The Setting Recently I was conducting a job interview over Skype, using video.  I was speaking with a prospective employee, who was perched in front of a computer at lbdesign’s London office. My colleague was with this prospective employee.  As may be evident to regular visitors to this blog, I am currently based in Philadelphia. [...]

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As I have written about on chickenmonkeydog.com, I travel about London for work, heading to client meetings and the like. Recently, I wanted to check out one of those pubs that now open early to serve coffees and teas, trying to boost profits by expanding their offerings. Exiting the Green Park Tube station, I climbed [...]

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Last summer, whilst tooling about Henley with friends on a Saturday afternoon, I popped into the liquor store. Checking out the selection of ales, I grabbed a couple of bottles of Brakspear’s Oxford Gold. I like to support my local breweries and Brakspear’s operates out of Witney, which is on the west side of Oxfordshire. [...]

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After a long break from writing about the finer things (pubs and beer), I have discovered a new ale worth talking about: Marshmellow by Oxfordshire Ales. I came across this bitter in Tesco and eager to try a local brew, I picked up a bottle. Listening to England thrash Croatia in the World Cup qualifiers, [...]

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Today at the Star Inn in Stanton St John, Oxfordshire, I was reminded of one thing that I really like about country pubs in England: their simplicity. You actually can walk into a country pub and just ask for a pint of bitter. And you get one. The guy or gal behind the bar, more [...]

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Out on a day pass with my son recently (he was celebrating two months of life; I was celebrating 35 years), I came across The Whisky Shop, on Turl Street in Oxford. My eyes lit up and a smile crept across my face as I glanced over the neatly decorated shop window. (Ok, it wasn’t [...]

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If you drink alcohol in the summer (wide category, I know), then have I got the drink for you! Williams & Humbert, a wine company based in south west Spain, produce a lovely medium sherry that hits the spot every time when sipped over ice from a short glass. It’s a smooth drinking blend of [...]

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Last night witnessed the third Oxford Geek Night, a string of informal ‘jam sessions’ of web developers and designers, aimed at bringing those groups together to share ideas, practices and technologies. The evening consisted of a range of presentations from a wide net of web-related professionals, held at the Jericho Tavern (local pub well-known for [...]

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