Get your thieving Oirish hands off our apples!

[Pip in a Poke]

I wish I was, but I'm not a scrumpy fan. I always get excited seeing cider at a beer festival or what have you, but have come to the conclusion the cider I like is more of the French style, medium-sweet. Maybe if I invested some more time drinking it...

French cider I find a bit too sweet though I'm partial to the odd boulée to accompany a nice savoury gallette when I'm in Brittany.

I like Spanish cider. Or rather, I like all the ritual and parerphernalia that surrounds it whenever one visits a Spanish cidreria.

The actual drink itself is somewhat tart even for my tastes but it is taken is small measures with as much air incorporated during the pouring process as possible (I don't know whether this enhances the flavour or if it's to facilitate the uptake of alcohol into the bloodstream).

Consequently, the pouring process is somewhat theatrical with the glass held as close to the ground as possible in the hand of one outstretched arm and the bottle in the hand of the other arm which is extended vertically such that distance between bottle and glass is maximised.

Lord knows how they ever reach the target without spilling a drop.

Of course, as ever modern technology had its part to play these days. I went into one bar in which you buy a bottle of cider and gather enough glasses for your party and you retire to a table where there is a table top device into which you pour the contents of your bottle and it dispenses air infused shots of cider until you've either run out of cider or you fall over!

The Spanish are so civilised....

[vetran]

I hope you have applied for you £300 per year per tree EU subsidy

of course get it while it's still available!

I have a mini roundabout by the manshack sponsored by the EU, easiest £2 million ever!