A couple of weeks back I made it down to The Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court in London for the 5th time running. The usual suspects were present and correct, with Cousin Iain, Nicola, and their friends helping Thursday night along after I’d flown down in the afternoon.

Friday was the main event, though, with myself, Iain and Charlie meeting up for a fine breakfast at Cafe Continente in West Kensington, before heading in to Earls Court just after 1pm. Much to our surprise it was already quite busy, but not so much that you had to queue too long at each bar. The bars themselves were differently laid out this year – in alphabetical order instead of the usual regional layout. This was initially confusing, as one of the Cornish breweries (St Austell) was where I remembered Cornwall being in previous years, so it took a while before I realised that they were in alphabetical order.

I could wax lyrical about all of the great ales we tasted, but the truth of the matter is that I don’t really remember. Not because we were staggering about in a stupor, but because the day was so packed with good company that it was easy to forget that the beer was meant to be the attraction. I think that’s the case at all good beer festivals, though – if the ales are fine and the company is good then it’s the best place in the world to be.
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Since I posted about the state of the old rocking horse in Hermitage Park, there’s been a lot of campaigning by locals to get the park brought up to standard. The council, it seemed, were embarrassed into taking action and gradual improvements have been made over the last couple of months.

The vandalised “softcrete” beneath the swings has now been replaced, all of the apparatus has had a lick of paint, and a new child-containing fence has been placed around the perimeter of the park.

The fence around the horse came down, but he was still in a bad state the last time we visited. So I was surprised and delighted to see he’d been restored to his former glory when Elisha and I stopped off this afternoon as part of our Swing Park Challenge. The horse now has striking red and black paint and his side rails have  been replaced – it really is a fantastic job and I’m really happy the effort has been put in, rather than scrapping him.

The Swing Park Challenge – an attempt to visit and play on every piece of apparatus in all of the local parks in less than 90 minutes – did highlight the disparity between all of them. Kidston Park has just a set of swings and an ancient spider climbing frame, which is in much need of some paint. Meanwhile, the park at Rhu is filled with modern equipment, and the kids there told us that there’s more on the way.

Still, I’m glad to see that Hermitage Park is now a fit place to take my daughter again – hopefully there’ll be enough care and attention given that it’ll still be in good condition when I take my future son there.

Looking at Helensburgh from the river Clyde, Ben Bowie rises up from the right shoulder of the town and, for much of my childhood it formed the backdrop. I’ve climbed it many a time over the years that I’ve lived here, with the last time being somewhere around 1996, so when I moved back to the town in 2008 I made a mental note that’d try to get back up there soonish.

At just over 300 metres, Ben Bowie is classed as a Marilyn. It’s not the toughest of climbs and, depending on which route you take, you can be standing on the summit within a couple of hours. Which is why, when the idea popped into my head yesterday morning, I decided that I’d set out for the top of the hill with my brother. He’s not particularly fit, but I figured if we took it steadily he’d make it up there and enjoy the view and the achievement when we got to the top.

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