Avete torta? Part 2

Probabilmente la migliore pizza nel mondo

Another country and the search for decent Pie goes on and yet again we resort to a Calzone which at least looks like a huge Cornish Pasty. This one was provided by Napoli Man pictured above. During our visit for the excellent Italian Grand Prix we ended up more often than not at the Vesuvius Pizza Emporium, Boltiere, run by the Napoli Man where F1 Fans he appropriately served Pironi Beer!

He was very loud and very hospitable. We sit down and enjoy with relish our introduction to Italy via the Napoli Man. We are struggling with the language a bit but enjoy ourselves. On arrival back from the practice day he greets us of the Coach and drags us in! He is less than complimentary about The Ferrari drivers performance's in the Grand Prix. He is convinced were Americans and I can only assume this is because I'm large and wearing a loud dangerous shirt!

The Cheeky Police

After the Grand Prix finished were made our back via the track to the main straight and the start/finish line. The Dragonslayer and Pieman (Womble look alike) stopped for a phot with the local Police as they were busy doing nothing. Although this proved to be a traumatic experience for Dragonslayer who was well and truly goosed/grabbed whilst this photo was taken !! Which policeman is smiling most!!

Plot 109a Update

The Pie Tribe Plot is fairly dormant at the moment but our maiden harvest has been very encouraging. Our crops of potatoes, onions were excellent. We have baked, roasted, sliced, mashed, grated and boiled potatoes till we run out a few weeks before Christmas at roughly the same time as our huge onions.

Were looking forward to planting and raising crops again next year. In the meantime if anyone has access to a Petrol driven strimmer let us know. Also if you know where we can obtain some good manure that would be appreciated!!! Please no comments about Everton FC thank you.

Britains Best Banger

No thats not a reference to the Pieman's four wheel chariot but a tribute to Penyffordd Pie maker and Champion sausage maker Mr Steve Vaughan.

He has recently won this title organised by the Meat Trades Journal and beat off 23 other finalists from around the UK. This was his fourth attempt and the Pieman can testify to the quality of his produce having sampled a few!!

December also saw Mr Vaughan introduce a seasonal Pie to his repertoire, a Pork Pie with Stuffing, which we can recommend. Having sent staff on a recent trade mission to Poland we eagerly await signs of this continental influence!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas one and all. We're up, the presents are unwrapped and the bacon butties devoured. Supergirl and the Pink Princess are happy with their Everton Hats - what more could a girl want!!???

Hope your day is going well wherever you are in the world. Many Best wishes from the Pie Tribe.

Pies 1, Everton 0 & Chelski 0

The Dragonslayer and the Pieman headed to Goodison Park for the match against Chelski on monday night.

The Chelski team were a sight to watch with Deco, Ballack, Lampard, Cole et al in action. Passing, Poise, Probing and Pace in abundance with a multitude of skills and talent at their disposal.

If I was a Chelski fan though I would hang my head in shame. Big Phil has complained in the media today that the referee was too afraid of the crowd to make the right decision (in his eyes).

If a fan touches one blade of grass he is arrested on the spot, frog marched from the ground and charged. Meanwhile on the pitch an overpaid self important shameless "star" can harass, swear, bicker, scream, gesticulate and shout en masse against a referee usually without interuption.

Chelski are the worst offenders crowding the referee actively seeking opportunities to get fellow professionals booked or sent off and then squealing like little pigs when decisions go against them. There may be reasons why they behave like this but no excuses, their tactics last night deserved defeat at best and a draw at worst.

Any way onto the important news a new Pie found and tasted. A Balti pie was acquired under the Park Stand before kick off. A little overpriced but this is to be expected.

Tasty with a bit of a spicy kick but not "Bite Your Bottom" hot a welcome respite in the cold weather and empty stomach. We believe it to be a Pukka Pie but wait to be corrected if not.

Parallel Universe

A small City which has motorway, train & canal links, museums, a University, is a administrative centre, a thriving tourist trade and a population just over 100,000.

Can such a City build a 17,000 all seater stadium, produce a team to win the Premier league and compete in the European Champions League?

Surely only in a parallel universe I hear you Chester fans scream. It's not possible except in your wildest dreams. However in Holland yesterday AZ Alkmaar beat the mighty Ajax to go top of the Dutch Eredivisie.

Their two year old stadium is on the edge of town and very impressive with it's accompanying training pitches and purpose built youth academy. How long before Chester play at home in the European Champions League, I wonder?

