Thursday, October 27, 2005

The Black.Friar, Hobgoblin & Wicked Witch

What a wonderful pub. The floor is unvarnished worn oak, with water dripping in places from the ceiling. The wooden wall panels are circa 1930's, the bar looks even older and parts of the interior of the establishment date back to 1905. Art Deco abounds.

This is The Black Friar pub, across the road from Blackfriars underground station.

http://www.pubs.com/blacec4.htm

It is wedge shaped, jutting out on an angled corner. The ceiling is a good 15ft high and the fittings are well worn, spanning many decades. It has the air of a place that could slowly erode away for centuries and still remain a pub. Much creaking wood, some marble, wrought iron light fittings, lead lined cottage pane windows, english bar staff. Outside the traffic rushes by non-stop.
Inside there is much business talk as lunch time is upon us. Mostly patrons in suits, which I would imagine is usually the case. No tourists, lots of London accents.

I've just nipped to a last minute interview with an agency about a New Media job working with a team designing video content for the Play Station Portable. I've been informed to rewrite my CV, which I'm duly doing. It's taken this long for an agent to have the guts to let me know that my CV is crap and to give me insider information to what agencies are looking for - over two weeks pretty much wasted !

Talking about wasted, this ale I'm drinking is absolutely wonderful, but also rather strong. The first pint of Wychwood Hobgoblin Ale went down in 15 minutes, this second pint of Marstons Wicked Witch I will take my time over while updating my CV and Portfolio website. (Both these ales are specific to the time of year, for obvious reasons)

And so the mood swings up and down, round and round as I struggle to get a job interview and the money starts to dwindle.

So why am I spending my money on beer, I hear you ask ?
Well, a man has priorities and this refreshment has aided me in crafting a far more punchy CV (God, I hate that word "punchy", but it's what all the agencies say)
I draw the line at "buzzwords" - I will NOT fill my CV full of crap meaningless words, instead, I will use words like Brilliant, Genius, Talented, Fabulous, Magnificent, Magical, Hobgoblin and Wicked.

"Matthew is a Mystical Hobgoblin who specialises in the supping of Ale in old London Pubs, please hire this smashing individual right now in the position of head reviewer for the Good London Pub Guide."

"Matthew is a wicked professional with many years of experience doing very little and talking a great deal about nothing of import. He would suit a position as a part time writer for a small dismal local newspaper, as long as he can write to his usual poor standard and can live in a pub. No agencies please."