I got to go to the GBBFⁱ for a corporate day out with my work on Thursday which appears to have gone quite well - I haven't been back at work since writing this & its not what I think but the impression the clients got (& the gaffer of course)!

On the Friday Rhian & I returned to meet Matt, Andrew & Alistair and we had a few nice drinks to while away the afternoon. I managed to say how good I thought Hobson's Mild was on a discussion board for Craft Beer Radio just a couple of weeks ago so I was rather full of myself to hear it won Best Beer of Britain this year! We even got to try some despite the fact that it was rather popular - lovely as usual, but maybe not the nicest beer there. Its no longer our little secret.

Thursday after 17.00 got very busy & we gave up queuing at the regular bars to defect to the Bier Sans Frontiers and bottle bar. Friday got busy even earlier, but we left shortly afterwards.

My Dad works on security at the GBBF and since CAMRA moved it to Earls Courtⁱ from Olympia he reckons his job is much, much better. Considering he does longer hours than most people work in a day, with shorter or no breaks and he's a volunteer, this is good news. A volunteer you say? So he doesn't *have* to do it! You're right but like most companies they will let you work yourself into the ground if you're daft enough to do it quietly. Only voting with his feet one year and not going got him a meal break during his shift.

Speaking of GBBF staff - I must mention the comedy queue that was organised on the Thursday before it opened at 12.00. A fluorescent vest man organised us into a very densely packed snaking queue. I had visions of that branch of Ikea opening in London where the whole area descended into chaos due to lack of planning. As soon as the doors opened the queue crashed into a more European style one (ie RUN FOR THE DOORS!). Entirely predictable really. The man in charge of queues got some abuse for telling us near the front to hold in line whilst people just of the tube were walking straight past. Even mild mannered me (hello) told him his queue organising was disappointing in response to him telling us our queue forming was disappointing!

I propose a pub crawl round London next year - after all, the pubs should be empty...