Avete torta? Part 1

The Dragonslayer and the Pieman headed south for Grand Prix and Pie in sunny Italy at Monza Autodrome just a few miles east of Milan. We flew from Manchester on Friday afternoon and stayed in a small village called Boltiere not far from Bergamo.

What a weekend! The weather was abysmal it poured with rain everytime we approached the circuit and came down even heavier every time a car appeared on track. Yet despite or because of this we had a FANTASTIC time. We met some interesting, boring, fascinating, miserable, happy, fun, weird people and that was just the brits including the Subaru 3, the Brum 2, Billy no mate and Aberdeen Angus, who we understood less than the Italians.

The track is a classic with parts of the old famous steep banking hidden away but still there in places. It is set amongst a wonderful public park/woodland but does not cope with rain too well.

Our first day was spent finding our way round and selcting a site to watch the race from the following day. We watched the morning practise from the exit of Rettifillio chicane at the end of the Start/Finish straight. For the actual qualifying and race day we eventually settled on area on the inside of track at the braking area just before the Parabolic.

Who Screamed The Loudest?

The Pie Tribe headed towards Bala a couple of weekends back to the National Whitewater Centre. This was near Frongoch on the River Tryweryn. Mrs Pieman was to enjoy an afternoon Rafting down the River Tryweryn the flow of which is controlled by a Dam upstream.

The session is preceded by instruction and kitting out with wet suits, helmets etc .......This is followed by instruction in the boat on dry land with your fellow raftmates. You are then taken by minibus upstream with your raft for the first of four runs down the river.

We think the pictures amply illustrate how much Mrs Pieman enjoyed herself!! She definitely screamed the loudest when she went down the drop where the rest of the Pie Tribe were watching from. This was usually followed by laughter and a very large grin.

Holland Part 2

The search for quality pies continued but the best that Holland could offer was Cheese Pasties and various types of Sausage roll. A particularly favourite seem to be the lattice type with a strange Curry Sauce and Tomato ketchup stuffed variety as pictured!!

A first for the Pie Tribe were the eels we had at Einkhuizen at the Zuider Zee Museum. Smoked and very difficult to get rid of the taste, even after several brushings of teeth.



Many thanks to Rose Swamp who steered us in the direction of Kibling and huge quntities of Mayonnaise. Kibling being Cod and sold by the bucketload.

Other favourite's by the end of the trip were the Apple Pie, Gouda Cheese, the many Cake Shops, Belgium Chips, Chocolate dipped Ice Cream, Liptons Iced Tea with Lime, Cheap Supermarket Chocolate, Amstel Beer, Corn Bread ...........

Holland Part 1

We headed to Holland for our holiday this year and hired a house/chalet/gite on a lake just off the North Holland Canal in the Village of Nieuwe Nidorp about 45 miles North West of Amsterdam and about 15 miles from Alkmaar.

More importantly it was only 25 mins away from the Swamp family who were holidaying at the Dirk Swamp ancestral home(s) in the village of Andijk. After dumping our gear we headed over for a brilliant welcome to Holland. The Dutchies as ever were mad and loud. Many thanks to the extended Swamp family who made us feel very welcome.

Haben Sie Torte?

Mrs Pie headed to Germany at the end of the academic year to explore the Mosel region.

Instructions were given to locate Pies to delight and expand the waistband. I was assured that language would not be a problem. Pictured on the left is Mrs Pie and colleague Mrs Lindt.

However upon their return no pie was forthcoming. Upon seeing the photos from the Pie Trip it may be safe to assume that any Pie Purchased may not have made it back anyway!!!

I'm assured the music man was tucking into apple strudel but would you trust this man with your Pie?

Wie ben ik?

Dear Blog,

Sorry we haven't left a note for a while. We've been rather busy in the search of Pies. Since we last wrote the Pie Tribe has been to foreign shores searching for edible delicacies to feast and report on.

This has taken tribe members to France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Wales and soon to Italy.

The photo above was given to all Dutch purveyors of Pies to allow them to hide all stocks of Pies to prevent the Pieman from finding any ....and I certainly looked!!

K9 & the Tall Ships 2008

The Pie Tribe minus Mrs But Including the Piester In Law headed for Liverpool Docks to see the Tall Ships Race.

Going by train and taxi we headed for the Seacombe ferry terminal in Wallasey and the Spaceport/Dr Who exhibition. An excellent exhibition both the space bit and particularly the Dr Who part.

