Drinking on a deadline…

We have all been there, we want to get completely wasted but downing 4 Jaeger bombs and a few Sambucas will just take waaay to long.

Now normally you would start reaching for the bottle of meths but hold your horses their is a new kid on the block….

WA|HH Quantum Sensations

No, this isn’t the next James Bond blockbuster. Behind this rather odd name lurks the brain child of Harvard professor David Edwards and designer Philippe Starck. A neat little gizmo that promises to turn you instantaneously drunk for a few seconds, without any of the harmful effects of alcohol (no hangover!).

The Wahh Quantum Sensations contains 20-25 sprays each of which delivers 0.075 ml of alcoholin the form of micro-particles and reportedly simulates the sensorial pleasure of alcohol, giving the user a brief moment of light-headedness and distraction.

Professor David Edwards came up with the idea of using his micro-particle spraying technology to distribute alcohol after meeting with Philippe Starck and discussing the possibility of recreating the positive sensations associated with drinking – but without the drunkenness and negative health implications. The result is a spray which contains tiny amounts of alcohol, that can be sprayed directly into the mouth or onto food.

“Everyone has an occasional need of light-headedness, distraction, and another place … but our societies and codes of amusement have led to the over-consumption of alcoholic beverages as a kind of social placebo,” said Philippe Starck.

Because each spray of the device contains nearly 1,000 times less alcohol than a standard shot, it’s said it would take hundreds of actuations to deliver the alcohol content found in a typical drink. But while some reports have claimed WAHH Quantum Sensations spray actually gets users drunk for a few seconds before they sober up just as fast, the team behind it is keen to stress this is not actually the case.

“WAHH does not stimulate drunkenness. It is precisely to avoid drunkenness. It stimulates the pleasure of alcohol without the alcohol. There is almost no alcohol in the product, yet the aerosol gives an instantaneous lightheadedness, slight, not disorienting, and is intended for anything but the experience of being drunk”… So no fighting lamp-posts or waking up with your face stuck to the bed by some rogue curry sauce.

There are two types of WAHH Quantum Sensations spray – the Flash, which offers a tonic flavor and a strong and instantaneous sensation, and the Demon, which is described as having a spicy, wooded and slightly fruity flavor and said to be best served vaporized on salty or sweet foods. In describing WAHH Quantum Sensations, David Edwards said, “Its ability to deliver flavor with each actuation that grows in intensity with the vapor cloud of millions of tiny micro-droplets makes WAHH an exciting food spray for the future.”

WAHH Quantum Sensations can currently be sampled at the “Experience 14 WA|HH by S+ARCK + EDWARDS” exhibition at Le Laboratoire in Paris – but will soon go on sale in Europe for €20 (about US$26).

1,300 pubs closed in the UK last year.

According to the latest figures from the British Beer and Pub Association there were 1,300 pubs in the UK that shut their doors for the final time last year.

The number of pub closures has fallen from 40 a week in 2009 to 25 a week now, with the rate of losses highest in London and north-west England.

The BBPA have stated that these pub closures have resulted in the loss of over 13,000 jobs nationwide.

BBPA  chief executive Brigid Simmonds had this to say:”The closure of 25 pubs every week is bad news for the economy, as the sector plays such a vital role. It’s also a blow for local communities, with pubs often acting as the hub of local life.

“With the right policies, this vital part of our tourism and hospitality sector could be creating new jobs, and helping to bring Britain out of recession.

“If we really do have a pub-friendly Government as the Prime Minister says, the time to act is now – with a freeze in beer duty in the Budget.”

So there we have it folks loss of pubs, loss of choice and loss of livelihoods. Pub closures are a bad thing at anytime but to see this many jobs lost in the midst of one of the worst recessions ever is even worse. Fair enough the rate at which pubs are shutting has slowed but we are still on a slippery slope.

If you are concerend about the closure of British pubs and the loss of jobs then please lobby your local MP or contact CAMRA to see how you can help.

Mum blames Microsoft for son’s spending spree

An  U.K. mother is blaming Microsoft for the fact that her 11-year-old son rang up a £1000 bill on her debit card over a six-month stretch on Xbox Live.

Would you entrust an online account to your young child, probably not?

When 11-year-old Brendan Jordan was let loose on Xbox Live, the youngster went on a spending spree that ultimately landed a bill of £1082 ($1739) on his mother’s debit card. But his mother, Dawn, doesn’t blame her son for the hefty charges. She blames Microsoft.

