Real Ale, Real Music

As we approach the end of January, I look back over a month that has brought much misery to so many people. Yes, January is never top of the list when it comes to naming your favourite month, even amongst those of us that have our birthdays in it. Many decide to abstain from food, drink, socialising, pleasure in general - but this year, in the Calder Valley and in many other areas, this particular one has been a shocker. Just before Christmas, I had gone to Hebden Bridge with our Tom and Annie for a wander around and the odd beer. The town was buzzing and twinkling with pre-Christmas atmosphere and anticipation. We tried the town's latest latest micropub, Drink, set in an off licence and bottle shop, with Bridestones Brewery much in evidence. We then moved on to the local co-operatively-owned pub, the Fox and Goose.  Then it was on to The Old Gate, where as usual it was pretty busy, beer as good as ever, then on the the town's original micro, Calan's, where our Tom enth

". ..then the loud sound did seem to fade.... "  David Bowie, 'Starman', 1972 January 11th, 2016. I have just scraped the ice off my car before setting off to work. The 'Today' Programme is on Radio 4, as has been the case for the last 25 years. I catch the tail end of a breaking news item saying David Bowie has died. I can't believe what I am hearing. 3 days ago, on January 8th, the birthday I shared with him, he was 69. On Saturday, I had bought the album he had released on his birthday, 'Blackstar', the first he had released since 'The Next Day', almost 3 years ago. This had followed the release of a single, 'Where Are We Now?', which had appeared out of nowhere, in true Bowie-style, on his 66th birthday, following a long hiatus. Over the next hour, as presenters Nick Robinson and Justin Webb, and guests like the Archbishop of Canterbury, add their own personal views and experiences of Bowie's impact on their lives, the s