From here it was into the cafe for the most anemic pathetic pastry offering experienced by the Pie Tribe in a long while. So much so it was nameless in origin!

Then it was onto the ferry a quick call at Woodside and across the Mersey to Pier Head. Although the predicted bad weather didn't arrive during our visit a racing tide and strong breeze resulted in a bumpy crossing.

Once ashore at Pier Head the place was heaving with the dock road closed and Canning/Albert Dock area absolutely jammed with people. It was'nt easy to see the boats but there were a few things going, music and street entertainers.

From here the Pie girls were keen to head into town and sample some shopping for clothes but not Pies unfortunately. They also started finding the Superlambananas and kept wanting to find more.

Potatoes Are Go! - Plot 109a Update

We have potatoes, lettuce and huge turnips. The first potatoes have been dug and have produced excellent edible offerings. The first lettuces were great but some have now bolted. Onions should be available soon followed by more lettuce, spring onions and Beetroot.

Chard is continuing to produce when not attacked by the noble pigeon.

Busy Abode

On Wednesday the Pieman and the Dragonslayer headed to the Echo Arena in Liverpool to see the mighty Crowded House. We left fairly late but arrived, parked and made our into this new venue ( for us anyway) fairly easily. The venue itself is internally almost the same as the MEN in Manchester except slightly smaller, newer and with excellent views along the Mersey estuary as it is literally on the waterfront.

Support was provided by former Mutton Birds frontman Don Mcglashan who was eventually joined on piano by Mr Finn before giving way to Liverpool Band Voo. They were quite good but not very communicative.

Mr Mcglashan was pretty good and would subsequently appear throughout the Crowdies set backing them with vocals and various instruments. Also filling out the stage, on principally Acoustic guitar, was Elroy Finn.

Crowded House came onstage and were their excellent selves. They played a different set to their show in Manchester last November including Everything is good for you/World Where you live/Love you til the day I die/Isolation/Fall at your feet/Only Natural/Locked Out/Heaven That I'm making/Whispers and Moans/Not The Girl you think you are/Pineapple Head/Other side of the world/Don't dream it's over/When you come/Distant Sun/Encore 1 (with Johnny Marr)There is a light/Don't stop now/Throw your arms around me/Weather with you/Encore 2Fingers of love/Into Temptation

Mr Finn after the third or fourth started a running battle with the health and safety stasi who were not happy with people standing, boogieing and enjoying themselves. The venue was good the crowdies were good and rounded it off by bringing Johnny Marr onstage for four songs.

Most excellent way to finish and not the first time we have seen Mr Marr onstage with Mr Finn. We have previously seen the Finn Brothers at the empire in Liverpool with the Dragonslayers and Viking tribe on the day that John Peel died. Mr Marr walked on at the end and together with Neil played a rousing version of Teenage Kicks in tribute to the great Mr Peel.

Getting away after the gig was not too bad cetainly a lot better than the MEN. The only bad things about the event was the Piemans Man Flu and Neil Finn outing himself as a Red fan of long standing. At least it led to him playing a Split Enz tune ( Great Joy) " I See Red" not good, cue much booing by blue half of audience Ha Ha !!!!

1 Jam 1 Cheese 1 Peanut Butter

A few months back an idea was hatched to contact as many members of YPF for a possible reunion in the future. With the resounding positive response more plans were made and came to fruition on independence day at the home of Mark & Viv TV.

What a fantastic evening!!! With surprised honoured guests Jan & Alan the evening was brilliant. With caramel squares, embarassing photos, music, videos, a quiz, chat, excellent company, Jam, Cheese, Peanut Butter, Schloer, strange haircuts and much much laughter how could it fail.

Many thanks to all who were able to come and helped providing photo's, quiz questions, food, drink and happy memories. Pie was provided by Mark in the way of Banoffe Pie! Can an evening be better spent?

I'm H.A.P.P.Y.
I know I am,
I'm sure I am,
JAN says I am !

If anyone would like a copy of the images shown on the night please contact the pieman and we'll send you a copy of all that we have.

D Day

Father's Day saw the extended Pie Tribe head en masse to Anglesey to visit Holyhead, South Stack, The Rocky Coast Path Nature Reserve and Porth Dafarch Beach.

We all met up at the Nature reserve for a picnic lunch in glorious sunshine which was great as it was pouring down when we left home. After lunch we headed down to Grandad D's bench to lay some flowers, enjoy the view and clamber about on the rocks.

