wikipetersfield

Vital: 'Ramones', by Nicholas Rombes

2009-12-29T14:40:00.000-08:00

As Nicholas Rombes says in his concluding remarks "like all great albums, it resists interpretation. It rejects the tyranny of meaning, whether imposed by the fan or the critic". And so it does; without wishing to make my own attempt, it is one of those very few albums - offhand I would think about only Elvis's first RCA album, the Velvet Underground & Nico and - maybe - Sgt Pepper standing alongside it - which is so unlike anything which preceded it and so influential on everything that followed that almost any kind of criticism risks seeming trivial and irrelevant. But saying that, Nicholas Rombes gives it a damn good go, taking the album - as is appropriate - entirely seriously and devoting less time to the songs themselves than to the context into which it emerged, its influences (largely from writing, film, photography and other media) and its phenomenal impact on the world around it. Refreshing that he respects the amount of thought and consideration that the Ramones themselves put into the album, dissipating any notion that this was a flash in the pan, an accidental catalyst for the emergence of punk and New Wave. You put this essay down very aware that the Ramones knew exactly what they were doing, both culturally and musically. These were no dumb punks.

Nicholas Rombes writes about punk with the benefit of hindsight, but that's no crime - it allows him a tremendously sharp and pungently delivered perspective. If you like this, try 'A Cultural Dictionary of Punk: 1974-1982', which provides a similarly acute analysis of the broader canvas of punk and the new wave.

Before he was fab - 'Nowhere Boy'

2009-12-26T14:22:00.000-08:00

What an oddly uncertain and ultimately unsatisfying film 'Nowhere Boy' is. Very good in parts - particularly in the psychological tug-of-war between Julia and Mimi for the soul of the nascent Lennon - but powerfully reminiscent elsewhere of those clunky (if still enjoyable) British pop films of the 70s and 80s (the David Essex vehicle 'That'll Be the Day'which covers almost exactly the same timespan, often came to mind, with certain scenes seemingly almost directly transplanted). It veers rather wildly between somewhat heavy-handed psychodrama (particularly in the less than subtly-suggested incestuous feelings between John and Julia) and stodgily conventional 'biopic' ("John, this is Paul, he sure is square but he knows which way up a tune goes and he can play 20 Flight Rock") but - surely crucially - never really makes one believe that the teenager on the screen is actually a young Lennon as opposed to any other troubled youth in the late 1950s.

Excellent performances from all the leads keep 'Nowhere Boy' afloat (though Kristin Scott-Thomas's cheekbones seemed slightly miscast) but it seemed to need something both a bit more coherent and a bit further off the wall to justify the screen time and I'm surprised that Sam Taylor-Wood didn't deliver it. By no means terrible, and will probably work better on the small screen - just a bit, well... ordinary.

The Brooklyn Boy Done Good: Tony Visconti

2009-12-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

Has to be said that Tony Visconti is no great prose stylist, but this is a top life all the same, and more than adequately described. I'd never seen any pictures of Visconti and had always imagined him older - more like the cigar-chompers he regularly disparages - but he's very much Bolan's and Bowie's contemporary and provides a compelling view from the front line of pop life in the late 60s and 70s.

There's plenty of stuff from inside the studio, including quite a bit of technical gen (which worked fine for me), providing a new insider angle on many famous names. Of those, it has to be said (meaning no disrespect), that while Bolan's human qualities come a poor second to his musical ability (not the first time I'd heard that), Bowie comes across as a gent throughout and Iggy, contrary to his public image, as a man posessed of a phenomenal work ethic and professionalism.

Tony Visconti, it's fair to say, changed pop music's soundscape, creating music of a depth and resonance which you simply don't hear any more. This book gives you a good idea of how he did that - it's a significant contribution to the history of those fantastic times and a cracking read to boot.

A gem - Lynn Barber's 'An Education'

2009-12-07T05:33:00.000-08:00

Some reviewers have described Lynn Barber's 'An Education' as cool and unrevealing, but I have to say it didn't seem that way to me at all. On the contrary, 'An Education' is refreshingly concise, direct and, yes, cool - but in a good way. A beautifully written, crisp memoir, covering in - oh joy! - fewer than 200 pages the life to date that has made her the great writer and interviewer that she is.

