April 23rd: St George and booze

As a born and bred Englishman* today should sit proudly as a day to recognise the patron saint of England, St George.  Which is odd, really given he wasn't English, as far as we know never came to England and didn't slay a dragon. I'm not going to go into any more detail about him, as there's plenty of information out there, so if you're really interested a quick Google should give you what you want. If you can't be bothered, then this Wikipedia page might be of interest, with all the usual caveats about the accuracy of that database.

However, it seems to me that there's nowhere near the same fervour held over dear St George than for the other national saints of the Great Britain and Ireland and the days allotted to them. Indeed, here in Wales, St David's day on 1st March is usually marked in many ways, with kids dressing up in school, St David's themed stuff everywhere and more daffodils than you can shake a stick at. It probably helps that it arrives off the back of the 6 Nations Rugby tournament where country pride has been fanatically displayed, and the red shirts are easily to hand. St Patrick's Day goes far and beyond being celebrated in just that part of the world, and the Scot's too with St Andrew seem to make a real thing of it. I'm not sure why this doesn't happen in England, (perhaps him not being English has something to do with it) or is it just that I don't see it?

St George

* Whilst I was born in England and lived in various places there until I was 20, I've been in living in Wales for over 40 years. I married a Cardiff girl. My kids are both Welsh, born and bred in the area. I feel more Welsh than English, and will be found supporting Wales over England in most things (football included).

The current coronavirus pandemic has affected business massively, and small, local businesses are one of the hardest hit. Some will undoubtedly and sadly go to the wall as a result of the current situation, others are struggling on, or have closed and are waiting for the lockdown to ease in the hope that things will pick up. Others, where they are able, have taken the bull by the horns and changed their business model and seem to be doing ok.

One example of this is the Roath and Penarth "Bottle Shops", independent wine and beer merchants (Twitter @CF64BottleShop and CF24BottleShop). I've been buying beer and the occasional wine from their Penarth shop for a couple of years. Their range of craft beers is amazing, and there's something for everyone, with prices from fairly decent (around £2.50 a can/bottle) to anything up to, and occasionally beyond £20 a can/bottle.  Similarly the wine we've bought from there has always impressed. They certainly aren't and never claim to be the cheapest, but the quality of what they source and stock is highly impressive supported by knowledgeable, friendly staff. I've always found them to be extremely helpful. You can also (though we never have as it's a bit too far away) pop in and drink on site (outside of the current lockdown of course), although it's primarily a shop, not a pub/wine bar. They also run wine tasting events and I'm keen to try one of those when I can.

With the shop closed to customers  during lockdown, like many businesses they've taken a delivery service (email orders only) and seem to be doing very well. My delivery arrived yesterday after I'd sent them my budget and 'brief". They know their stuff, and come highly recommended by me if you're ever in the area. It's good to support your local independent businesses.  Note there's a minimum £50 order at the moment, though delivery is free.

My CF64BottleShop stash

Until tomorrow....

#isolationlife
#stayhomesavelivesA