From here we headed, still in unpredicted sunshine, to Porth Dafarch beach for some general messin about and sun worshipping. The Pieman headed off along the Cliff's for a walk with Chough Tribe Dog Tina.


From the beach we moved on to South Stack Lighthouse Cafe, Coffee and Cake! The views on such a good day were fantastic. We even spotted a Chough! The cliffs had plenty of Razorbills, Guiellemotts and Herring Gulls but no Puffins to see.

Harvest Time

Plot 109a is progressing with the planting of sweetcorn, beetroot, swede, more lettuce and Carrots. Life has sprung from everything planted so far except for the beans. The potatoes are our current pride and joy being well established and growing strong.

The fruits or vegetables of our labours are now being eaten. With a deluge of radishes and Swiss Chard. Battling with never ending weeds continues but slugs and Wood Pigeons are now Public enemy number 1. A start has been made on the other overgrown part of our plot.

Tribal Gathering

The Viking, Tipton and Pie Tribes headed for a gathering at Tatton Park on Sunday last. This was prompted by the Viking tribes visit to Chester for a long weekend break and Family Celebration. Wendy Vikings parents celebrated 50 years married!

Even though the weather was spectacularly damp for most of the afternoon we all still had a good time. There was lots to do and see with a Classic Car event taking place which had plenty of Automotive delights to drool over.

The various ankle biters from the tribes were quick to spot a large retail unit called the Pie Emporium. Unfortunately at £4.00 a hit for a limp looking offering even the Pieman could not be tempted.

The rain eventually began to cease and we headed back to Chester for Pizza and more chat.

Hogroast

Congratulations to Sean & Jane on their 25th wedding anniversary. Mr & Mrs Pieman along with the Bag Tribe went to the party held in Rossett via the vomit comet driven by Frankie Piester in Law.

The weather was excellent, the venue was brilliant, the company divine, the drink flowing and the Hog superb. A great time was had by the Pie contingent who didn't stop laughing all night, what could be better. Good luck to Jane who is starting a new job soon.

Loose Kites Debut Album

The self titled debut album of the Loose Kites is out and being played a lot by the Pie Tribe. It consists of the four tracks from their ep and 7 other tracks. the full track listing is

THE LOOSE KITES - the loose kites: 1 radiation vibe2 roo ba bah3 love the one your with4 in the blood5 the ballad of bianca owen6 high maintenance7 last orders8 devil's in the detail9 revelation10 dirty rascal11 shoot me

Some of the original tracks have been either remixed, re-recorded or added to with some overdubs including a nice bit of brass (In The Blood). All the tracks are written by the band except "Love The One Your With" a Stephen Stills song.

Apart from the original four tracks the Piemans early favourites are "the Ballad of Bianca owen, Last Orders & Dirty Rascal".

If you haven't experienced the Loose Kites yet listen to some top tunes and view an excellent video for Radiation Vibe at their MySpace site by clicking this link Loose Kites.

Also check out the list of their forthcoming gigs and get yourself along for a toe tapping, hip shaking, soul searchin, mind blowin, harmonising heaven of an experience and a rollicking good time to boot !!!

Afflecks Palace

Saturday saw the Pie Tribe head to Manchester for a birthday treat for Pie Daughter No 1. The destination was Afflecks Palace in Manchester. A departmental store /emporium with a variety of shops dedicated to fashion (of a kind!).

A great time was had, particularly by the female contingent of the Pie Tribe. The excitement over this trip was too much for some members of the Pie Tribe who fell asleep en route!!!

So much time was spent inside that there was not much time to visit anywhere else. Birthday girl enjoyed herself enormously and Princess Pie even managed to buy some bright pink eye shadow, PINK Power!!

Archaeological Dig - Plot 109a

Moving on from being an archaeological dig, planting has begun on Plot 109a.

So far we have planted Potatoes, Onions, Lettuce x2, Chives, Spring Onion, Radishes, Garlic, French Bean and Turnips. Much help, advice, equipment and plants has been generously provided by fellow Allotment Holders.

Many thanks must go to fellow brick diggers Mrs Pieman, Pink Power (pictured below), Frankie Piester-in-Law and Pie Daughter No 1. Half the plot is currently devoted to cultivation and the other half is still in use by the ever growing Triffid population.

Bricks and various other debris is still being unearthed along with plastic sheeting left buried by a previous incumbent. The ongoing battle with couch grass and bindweed continues. Does anyone have a petrol strimmer the Pieman can massacre some jungle undergrowth with?