The book offers a number of clues to how she came to lead a crowded Fleet Street field - not only is she completely open and frank, with a directness that unfairly earned her the soubriquet 'Demon Barber' but why anyone should want to be otherwise baffles her (the hilarious encounter with Alan Whicker, who tries, and fails, to shame her with her previous life in pornography being a case in point).

Word of warning, though, to anyone who comes to this expecting the book of the film - that episode, though clearly key in her developing outlook on life, takes up less than a quarter of the book. Don't let it put you off though - her adventures at the nascent Penthouse and Independent (and the breadth of spectrum between those two august organs gives a clue to her non-judgemental openness) are equally engaging, warm, funny and, yes, human.

A terrific read and entirely of a piece with her other writing. If you like Lynn Barber at all, you'll love this.

Let it be: Nick Hornby's 'Juliet, Naked'

2009-09-26T03:33:00.000-07:00

I really like Nick Hornby. I think he's an astute commentator and critic, I think he has a great take on the modern condition, and for what it's worth I'm pretty sure he's one of the good guys too. We're more or less exactly the same age, we appear to have exactly the same stuff on our iPods (give or take 5% or so either way) we have a similarly enlightened view on the beautiful game... if it wasn't for the fact that he's so far ahead of me on the male pattern baldness scale, I'd wonder if he and I weren't actually separated at birth.

Sadly, I've come to the conclusion that, notwithstanding the decent fist he made of `High Fidelity' (not exactly a great novel, but a damned good read all the same) and most particularly 'About a Boy' (his best fiction to date, and, my guess is, the best he will ever write) he's actually not much of a novelist. Having ploughed my way through `How to be Good' (which worked well in parts and was at least philosophically intriguing), `A Long Way Down', which was just plain awful, and now this, I'm thinking that maybe it's time to give it up and stick to what he's good at - writing funny and perceptive stuff about music, the arts and modern life (which he does better than just about anyone I know). I mean, really - go read `A Long Way Down' and then read `31 Songs' or `The Complete Polysyllabic Spree' and tell me I'm not right.

So here's what I think about `Juliet, Naked `: it's not a bad book and if you picked it up before a flight (assuming the horrible chick-lit-style cover didn`t put you off) it would probably distract you adequately for a few hours. It`s not especially funny, or sad, or emotional, or exciting or really especially anything but it moves along at an adequate pace from page to page, eventually reaching a not especially satisfying conclusion. And, you know, it's only 245 pages, so it's not like a great investment is required from the reader.

It's about music, which Nick knows a lot about - specifically, about Tucker Crowe, former musician and newest addition to Hornby's lengthening gallery of feckless wasters, and the nature of art, creativity and fandom. It addresses unsatisfactory, dysfunctional modern family relationships too, about which perhaps he knows a bit. Quite a lot of it (though not nearly enough, in my opinion) concerns how the internet has changed the way we engage with the world. So far so promising - these are interesting themes - but as a novel it just don't work. The main stories - Tucker vegetating in the US, Annie and Duncan likewise in Gooleness - are kind of flat and dispiriting, the way they're entwined is unconvincing, the characters don't really get off the page more than once or twice, the dialogue is all a bit heightened and artificial, in the end, the multiple threads are tied up and dispatched with indecent haste... you know, in the end it's just not that good (a horrible thought crosses my mind at this point - Dickens is mentioned more than once or twice, for no apparent reason - is it all meant to be Dickensian in style? I really hope not).

It's more than this though. All through 'Juliet, Naked', I couldn't shake my sense of Nick Hornby making it all up. Only a few fleeting pages managed to suspend my disbelief and banish the picture in my mind of the author at his desk, chewing his pencil. I know how stupid that sounds - I know a novel is, by definition, invented - but a good novelist, and a good novel, will quickly let you forget that.

I tried to figure out why this was so, and I in the end I think it's to do with the voice which dominates this book as it does so many other Hornby novels. `Juliet, Naked' has a wide range of characters - too wide, maybe - and his dialogue isn`t so bad, but a great deal of the book is taken up with the internalized thoughts of the characters, and here's the thing - they all think in exactly the same way and in exactly the same voice, and I'm guessing that they all think exactly like Nick Hornby, in that elliptical, analytical, self-effacing and in the end more than mildly irritating way. So what I end up thinking is "you've clearly got interesting things to say in these areas, Nick - why do you feel you need to wrap them up in this stupid story?

