Guinness is trendy but I’m not a fan of this ‘splitting the G’
FOR some reason, there has been a massive rise in Guinness sales here in London and now, a drink that was considered one for the auld lads is en vogue among Gen Z, that golden fleece of a generation so eagerly sought after by marketing departments everywhere.
I recall the horror of ordering a pint in Holyhead many years ago and watching aghast as the barman put a glass under the tap and pressed a button! Needless to say, the result was not a thing of beauty. Thankfully, things have changed. The fact that there are now a few pubs that serve decent pints definitely helps but there seems to be more to it than that. It looks like Guinness has become ‘trendy’, which in modern parlance means it’s Insta-friendly.
The ceremony of the two-pour requirement and the patience required for the first two thirds of liquid to settle all add to the mystique. When the pint finally lands on the beer mat, there’s the eminently Instagrammable final settling of the pint, that lunar movement that fades to pitch black, and ultimately the first sip that leads to more photo-friendly images of freshly arrived creamy moustaches smiling into cameras and setting off a ripple effect of FOMO for the unfortunate friends at home who feel left out and stoutless!
One complaint though: I’m not a fan of this thing doing the rounds called ‘splitting the G’. This involves the pints landing on the table and someone suggesting we all ‘split the G’, whereby the first gulp has to go all the way down to the Guinness label. Not only is it difficult, it takes all the joy away from a leisurely pint and before you know it, the pint’s finished and you’re back up to the bar! It’s happened in company a couple of times recently but I’m having none of it.
My colleagues in Virgin Radio are a particularly healthy bunch. Led by Chris Evans, there is much talk of wellbeing, mindfulness and living your best life. If you’ve read any of his thoroughly excellent books (see book recommendation below) you’ll know that Chris left it all on the bar room floor (as he says himself) before deciding he’d had enough of that messing and decided to go down another route altogether, hence the chats and tips he has every day on his show relating to healthy living.
Chris runs or cycles over 20km to and from the studio every day and often exercises on the studio floor while the music is playing!
Last weekend he ran the London Marathon with his wife Tash and on Monday morning there he was at work, not a bother on him.
This is all well and good but more recently, he’s been asking how my little L-plate 5km runs are going. I laugh them off but now he’s suggesting I do 10km and maybe a half-marathon or a marathon…
Me? The man who hadn’t run up the road since I was a child until a year ago? He’s persuasive though, almost evangelical in his passionate zeal for the art of running. I might promise him a 10km by summer but anything more than that might be a stretch. Literally!
Television-wise, there’s been a lot of buzz about the Netflix series Baby Reindeer, below. I tend not to read reviews in advance as they give away too much detail so I’ll tread carefully here. This show starts off as a darkly amusing take about a barman and a customer who misreads his kindness as a romantic overture and proceeds to become increasingly unhinged in her bid to win his attention (and much more).
The first two episodes are
fine – kind of funny in a black humour way – but episode three takes a swerve. From there on it gets very heavy and not particularly easy to watch but it’s so well acted, scripted and made that you can’t stop watching it as you’re dying to find out what the hell happens in the end.
The whole compelling series is made all the more binge-able by the fact each episode is half an hour in duration so you don’t lose too much of your life to a new Netflix addiction!