Red Devils!

Almost there - phew!

Dashing through the streets of Brecon at the end of Stage 15 of the Welsh Castles Relay, looks good but it wasn't good really. I'd been up in the night with a heavy cold and maybe should have pleaded for someone else to take my place. However it was a nice day for it. That's knocked me out for the week!

On the two stage journey back from Rome we caught a Brussels Airlines jet into Manchester. This is the brightly painted plane - a one off to commemorate the Belgian national football team. Very appropriate for a return to the home of the Old Trafford Red Devils. (And of course the Salford Rugby League 'Red Devils".)

Not the best photo but it was the best beer we'd found in Rome. There are some microbrew bars in Rome but we were on the north side of the city and well away from the nearest. However the street cafe that we repaired to for refreshment after slogging the tourist sights had a fridge full of interesting bottles so we tried a couple. The Hophead IPA was made in Germany at the renowned Bitburger Brewery, seemingly still independent, and very good it was! The beer on the left of it was from the small Lancelot brewery in Brittany - this was a tasty stout like beer, but what struck me was the name, Telenn Du. I knew that Du is the Welsh word for  black and, on returning home, I found that Telyn in the Welsh for harp. So here is a bottle of Black Harp in the Breton translation!