Nick Hornby has legions of fans and I'll probably get flamed to death for this review when it appears on Amazon, but to reiterate - I like the guy, his ideas and his writing - I just don't think the novel is the right vehicle for any of them. Maybe it's time to let the form go, and focus on crit.

When he was King: Elvis Costello's country pop masterpiece

2009-05-14T02:58:00.000-07:00

Was inspired by twitterpal Nick_Coombes to reinvestigate Elvis Costello's often overlooked 'King of America' album, giving it my undivided attention on a flight from Helsinki this week.*

When it was released in 1985, my feelings about 'King of America' were mixed. There was no mistaking the quality of the songs, but I was raised on the sturm and drang, the visceral barking rage of his early albums and, particularly coming after the muted and poorly received (though secretly, I quite like it) 'Goodbye Cruel World', it felt to me like some sort of decline was in progress. The further that his remarkable back catalogue stretches into the past, however, the more 'King of America' looks like Costello's finest hour. His passion still burned bright, his gift for a tune was undiminished and musicianship hadn't yet pushed the other two elements into the background. From this point onward, the tunes would indeed start to flatten out and soon he would begin to talk worryingly and introspectively about 'songcraft' to the great and inevitable detriment of his art.

But all that was still to come. 'King of America' is maybe the last album Costello made before he started to look downward and inward; a collection of brilliantly realised and passionately, achingly delivered songs (whatever anyone says, without the mannerisms and vocal tics which would dominate later work, Costello's singing at this time was unique in combining both the fantastically committed and the filigree delicate). It's also thrillingly adult in its material and its approach, walking the edgy tightrope of maturity without tipping over into either MOR or AOR. This is more like Bacharach country, but with the roughage left in... you can see why they rubbed along so well later on.

Highlights? It's easier to pick lowlights - actually it isn't - but as I write this I can't get 'American Without Tears' out of my head, 'Indoor Fireworks' treats marital breakup more movingly than anything this side of George Jones, and the closing 'Suit of Lights' and 'Sleep of the Just' deliver a one-two which leaves me on the canvas every time: musically stunning, emotionally devastating.

'King of America' really delivers on every level; one of maybe a dozen or so pop and rock albums to which the term 'masterpiece' can rightly and without reservation be applied. If you don't have it already, the Hipster suggests that you really should.

*undivided other than the time and effort required to open a couple of bottles of BA's remarkably fine New Zealand Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc that is - the thick end of ten quid in your local Wine Rack yet even the cheap seats get it for free on BA). Truly, world's favourite airline, you are spoiling us...

Fact or Fiction? - 'The Damned United' and 'Provided You Don't Kiss Me'

2009-04-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

When I first read it I thought The Damned United utterly brilliant. The black heart of football, 70s England, Yorkshire and Leeds Utd in particular, presented through a dazzling first-person novelization of Brian Clough's extraordinary 44-day tenure of the Elland Road hotseat. Marvellous. Football seemed to have found its Heart of Darkness (though whether it was looking for one is another question I suppose). My one grievance was that the end didn't quite justify the bravura performance, rushing toward a climax which never quite arrived. But it seemed a fabulous journey all the same...

Now I'm not quite so sure. Recently, and particulary in the context of the recent (and by all accounts much more soft-centred) film, David Peace has taken to describing 'The Damned United' as 'fiction', which seems like, excuse me, disingenuous bullshit. If you want to write fiction, it's not a good idea to base it around real names and circumstances which create the very strong impression of fact, and expect people (especially friends and family) not to be offended and upset (justifiably for once). Can calling your work 'a fiction' be a defence for any kind of defamation?

I suppose the irony is that no-one who knew Clough would deny that it's a fiction. I gather they would emphatically go along with that. What they object to is it being presented as a version of the facts. However... I can't get away from the fact that I really liked the book. Around the central Clough story it vividly and viscerally expressed some truths about the 1970s in general and football in that period in particular which chimed with my own recollections. But the more I hear David Peace talk about it, the uneasier I am with the way it presents Brian Clough.

On the other hand, Duncan Hamilton's 'Provided You Don't Kiss Me' is just excellent, straightforward sports biography, distinguished by Hamilton's closeness to his subject and the resulting intimacy of the portrait. No tricks, no fiction or imagined scenes, just sensitive writing and informed analysis of the Clough career and of a very different time in British football - a big enough story in its own right to require very little embroidery.