Here Comes The Summer

It's official the summer has arrived the Pieman has been spotted wearing his shorts in public.

To celebrate sunshine and hard work food was eaten outside for the first time this year with various visitors including Travis, Dave Rave, Frankie and the Funky Gibbon in attendance.

Chelski

On Thursday last the Pieman and Dragonslayer headed for Goodison Park for the Premier League fixture with Chelski.

The game ended in a 1-0 defeat for the mighty blues, to a goal which looked mightily dubious to all those seated in the Park End. Everton were below par lacking imagination and concentration. I knew it wasn't going to be our night when the Pienaar was taken off.

The Chelski team contains more players than any other to loathe. At least this time the Chelski fans made an effort due to free travel!

We did have the opportunity to try out a Hollands Steak and Kidney Pie just before the match in a local hostelry that was'nt on fire. Quite a while since the Pieman's last Hollands pie and this one was quite good. Many thanks to the dragonslayer for Pie and fast speed photography!

On The Buses

Last Sunday the Pie Tribe headed to St Helens and The North West Museum Of Road Transport where a special event day was dedicated to Chester Buses.

Pictured on the left is the Pie Tribe aboard a Former Chester Corporation Bus on one of the many free trips around St Helens they were doing on the day. The crunch of the gears in first/second, the whine of the engine and the lean of the bus around corners were all evocative memories for the elder members of the Pie Tribe.

The Museum itself was interesting enough even if only to learn that Y Front underpants went on sale in Britain in 1938 and that Alcoholics annonymous had their 1st meetings in 1935 the same year beer was sold in cans for the first time! Little time was spent in the search of Pies and apart from the Museum St Helens seemed to be shut.

Nanny Pie Wins Award

Deli-vert in Faulkner St, Hoole scoops top award! deli-vert won Gold at the Chester Food and Drink Festival in the local produce shop of the year category.

This is of course where Nanny Pie works and the Pie Tribe can personally testify to the excellent produce found here. Including Pies from Harvies Ltd, who supply the Steak, Brandy and Cracked Peppercorn Pie which the Pieman found last year and mentioned on July 14th, 2007 blog. Congratulations to all.

Award Winning Woe

Vaughan's Family Butchers of Penyffordd, the Monster Champion Pie Chompers Pie supplier of choice has been in the awards again winning top prize at the annual Innovation and Excellence Awards held by Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC).

Steven Vaughan, who scooped the top prize for the supreme sausage champion title for his traditional sausage recipe said: 'It's great to have won this award and I'm sure the traditional sausage will sell well after receiving this accolade. Let's hope it has a positive effect on the business, attracting old and new customers to the shop."

Also having won a Gold Medal award for his Scotch Pie, the Monster Champion Pie Chompers were keen to try it out. Limited stock meant the Pieman missed out on this opportunity. But he's reliably informed by two expert chompers that this Gold Medal award Winner was a turkey and not the feathered variety. However we presume this is a temporary blip in an otherwise excellent emporium of pies and meat products.

Plot 109a Update

Visits to the Pie estate have continuing and some serious digging has been taking place. The possibility of the plot being designated an Archeological dig cannot be denied.

However progress has continued to be slow due to the inordinate amount of material (non soil) currently being unearthed. This now includes now includes hundreds of bricks, several large pieces of Sandstone, various blocks of concrete, metal, castor wheels, toothbrush, razor, Belfast Sink !!!, 1/2 Pilkingtons factory, netting, socks (again), jumper, various tools.............

Square Pie at The Loaf

Members of the Monster Champion Pie Chompers found themselves in Birmingham last week looking for food and ended up in a hostelry in Hurst St called the Loaf.

Including the Pieman we were tempted by "Timothy Taylor's Steak & Ale Square Pie". A brick like offering infused with Landlord Pale Ale. Anticipation did not quite live up to reality and we were a little disappointed with this Pie. Suspicions were that it was pre cooked and superheated in a microwave. But any Pie is better than no Pie

Italian Pie

The Pie Tribe visted Southport over the easter Bank Holiday weekend. A place we hadn't been to, in quite a while. The weather was not very friendly and with a biting wind coming in off the sea, we avoided the front. Some interesting shops were found including an excellent bookshop.

Highlight of the day though had to be the meal we had in an Italian restaurant on the main High Street. The Pieman chose the Calzone which as the picture demonstrates shows a striking resemblance to a large Cornish Pasty! Delicious and very filling. I'm looking forward to the next one already.