“When I put my card details in 18 months ago I thought it was just for his membership to play online with his friends,” she said. “I work two jobs just to look after my family and pay the bills so I cannot afford all these extortionate charges. A thousand pounds isn’t that much to people like Bill Gates, but for a single mum it is a lot of money that I don’t have.”

“I haven’t punished him because he feels bad enough and I know he won’t do it again,” she added. “It is ridiculous to allow someone of his age to make payments without any checks being done.”

She states that the youngster started to cry when she explained to him how much money he’d blown through, after which he unplugged his Xbox and said he didn’t want it anymore. She also said she wants her experience to serve as a warning to other parents.

“When he is in gaming mode he can’t be thinking about the money. You can’t put all that responsibility on a young boy,” she added. “It is impossible to monitor everything your children do. These companies should take some responsibility. They take advantage of vulnerable people.”

Now let me just stop things here and possibly call shenanigans on this tale of online woe. Most banks send out these useless papery things called statements, typically once a month or so.

Would you not notice the recurring charges going through to Microsoft and start to put two and two together, especially if you were a struggling single mother who needs every penny she can get.

In a statement to the Daily Mail a company rep made the following statement “Microsoft’s goal is to provide parents and caregivers with tools and resources to manage their children’s gaming and entertainment experiences so that they can play in ways that are safer, healthy and more balanced. “

“To accomplish this, we’ve built-in parental controls in every Xbox 360, work closely with retailers and recently launched the Play Smart, Play Safe website as an online resource for families. It should also be noted that LIVE accounts registered for children’s use have online activity automatically defaulted to off, these can be enabled by the parent should they wish in the Family Settings section.”

So what we really seem to have is a Mum who couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to what her young soon was doing online, with her card details no less. Neither could she be bothered to keep an eye on her finances until he had managed to spend over a grand.

Seems to me like someone is on the look out for a nice cash payment to settle little Brendan’s gaming bill and to keep paying that wonderful virtual nanny that has been raising him on her behalf.

Darth Naga Vs. Naga Viper

I wrote a post a while back mentioning that there is a new contender to the throne of the world’s hottest chilli – click here to read

There are several chillies that look like they are going to beat the current official holder, the Bhut Jolokia, but the Naga Viper which has been grown and developed her in good old blighty looks like it is going to leave them all dead in the water.

I have placed my order for some Naga Viper seeds so that I can start growing my own little atomic morsels but in the meanwhile I have to sate my appetite by watching others suffer instead.

So here is a video of Darth Naga chowing down on a Naga Viper – those of you of a sensitive nature might want to look away…

Darth Naga vs 16 Million SHU pure crystal capsaicin extract!

From February 2011 pure capsaicin crystal is going to be illegal to buy or sell in the UK.

In advance of this latest bout of meddling from UK authorities Darth Naga tries a whole teaspoon of extract dissolved in vodka.

Naga Viper – The World’s Hottest Chilli Pepper?

There has been a lot of buzz for a while now that the fearsome Bhut Jolokia has been knocked off its top spot as the world’s hottest chilli pepper.

It was announced back in October that Gerald Fowler from the Chilli Pepper Company had grown a new chilli that had not just beaten the Bhut but had destroyed it…. not only that but it has been developed and grown in the UK of all unlikely places.

The name of this deadly little beauty, the Naga Viper and here it is:

Rather unassuming for something that would melt your face and having you rushing for the chilled toilet paper.

The Viper is the result of selective cross breeding of the Bhut Jolokia, Naga Morich and the Trinidad Scorpion all of which are so hot it is not even funny.

Warwick University HRI have carried out HPLC testing on the Viper and have returned some pretty impressive numbers, it seems this bad boy has a LOT of heat 1,349,000 SHU to be precise.

Now numbers by themselves don’t always mean a lot to people so here is a quick comparison:

Bhut Jolokia – 1,001,304

Red Savina Habanero – 350,000 – 577,000

Jalapeno – 2500-8000

So we are looking at a chilli that is over 250 times the heat of a jalapeno, now that is hot!

There is an awful lot of dispute going on as to the veracity of the results, in particular there are claims that NMSU  are the only real authority in terms of accurately measuring the heat of a chilli, whether NMSU are the be all or not one thing is certain further verification will be required before Guinness start handing out world record certificates.

As of the end of October Gerald Fowler was in the process of sending pods away for DNA testing so before too much longer it will be official one way or the other.