Hamilton makes no bones about how fortunate he was to be allowed unparalleled access to the force of nature that was Brian Clough. The portrait that emerges seems to come from something for which 'love' is maybe the only appropriate word; it's to his credit that it never seems like obsession as, throughout, he is remarkably clear-eyed about Clough's weaknesses as well as his astonishing triumphs. The excellent and detailed accounts of how Clough took not one but two poor-to-middling English clubs to the heights of European glory (a feat that one struggles to imagine being repeated today) are balanced by an understanding of his very human insecurities and frailties, and by an increasingly dominant subtext - a (literally) sobering account of how low even a character as powerful as Clough could be laid by alcohol.

Film of the year already? 'Man on Wire'.

2009-04-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Documentary or not, my movie of the year so far, for sure. A modest, underplayed film about what was in the great scheme of things a small and inconsequential event - but a film with deep resonance, and not just in the context of what the Towers' would come to stand (fall?) for. Not that this is explicitly referenced in the film, but so many shots lead one to think of their later fate - the foundations of the buildings as they are going up, the frames with planes just in shot, the crowds stopping to gaze up with a mixture of amazement and fear (shock and awe?). And the film itself is really about another kind of assault on the Towers - but one that is entirely benevolent and, as one of Petit's accomplices says 'without wickedness'. Petit himself makes the film, not just with his performances on the wire but with his Gallic vivacity and lust for life, a Chaplinesque 'little fellow', a stone-faced clown, standing up to the authority figures invariably to be found ranged at either end of his tightrope as he conquers Notre Dame, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and finally the ultimate prize. Hugely entertaining, and inspiring too. A gem.

Fifty-Seven, Liss

2009-02-14T12:22:00.000-08:00

'Fifty-Seven' is a unique Italian restaurant, pretty much a one-man labour of love which the Hipster's friend Michelle Stainer recommended for "the honest simplicity of the place, the good quality food and the great wine ... The staff come over to your table and tell you what's on the menu (they don't have printed menus), explain how everything is cooked and suggest a good wine to go with the food. It really doesn't get any better, definitely worth a try! " Couldn't have put it better myself. It's not cheap, but the food is handcrafted with a real Italian slow-cooking feel and the experience is unique. Absolutely the only place to eat in Liss (from a shortlist of one), but worth travelling from much farther afield. Open for lunch and deli to take away during the day too. 57, Station Road, Liss 01730894751

A Kind of Loving - The Vic Brown Trilogy

2009-02-08T10:14:00.000-08:00

I'm not much given to re-reading - life is truly too short and there are too many books unread - but I recently picked up an ancient Penguin copy of Stan Barstow's 'A Kind of Loving' and glanced through it. Then I started reading it, loftily amused at first by its dated language and attitudes, and tickled by Proustian recollections of first reading it, aged 13 or so, when it seemed to define what adult life was going to be all about.

So that was two weeks ago, and I've just put down the third in the trilogy, 'The Right True End', with an odd kind of ache - almost as if I've picked up the threads with an old friend after many decades, and now, after a brief re-acquaintance, won't see that friend again for many years, if ever...

For anyone who's never come across it, the 'Vic Brown trilogy' describes the travails of a young draughtsman in a Yorkshire town in the early sixties and his search for truth, love and, as with so many novels of the time, escape. His barely formed plans are quickly torpedoed when lust takes over and he finds himself in an old, old trap, married to Ingrid, for whom he feels little more than residual desire and increasing irritation.

The first two books in the trilogy describe Vic falling in and out of love, lust and marriage; the third revisits him ten years later, older and, if not wiser, certainly more cynical, more successful, living in London but no more content with his lot.

Hard to say exactly what's so compelling about these novels, but compelling they are. It's not that they're so well written - 'A Kind of Loving' is a good and robust 1960s kitchen sink novel which stands up well against, say John Braine, Alan Sillitoe or David Storey, but the quality falls off thereafter - 'The Watchers on the Shore', though good, has nothing like the same narrative drive and the final book is really pretty poor. Perhaps it's the picture they provide of a time which was more simple and innocent, with fewer of today's complexities, shades of grey and complicated moral relativism (though at the same time crueler and much more judgemental - rules for living were much clearer and much more rigorously enforced and it's to be hoped that todays generations don't live with quite that terror of pregnancy out of wedlock and its inevitable consequences).

