I will always thank him for. The modern view on Absinthe is a shot by drunks in crappy Spanish resorts. Reality, when served with classic slow drip Absinthe fountain dripping drops of water on to a slowly dissolving sugar cube on a ornately carved Absinthe spoon, falling into a glass of Absinthe then drinking, is pure joy. Granted when you hit it hard, the Green Fairy will kick your ass. With this in mind, knowing that Anders in Stockholm and Alex here in London, still enjoy spicing my drinks up with a mist of of the stuff in my glass goes to show that I am a fan. You have to approach it straight on with full respect, but you can have more fun with it mixed. My two personal favorites are the Corpse Reviver No 2 and Ernest Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon which is iced champagne and absinthe (and a dash of sugar if you fancy it). Perfect for a hot day or to kick off the evening. If your feeling mental, try a Green Vesper, which is Ian Fleming's Bond martini that switches out the Kina Lillet for absinthe. Anders came up with a superb version for me, which also ended the evening! Not for the faint of heart, to say the least.

Now all this sounds like excessive drinking is the order of the day, not at all. Sitting down and discussing a shared passion with a professional, no matter what it is that is shared, is a simple joy of life. Knowing what you do is appreciated, whether it is delivering computer systems or mixing a mean Old Fashioned, makes walking into "The Office" each day worth it.

Back soon...

Vesper a la Anders