the FINEST things at "Good Food Show"

**Zak33** · 29-11-2003, 03:53 PM

...were on the Isle of Man display .

Me and Sair were at the NEC from lunchtime, and we wandered, we shopped, we ate.....

I love the Good Food Show....but this year was exceptional.

The Isle of Man (where Tumble is from) had a food and ale stand and it was ACE

I love it when a place and its people promote themselves so well.

The lads at our LAN WAN a while ago will know Tumble loves his homeland and he's very proud of it.....but so were all the blokes on the show stand.....

I gotta go there.....real soon

And as for BEER

oh....this place knows its food and drink

Bushy's Ale of Man is lovely.....but my heart has been stolen by:

Okell's MAC LIR

I'll quote the label:

"Manannan Mac Lir, Mystic Warrior and Wizard of the Isle of Man...and now inspiration for Okell's Mac Lir Wheat Beer. Pure brewed here in the Isle of Man, Mac Lir tempts with a unique light golden colour, Enchants with a refreshing burst of sweetness on the tongue, and bathes you in a complex dry finish...and a little of Manannan's Magic"

I'm sold on it

Itsjust DIVINE.....its clean, and true and power full (4.4%) and the alcohol content is only a fraction of the magic.

Followed up rapidly by Sausages made from a local breed of sheep.....SHEEP !!! yeah right.....

Scariest bugger i've ever seen.....I'll let Tumlbe expain what on EARTH that ram on the picture was, but it had 4 monster horns !

The cheese was amazing....Garlic Chive Mature Cheddar , and Black Peppercorn Mature Cheddar

I gotta say..if Island life is really this good.......I will go very very grreen when I finally visit.

There was more at the show....lets face it. its damn huge,and I wont bore ya with the fantastic "Run" cookware (yup..got suckered by a good saleswoman....I LOVE good sales people)

Non alcoholic punch for my Mum (which was more complex in flavour than anything I have ever had, you name the herb, it was in it)

and the most AWESOME Organic Beef Burger, rare, with organic herbs, organic bread roll, top notch salt and pepper organic crisps (Burtons ?) and Organic GINGER BEER ...full on with sediment and a good shake to "wake itup"

What a show.......stayed away from the wine stands for fear of a destroyed wallet, but tried a ferocious Coconut Rum (not Bacardi.....PURE COCONUT MILK) and a Strawberry vodka from heaven.

Swafe · 29-11-2003, 09:33 PM

if anyone else goes - i work on the car parks from time to time so pop in and say hi

last time i was working, we had loads of pissed people coming out because there was free wine on serveral stands and theyd been goin back repeatedly and some woman collapsed, hehe

**directhex** · 29-11-2003, 09:35 PM

someone should do another series of Iron Chef, that show's the daddy

Tumble · 01-12-2003, 12:32 AM

Ahaa - that'll be the Loghtan Sheep... beasty things them...
here's one:

The Breed
The Loghtan sheep is a native Manx breed. It almost died out in the 1950's, but now there are many thriving flocks across the British Isles. Loghtan is an unusual breed given that both sexes have the tendency to produce two or three pairs of horns. The ewe (female) horns are small, but the ram (male) horns are strong and long. A sturdy and rugged breed, which has a long ancestry on the Island of Man. The name "Loghtan" is believed to come from the Manx words lugh (meaning mouse) and dhoan (meaning brown). This name could be referring to the light brown fleece, which most of the sheep grow. Once the sheep would have been seen along the mountains and hills in white, grey and black, but now only the brown ones remain. Lambs are born black but change from 2 weeks old to brown. Loghtans have no wool on their legs or face and are similar to the northern short tail breeds.

Loghtan wool is normally left undyed and used to weave lightweight garments. Manx tartans are also made from this wool.

Loghtan mature at 15 to 18 months and are normally fed on natural mountain herbage. Their meat is a dark and low in both fat and cholesterol. It cooks at 165C for 30 minutes per pound.

Statistics
Produces hairy (average 2.5kg) and woolly (average 1.5kg) fleece.
Ewes (average) weigh in at about 38.5kg (85lbs).
Survey in 1997 showed 1540 breeding females.

taken from www.iomguide.com