More likely though, it's the character of Vic which, for all his faults (and by the final book, when he seems well on the way to becoming one of the pub bores he so derided as a young man, these are many) really rises off the page. His simple yearning for something better which will lift him out of the proscribed lives of his parents and friends, his refusal to accept the ordinary and expected, turns what could have been a provincial small town story into something bigger, more universal and in a small way almost heroic.

Looks like all three books in the trilogy are out of print, which seems a shame as I've read little that so accurately and resonantly captures a lost time and place. Perhaps some books should have preservation orders attached.

The Star and Garter, East Dean

2009-02-07T14:15:00.000-08:00

15 miles east and south of Petersfield, equidistant Midhurst and Chichester. Great menu which majors on fish but makes room for some interesting sounding game too. Big seafood platters caught our eye as we sat at the bar enjoying a glass of Ballards drawn from the barrel, as did several ways to enjoy mussels and a game grill featuring venison, pheasant and rabbit. Pub has been blasted back to bleached wood and brick in an appealing manner. Good-looking wine list. Much more a restaurant now than a pub but retaining lots of character - food report follows. Garden and rooms too. Get there: head east from Singleton on the Midhurst/ Chichester road, about a mile or so past the Fox Goes Free. 01243 811318 More here.

Loch Fyne Restaurant

2009-02-07T14:12:00.000-08:00

Midhurst, seven miles east of Petersfield. A chain, as the name might suggest - you won't be enjoying a walk round the loch before your lunch - but a good one. A small door on Midhurst High Street opens, tardis-like, into a big, stylish and surprisingly light space. Big french windows at the back lead onto a parasoled terrace which will be a treat when global warming properly kicks in to West Sussex. As for the food - fish and shellfish of course, with a few token gestures in the direction of carnivores and vegetarians. Well presented from an interesting menu, lots of specials and an £11 set two course menu which is decent value but disappointingly restricted - whatever your intentions going in, you're likely to be choosing from the carte. Reasonable wine list. For more imaginative ways with fish, the Star and Garter is a better bet, but if you're in Midhurst, where even half-decent places to eat are at a bit of a premium, this is comfortable and family-friendly (in a good way) and likely to ht the pescatorial spot. Bottom end of North Street, Midhurst, 01730 716280.

The Lickfold Inn

2009-02-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

12 miles east of Petersfield. Pukkah joint, a little too Goodwood for the hipster's tastes but under new celebrity ownership may be worth another look. Good food, (but not that good; be prepared for your credit card going home a good deal lighter than you) excellent wines, many by the glass, in a lovely old pub. Nice terrace garden, Veuve Clicquot parasols provide that special 'Cowdray' feel. Upside: very smart, characterful, decent food. Good chance of rubbing shoulders with Argentinian polo players at the bar, then enjoying the company of the celebrated in the restaurant. The knowlege that 50% of profits go to local charities. Downside: no better than it ought to be at these prices, food service can be a bit amateur. Perfect for: lunch in the garden on an unexpectedly warm early summer's day. Or in the bar on a sunny winter's day. Avoiding the rush hour advisable. Get there: Lickfold signposted off the A272 between Midhurst and Petworth, close to Half Way Bridge. North of the A272 a couple of miles. 01798 861285. GMAP More here.

Sha La La La Lee

2009-02-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

Switched on the wireless tonight to be amazed anew by the exhilarating chords of The Small Faces' 'Sha La La La Lee' - still a fantastic sound and, in combination with the first lines - 'Picked her up on a Friday night (sha-la-la-la-lee, yeah)' - arguably the greatest opener of any pop record.

I'd always assumed this was the work of the Small Faces pocket genius Steve Marriott, and was amazed to learn sometime last year that it was actually written by B-division showbiz trooper Kenny Lynch, the scouse Sammy Davis Jr to Brucie and Tarbie's Frank and Dino. I'd love to hear his version.

