"Brew Britannia" by Jessica Boak and Ray Bailey

“Brew Britannia - The Strange Rebirth Of British Beer” by Jessica Boak & Ray Bailey (2014 Aurum Press UK, softcover, 5.3”x 8.5”, 304 pages)

England’s history with beer goes back hundreds of years. Britain is known the world over as a major player in the world’s craft beer scene, creating great brews for generations. But just as industrial beer corporations took over America for so many years, a similar consolidation happened to England. However, just within the last 50 years, England has “taken back the pint”, and this book details that struggle.

Authors and beer bloggers Boak and Bailey chronicle the beginnings of the notorious “CAMRA (Campaign For Real Ale)”, as well as the writers, beer critics, curmudgeons, and cranks that stubbornly refused to have corporate interests water down their ales (and lagers). We get names, places, and hometown breweries that put their own hearts and wallets into creating real beer for real people, and a pretty well comprehensive history of the wheres, hows, whos, and whys behind England’s re-emergence as a major brewing destination of the world. There’s not much as far as illustrations or photos to illustrate this journey, but the book reads well, and most certainly has a place among any legitimate beer book collection. All said, it’s a great piece of British brewing history, and a great document of a story that needed to be told.

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The Fall - "Ersatz GB" CD

So the Fall are an English institution. I'm not as much of a fan as I probably should be, and I don't care to count the band's many, many albums they've recorded since 1979. Suffice to say, The Fall are prolific. And, did I say legendary?

 Led as always by ascetic frontman Mark E. Smith, The Fall's umpteenth album, "Ersatz GB" begins with the taut and aggressive proto-Krautrock of "Cosmos", whereas Smith sneers his way through a tangle of spiky punk-edged guitar and drums. "Taking Off" is more atmospheric, while "Nate Will Not Return" is a claustrophobic assault, with Smith's streetwise storytelling at the forefront.

"Greenway" is a gruff and heavy rocker with Smith's formidable anger palpable. "Happi Song" is a sweet and soft middle point, with keyboardist Eleni Poulou taking over lead vocals. From there, it's back to Smith and company's sweaty, dirty rock with electronic elements around the edges. This is a superb album, and I really need to look at this band a bit closer, no doubt about it. (Cherry Red/MVD Audio)

  The nearest to an official Fall site

"Unexplained Explained: Ghostly Paranormal Activity" DVD

English filmmaker Paul Wookey here collaborates with psychic Diane Howe and a small film crew to attempt to document some paranormal activity in the historic Anchor Pub in Dales, England. It succeeds, mostly.

The large part of this 75-minute documentary is Wookey interviewing eyewitnesses and historians about the area and it's dark history. The conclusion is a Ouija-style seance where some rather seedy spirits make their presence known.

This is a rather amateurish affair, to be sure, and it skirts the lines between believability and skepticism. Still, with the great atmospheres of the dingy old English pub, I found myself drawn in to the ceremony and mood. A fun, if unessential piece for fans of "Ghost Hunters" or "Ghost Adventures". (World Wide Multi Media via MVD Visual)

"British Royal Weddings Of The 20th Century" DVD

Quick cash-grab compilation of public domain footage of 19 royal weddings over the last century, from 1919 to the 1986 union of Prince Andrew and Miss Sarah Ferguson. If newsreel footage of throngs of English people pulsing to catch a glimpse of a royal bride or groom sounds like a fascinating way to spend 3 hours, be my guest. And while it may be of some convenience to have this historical footage compiled onto one disc, "British Royal Weddings" is of limited, marginal interest to any but the most ardent and dedicated Anglophile. (Cherry Red/Strike Force Entertainment)