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Of course, there was an ulterior motive to attending on Trade Day: it was also the public launch of issue one of our great Inapub magazine and I was pleased to be able to take a small part in the event. The feedback on the issue has been great, Matt Eley has done an amazing job putting it all together, and it’s fun to have a regular feature in the magazine.
But, once the stand was in place, conversations had and magazines handed out, it was time to indulge in a little tour of the Festival itself; run by 1,400 loyal volunteers and featuring over 700 real ales, ciders and perries I figured I’d done the right thing by inviting my wife along to drive me home. I hope you got the opportunity to attend.
It was great to bump in to friends, too, and put some faces to names I often see in the dank depths of Internet forums but rarely in real life, and to bump in to Mitchel Adams and his lovely girlfriend Sarah. I had the opportunity to return to Mitch’s pub a couple of weeks ago after interviewing him for the first issue and enjoyed a night in front of his amazing cinema, watching The Social Network.
Like the Great British Beer Festival, given that I’m a huge fan of social media and write copiously about it, it surprised me that I still hadn’t had the chance to get to see the film that tells the story of how it all came about!
Mitch and Sarah’s hospitality that night was wonderful and, as is often the way, bumping in to them at the GBBF lead to an impromptu evening of more beer and a meal before heading home.
It was great fun and, I’m glad to say, Mitch didn’t hold a grudge against me for getting his age wrong in the first magazine. He is still a sprightly 31 year old, rather than the aged 32 I put him down as.
Still, I suppose I do owe him an apology...
