Ten Shades Of Grey

It was March 2001 when I first set foot in Trev; a clear sunny day, with The Cranberries playing on the jukebox, and a blissful knowledge that life was bound to go on exactly as I knew it, without any wars, heartbreaks, terrorist attacks, financial crises, fee rises, personal vendettas, riots or election debacles to disrupt matters.

Okay, so I learned the hard way.

But still, in November 2001 I was sat in Trev alongside my good mates Rich and Mark, pints in our hands, listening to Irish folk music and drinking the available ales as fast as we could grab them. That first Furness Beer Festival was truly the beginning of a wonderful friendship, as I returned each and every year afterward to make my mark - whether it was encouraging the entire bar to sing along to Papa Roach in unison or cracking my head open on the patio paving slabs after attempting to dance the Macarena on top of a wet picnic table, the festival always proved a landmark in my year.

Well, this year the college and bar both turn forty, so the beer festival's been a special one. A lot of old alumni have been visiting, bathing in their own rich memories, and casting a critical eye over the state of affairs as it exists now. But for my money, the kids that this college is producing are as smart and streetwise as they've ever been. And they've haven't once tried to dance on top of the picnic tables outside, which gives them a distinct head-start on me.