Personally I think that whether or not the Viper is crowned top dog it is only a matter of time before someone in the UK turns out a world-beating variety and it says a lot about the skill and dedication  of chilli growers in the UK that they are turning out chilli peppers that are even in contention considering the huge climatic disadvantages we suffer from in this part of the world.

Picture credit – cascade news

IT’S NOT COMING HOME

Well there it is;  the World Cup 2018 will not be coming home to the nation that gave football to the world.

Instead it is off to Russia and whilst I  have nothing but congratulations for the newly affirmed host nation I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that by the time it is even possible for their to be a world cup hosted here in England I will be old and grey.

The lift that a successful world cup bid would have given to the nation would have been huge and not just for die-hard supporters such as I.

The suggestion that this is all one big fix are rolling in and will continue to do so for sometime, not helped by the supposed official leaks that were coming out up to 30 minutes before the results were announced lauding Russia as having won.

One thing that does need to be seriously looked into is the allegations of major corruption within FIFA itself, the thought of going through an other bidding process with the same bribe taking officials in charge is quite frankly ludicrous.

But there is no point lingering on what might have been and what isn’t, instead we should look forward to the spectacle that will be London 2012 and focus on what really matters trying to win the world cup in 2014.

 

Adnams launches range of handcrafted spirits

Following on from 138 years of turning out excellent beers Southwold based brewer Adnams has recently launched it own range of artisan spirits.

Their recent opened Copper House distillery makes Adnams the first joint brewery and distillery in England, a pairing that is quite common on the continent.

Adnams handcrafted gin and vodka are now available for sale on the Adnams Website and from any of the 10 Adnams Cellar and Kitchen stores. These initial offerings will be joined by whiskey after a 3 year maturation in oak casks.

Chairman Jonathan Adnams OBE said: “We have been brewing great beers in Southwold since 1872, and our business now incorporates five hotels, 70 pubs, ten Adnams Cellar & Kitchen stores as well as our online store. Hand crafted spirits are the next exciting step in our journey and we are proud to add distilling to our expertise.

“Small scale distillation produces spirits of a quality and character that far surpass mass-produced products”

Adnams are keen to promote the fact that all of the grains being used in the distillation of their spirits are locally grown in East Anglia all of which is in keeping with Adnams tradition of being one of the most ecologically friendly brewers around.

If there spirits are anything like their beers then I look forward to getting my hands on a couple of bottles and wish them the very best of luck.

The Nutshell – Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

According to the Guinness Book of Records the Nutshell in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk is the smallest pub in the UK.

 Whether this is the case or not is up for dispute as at least 2 other pubs that I am aware of make the same claim, either way it is bloody small, about 15ft x 7ft according to the barman.

You can fit about 15 people in The Nutshell in moderate comfort but the record stands at a massive 102 back in 1984, having spent many evenings in the Nutshell all I can say is I hope they all knew each other well, if they didn’t prior to going in they did when they came out!

There is an awful lot to look at in the Nutshell, especially considering it is such a small pub, there is a stags head on one wall and there used to be a stuffed black cat as well, apparently it was found during renovations bricked up behind an old chimney!

Unsurprisingly as it is only 5 minutes down the road Greene King is well represnted in the Nutshell with their I.P.A and Abbott Ale always in residence.

The Nutshell is always popular with tourists and during the summer months can be a bit busy regardless of when you pop in, the rest of the time it is just a regular local pub, all be it in miniature.

Well worth a visit if you happen to be in the area.

Martin Freeman to play Bilbo Baggins

I am  a little behind the times on this as I have been up the walls recently and haven’t been looking at the entertainment news as much as I normally would so

But there it was in black and white Martin Freeman (no relation to Morgan) of The Office fame is to play Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming Hoobbit movie!!!.

Personally I think that he will be perfect for the role, not only is he English and I have always visualised Hobbits as being essentially fat little Englishmen, but he looks exactly like a Hobbit!

This is going to be a really big step in the right direction for Freeman, who has come a long, long way from his days as Tim in The Office or as John; the actor who is filming a sex scene with the oh so appealing Joanna Page of Gavin and Stacey fame in Love Actually.

I am now even more excited about these films then I was previously and that was fairly excited let me tell you! As much as I love the Lord of the Rings and have read it far more times then I should probably admit to the Hobbit has always held a special place in my heart.

I had always enjoyed reading, even as a small child but it was Tolkien’s story about a Hobbit that lived in a hole in the ground and the adventures that he had that really started my life long love of fantasy books.