Fort William Wheelchair Curling

And there was I thinking that the town had got its act together and not only was there a rink where you could try some Curling, but that it also had disabled facilities too...

http://wheelchaircurlingblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/fort-william-cc-renovates-will-host.html

D'oh! Wrong country.

Three Sheets to the Wind

We're that dedicated and that passionate about our beer at The Grog & Gruel that even when we're not slaving away, striving to serve you the perfect pint, we're reading books about beer. Either that or we're really boring and haven't got any mates. Regardless, here we bring you the debut of The Grog Book Club.

Ok, so I'm not really that into writing about why I found this book interesting or otherwise. Far too traumatic as it reminds me too much of English Literature classes at school. What the hell was that Shakespeare bloke on about? And why couldn't he write in proper english like wot I do.

Anyway, a fairly interesting read and some interesting observations about beer and the world today. Particularly interesting are the comparisons of the liberal attitudes to licensing elswhere in the world and the lack of problems with more British traits such as late night post-pub trouble and binge drinking. Sobering thoughts (see what I did there!) in these times where Licensing in Scotland is going through huge changes.

Back your copy from your local book shop, check out Amazon, or get in touch and you can have mine if it hasn't been scooped up on Read It Swap It already.

On yer bike

Another busy week at The Grog & Gruel. Well it should be really, as its the week that the show comes to town. The trials show that is. The Scottish Six Day Trial takes over the West End car park for week, the hotel car parks on the golden mile are full of Mercedes Sprinters and Vitos all covered in cool graphics, and men in big boots ride motor bikes with no saddles out into the wilds of Lochaber.


Typically, the weather couldn't have been much worse. Come Monday the tropical downpours began. By Saturday things had improved little, but the winter snows had returned. But oddly enough, when the show packed up on Sunday the sun came out and the temperatures had climbed back into the high teens. However, chances are these guys don't really mind the weather. After all, they do ride those things up streams even when its not raining.

Its always a great week. Lots of really appreciative customers through the bar and the restaurant. Take a peak at some of the photos of the High Street show on the Outdoor Capital blog.

Next year Fort William plays host to the Trial World Championship over the weekend of 26th an 27th June. You can register for more information as it comes available on the dedicated web site.

Swine Flu Fever !!

As swine flu seems to be spreading across the globe and many folk are taking to avoiding Pork, Flying over seas, and Mexican food, we would like to re assure our customers that here at the Grog and Gruel we are swine flu free. None of the wild boar from Beauly we use has ever visited Mexico, If they had I'm sure they'd be 'cured'. Earlier in the day I was concerned so I phoned the emergency swine flu hot line...unfortunately all I got was 'crackling'.

A customer told me they were suffering from snuffling, coughing and sweating and that they must have swine flu however I think they are telling 'porkies'. On a serious note, with all the global recession business and now a pandemic approaching, now is the best time to go to the Grog and relax with a nice pint of cask ale...the perfect 'oinkment'.

Good bye Easter !!

So Easter is well and truly over. Everyone is back to school or work and all the chocolate is gone. Fort William saw a very busy time in Fort William with a great spell of good weather, even some Ben Nevis sunburn victims were recorded. Easter also saw a record number of pints and pies sold at our "Pint and a Pie" Festival. The pies proved so popular we found ourselves having to place emergency pastry orders.
Down to business tho, and the big question is "who is the winner of the best ale of the festival?". As always we allow customers to vote for the beer they enjoy the most over the two weeks. As always the results were surprising especially when the quality and range of ales were the best we've seen here at the Grog. The winner was Kelpie Seaweed ale made by those clever Williams Brothers, with Ben Nevis 80/- coming in a close second. Great to see customers at the Grog are brave enough to try a taste of Seaweed ale. But the end of the beer festival ain't the end of the world and we will be show casing another 9 local cask ales this weekend to wash away your thirst. So pop in and see what we've got to tempt you with.

Chinese Whispers on the web

Right then, what's this a picture of? If you guessed "Mario is fixing the roof of a house", then you'd be spot on. Chances are you'd also either have cheated, or be clearly quite mad. What am I on about?
Visit Broken Picture Telephone and all will be revealed. The name itself means nothing to me. But if you called it Chinese Whispers, then I'd have a better idea as to what this was. Maybe its a regional thing, or perhaps an age thing? Or maybe Chinese Whispers is just plain racist and morally offensive in the 21st century.

So, basically, someone comes up with a written description and someone else then draws a picture of it. The next person then writes what he sees in the picture. And on it goes, with (as they say on TV) hilarious consequences. Here's a couple of games to have a look at. Try the rest of the Mario one, or perhaps the pen is mightier than the sword.

So, when next bored silly in The Grog & Gruel, simply fire up your lap top, make use of our free wireless internet connection and have yourself a quick game of Broken Picture Telephone.

Oh my god! It's Acousticrat.

One of the better advertising posters for live music at The Grog & Gruel.


See them play live at The Grog & Gruel on Wednesday 27th May, or take a peak at their MySpace page.

For more details of live music at Fort William's favourite pub, keep an eye on our Diary Page.

Say aye tae a pork pie

So, the Easter Beer Festival has been and gone, and with it all those wonderful pies you've been enjoying over the last fortnight. More on the festival to follow soon, but for those of you who've had pie withdrawal symptoms, here's the ideal solution.

Pies by post!

The Rowan Cottage Kitchen is a small business based way out west at Newton of Ardtoe (that's just beyond Acharacle and the beach nearby is reason enough to go and visit). They came across to Clachaig last night to meet some of the local B&B businesses at the informal 'gathering' of the trade. Great to meet such enthusiasm for doing business.

They say that pies inspired them to start their little business, and pie fans everywhere can certainly appreciate why. And fear not, for you don't need to wait for a sunny day and a trip to the beach to go and buy one of their pies. No, they'll post one to you.

Thing is, I can't work out how much Piccalilli I need to go with a 2 kilogram Pork Pie!

Visit the Rowan Cottage Kitchen web site.