27: Tiny Hope

There's something about tiny little model houses that makes my heart feel warm. I get the same feeling looking at the painstaking detail of that sweeping rooftops-of-London scene at the start of Muppet's Christmas Carol, or the Jolly Pocket Postman books. Like an aching nostalgia for somewhere I've never been.I don't imagine myself there -- I think of the alternative lives that could exist inside those warm yellow windows; the people who might find a place like this and call it home. The best model homes have suggestions of lives being lived inside, just out of sight. In a local department store near my house there's a Christmas display of perfect festive homes, shops, a cobbled high street, churches with little stained glass windows and even a couple of pubs. A train chugs around the town's perimeter every minute or so -- I suppose I am jealous of their transport links -- and a hot air balloon with two little people inside, one holding binoculars, dangles over the pond where locals are ice skating. My favourite tiny buildings have silhouettes of people sat around dinner tables, or dancing, or drinking a beer. I like thinking about who they might be and what brought them to such a perfect little place. It's incredibly soothing.I like this article where they try to understand why tiny things are so appealing to us, but in a way, I also wish nobody was trying to undo the magic. Let me have my little worlds, where there's always a light on in the window somewhere, and someone's always baking a cake.Other stuff

• You don't know Jack about Monterey Jack, but after this brilliant piece by Rachel Wharton, you're gonna be up to speed.

• A gorgeous short read by Hollie at Globe Hops about the ritual of the Christmas Day pint.

• MiMi Aye has a laugh that made me smile in the torrential rain when my Primark bags disintegrated on Cathedral Square in Blackburn. Listen to her on the Lecker podcast and let her brighten your day.

• You have to gaze at these beautiful, exquisite miniature landscapes made by Plymouth-based "needle painter" Victoria Rose.

• Modernist gingerbread houses. Because the only thing more perfect than a miniature house is an edible one, and the only thing still more perfect is one originally designed by Philip Johnson.

• Sign up for something fun -- be a Manchester Beer and Cider Festival 2020 volunteer like me next year!

• A hop farm in Brussels? Of course I'm gonna like that.

• Adventuring and hiking from the perspective of a dog, all while pondering the deepest of questions -- who is The Good Boy?

• I read The Guyliner's Guardian Blind Date posts almost every week (sorry I miss it sometimes Justin) and this revisit of a classic blind date is a joy because THEY ARE GETTING MARRIED!

• Remember what I said about Amelia Tait? Well, to prove her greatness even more she's written about how Muppet's Christmas Carol is the greatest film ever made. Out of all the other films. For GQ.

• Organised crime. Tax evasion. Contraband. The off-the-books world of oricchiette in Bari, S. Italy.

• Finally, I want to share the lyrics to the song Just Go On from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt because it makes me really emotional and DON'T LAUGH okay, it's just a realistic but ultimately uplifting little song and I think about the chorus pretty much every morning. "They say life’s too short, but they’re wrong/It’s so long!/And sometimes the only way to go/Is to just go on."

My Stuff

• I had the immense pleasure of chatting to Dick Withecombe and Cath Potter about cider, politics and everything in-between for this piece published this week by Pellicle.

• I have started making my zines. If you don't know what I'm talking about here's why: I received a commendation at the Guild of Beer Writers' Awards last week for a number of articles I submitted. I've decided to make a zine out of the pieces, plus an additional BONUS piece I couldn't submit because it was published outside of the time frame. They will be £5 plus £1.00 shipping, and you can pre-order one now if you like by replying to this very email (or if you prefer, email me at [email protected]) telling me your full name so I can keep a note. Thanks!

Hometta-style gingerbread house -- uncredited.Via Present & Correct.