Croydon Eating - Alberts Table

I had been slow to go to Alberts Table because, I will be honest,  I thought it was a bit up its own arse. I had assumed it was the kind of place where thick napkins and a handwringing Maitre D' would be the gateway to routine 'Modern British' food. And what's a restaurant in Croydon doing bandying the Michelin word around. I was wrong.
It turned out to be an absolute pleasure. The menu offered rabbit risotto and a wild mushroom soufflé. There was pork with white pudding and asparagus. There were so many big rich flavours, tastes that one remembers. Mushrooms that actually tasted wild, a feral fungus brought to heal.
The service was lovely, but maybe not in the way the proprietor dreams of. Attempts at formal Michelinish waiting were  cheerfully undermined by a charming amateurish    enthusiasm. It was kind of like the real Staff  had run off and a group of the owners friends were giving it a crack. The waitress viewing the corkscrew with an air of discovery, or the cheese board being presented like a narration from a nativity play. This is not a criticism really. If one likes pompous  yet grovelling this is not the place. If you like great food, taken seriously but with a smile then its a good call.

The Joy of Audax

Yesterday I took part in the 'Ditchling Devil, a 200km ride to the coast and back run by Audax UK. For those unfamiliar Audax is a curious cycling sub set imported from France. The idea of an Audax is to complete a course (normally very long, 200km is a short one) within a set time limit. It is not meant to be a race. To emphasise this point until recently they would insist that all bikes had full mudguards.
In practice an Audax ride is like a cross between a Sportive and a treasure hunt. Therein, until recently lay the problem. Unlike Sportives there are no signs. Riders have to navigate themselves using a route sheet, collecting stamps on a card to prove they reached various points on the course. So for the novice there are two options. Do what I did in 2006 at the Tour of the Surrey Hills, stick  the route sheet in your jersey pocket and try to hang onto the wheel of somebody who knows the way. This resulted in me spending too much time in the company of a man who looked like Robinson Crusoe in a hi-viz vest. The only alternative was to fix a clipboard to your handlebars like a Cabbie doing the knowledge and follow the directions. But this is a pursuit revolutionised the arrival of GPS! Suddenly it is no longer the preserve of the eccentric. Just load the route onto your Garmin and go.
What this then reveals are some wonderful routes, and testing events run with a generous low key enthusiasm. On the Devil the feed at 65 miles was in somebody's back garden where they dished up pasta and cups of tea.
To their credit Audax UK have welcomed the GPS and are reaping the rewards. Yesterday's event had a full field, that included a decent cross section of roadies. The old school were there but also lots of younger riders up for the challenge. There is no chip timing but in this Strava age does that matter quite so much?
However, to the man in trainers at the start with a route sheet bungeed to his bars, I hope you were wearing bib shorts under your jeans. 200km of denim on saddle is not something I would wish on anyone.

Dauphine and Team Sky

As well as taking another prestigious win at the Dauphine, Team Sky consolidated their position at the top of the UCI team rankings. The season has been packed with great stage race wins, Paris-Nice onwards. Even at the Giro the team looked strong, just Prince Wiggo failed to show. But how come a team so dominant at stage races seems so impotent in the one day classics?
Ok, there is a question of priorities. Team Sky is built around the objective of putting British Riders on the podium at the Grand Tours. For a team like Omega-Pharma their season hinges on the Classics. But with a squad that contains riders like Swift, Stannard, Thomas and Bosen-Hagen one would expect them to be there or there abouts a lot more often.
Part of it could be that stage races are better suited to their marginal gains, planned approach, exploiting the strength in depth of the squad. Sky's plan A - stay safe on flat stages, limit loses in the mountains, batter the opposition in the TT's has suited their team leaders well. The one day classics don't play to these strengths. The opportunistic, crafty, and aggressive individualism of the classics winner is maybe less easy to bottle. 

Bostock and Zaha - sliding doors in Football elevator

I read in the paper that the young midfielder John Bostock is being released by Spurs having not managed a first team appearance last season in the Premiership. A teenage prodigy at Palace he left for Spurs a few years back with much bitterness from Simon Jordan, the then Palace Chairman. It is a shock that he is still not much older than Wilfred Zaha, another Palace prodigy but one seemingly on the reverse trajectory, preparing to join Man U having already tasted a Wembley victory. 

Criterium Dauphine Libere

Winning cycling stage races often seems to be about careful planning, having a strong team, careful calculation and a big chunk of luck. It is not so often about swashbuckling attacks by those at the sharp end of the General Classification. It is because of his flamboyant attacking style that fans can still love Marco Pantani despite his much documented flaws.
On Thursday Chris Froome with his Sky Team had  ridden themselves comfortably into the yellow jersey position when Alberto Contador attacked close to the end. Contador was way down on GC and no real threat to Froome overall. With tough stages to come, maybe the smart move was to let Alberto take a stage, ride just hard enough so he can do real harm to the lead. But Froome weighed it up and got after him, first catching then attacking Contador to claim the stage and the Jersey for himself. He also laid down a massive marker for the Tour. It was great watching two if the top contenders prepared to have a go at each other. On the mountain stages Wiggo, like Indurine focuses on limiting loses, Andy Schleck seems to be a follower when he isn't looking round wondering where Frank is.
Cycling has been compared to boxing, much of that comparison springs from the brutal physical demands, and the often cynical corrupt side to both sports. But like boxing in moments cycling can rise above the squalor and be something more. In cycling those moments come in the high mountains, when all but the best have fallen away, and the strongest at left to battle for the prize. 

Great Places to Eat in Croydon - Brunch at Matthews Yard

Matthews Yard is the kind of place I think should exist but doesn't,  but it does. If that makes sense read on. A kind of arty workspace, coffee shop, venue, hangout, meeting space, bar, meeting room cafe place. Its the kind of place the public sector would makes a mess of, and the private sector would never do. I first came across the place last year when the @waterstonescroy book group started meeting their.
One of their most delightful innovations is brunch. A nice range of largely egg based fare, decent coffee in a  laid back environment. I have developed a particular weakness for their Eggs Benedict.  Recently I had the same dish at the much more prestigious Canteen on the Southbank, and the home team wins.

If one is looking for snappy efficiency I am sure the baristas at one of the chains would out gun these guys with their eyes closed. The short queue takes quite some time to serve, the staff exuding an air of discovery with each order. But it is all charming, for now.

It does seem a bit of a lottery when they are actually doing food. Brunch means brunch, don't make the mistake of wandering in for breakfast, and weekday mornings seem to be a no go. But maye if the trade is good they will grow their ambition.

Can a gig be too good

Back in the mid 90's I saw Sleater-Kinney play at the Garage in Highbury. They were pretty new and I did not know much about them. The gig was incredible, they looked so cool and sounded great. Every song sound like it should be a single, and they filled the room with such passion and fun. I went away a fan, but it didn't quite work as it should. The records just didn't sound quite as exciting as the band had been live. Good, but not the wonderful thing I had witnessed. That gig is now a teasing memory, I can almost hear it, but is just out of reach.
This came to mind because I am off to see Souixsie and Viv Albertine at Meltdown on a couple of weeks. I am kind of nervous for the reverse reason, I am so familiar with their recorded selves, but will they have that sparkle still live?