The Hawkley Inn, Hawkley

2009-01-25T13:40:00.000-08:00

5 miles west and north of Petersfield. Everything you want a country pub to be: walking boots, wellies, horses and bikes by the door, great beer and cider, rib-sticking pub grub, fire, moose, big garden. All this and power showers too, if you're minded to sleep it off in some very smart accommodation. Seven beers on tap - they change every week - and decent wine too. Always plenty of local ales, (the Hipster has personally never had a bad one and would walk several country miles any day for Alton's finest, the fff Moondance). Music at weekends, beer fest every year. With a big garden out back and a covered verandah in front, an excellent pub in any weather, crowded at weekends, however, when food service can be on the slow side - get there early or late would be our advice if waiting a while bothers you - and the number of untethered children may occasionally test your tolerance (though this seems less of an issue since new space opened up in the pub at the end of 2006). A great place, just about hanging on to its greatness through a period of transition (the Hawkley has seen off two landlords and any number of barstaff since the long reign of the legendarily grumpy and still much-missed Al). Get there: Follow signs for Hawkley from West Liss (Hawkley Road runs up the side of the Spread Eagle). Pococks Lane, Hawkley. Liss 01730 827205, more at www.hawkleyinn.co.uk.

Snow blind... 'Transsiberian'

2009-01-25T13:31:00.000-08:00

Pretty much your standard location thriller, but still, two hours decent entertainment from a strong cast in a skilfully exploited setting is not to be sniffed at. Atmospherically capturing the claustrophobia of the train (in a way that at times recalls Konchalovsky's great 'Runaway Train' and the gnawing anxiety of Americans out of their depth in a culture that's foreign in every way. For me, Woody Harrelson takes the irritating American rube shtick a bit too far - I can't have been the only one who cheered when he got left behind in Irkutsk and booed when he showed up alive further down the line - but Emily Mortimer is luminescently great and Ben Kingsley's practised badman routine is pretty failsafe these days. Shame that some unlikely twists and turns in the plot let it down a little - it's hard to avoid being distracted by 'wait a minute..' moments - but otherwise a solid if undemanding piece of work that, for all its horrors, still leaves you thinking 'I fancy a bit of that...'.

You could even grow to love it... the Asus eee pc 901

2009-01-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

I've been an early adopter and user of new technology for getting on for 20 years - it kind of goes with the day job, which, not to overcomplicate matters or lose you in the very first sentence, is somewhat concerned with IT and telecoms. Notwithstanding - or perhaps because of - this familiarity with the territory, I've never felt a great deal of affection for tech and least of all for the primary tool of every techworker's trade, the laptop PC. Mostly heavy, slow, ugly, often narky... the laptop has always been for me the utilitarian tool of the working shill, not an accessory suited to the debonair hipster-about-town whose preferences naturally tend to the small, perfectly-formed and discreet. Admittedly, them Apples look pretty cool, but most are still big and anyway, like most non-media, low-grade technocrats, I've always had Microsoft PCs thrust on me.

My ambivalent-at-best attitude to the laptop may have turned a corner however, because exciting new things have happened in their design over the last year.

I got one of these here little devices for Christmas - I'd coveted one for months since my pal Marchant had got one and had finally decided the purchase was justified (or as justified as a tech purchase can ever be) - and I have to tell you it's been my boon companion ever since. What is it? Technically it's the snappily named Asus eee PC 901 (I know, will they never learn?), but what it really is is a baby laptop with a bright 9 inch screen, a usable keyboard, all that Windows stuff, a good battery and a lovely piano-black finish. To cut to the chase for anyone who's in a hurry, it's a terrific little machine and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who wants a good personal PC that can almost be carried in a pocket, and is prepared to work with relatively little onboard storage (stick with me as this needn't necessarily be a problem).

the upside, of which there is plenty:

looks great, nice finish, build feels very solid and classy despite being so light, keyboard and buttons very professional - everyone who has seen it wants one.
screen brightness and usability - visibility - are good
battery life seems to be at least five hours - the best I've had from any laptop or notebook. Some people claim to get much more.
general responsiveness is excellent - it just feels fast, and I'm told a cheap and easy memory upgrade makes it faster still.
wi-fi access seems particularly good too - I can go from a cold start to online and wasting time in less than a minute. Compared to the conventional Dell laptop with Vista I bought for Chez Hipster a year ago, (which, no matter what I do to it, runs like a sick donkey with two broken legs) this is fantastic.

the downside, which honestly, need hardly concern you:

everything is good but there's no getting away from the fact that it is also small. It's a fabulous bit of kit for working on trains, planes, the back of taxis, especially for quick internet access and emails and so on. But you wouldn't want to be squinting at it all day and you wouldn't really want to write a novel on this keyboard, not unless you have the dearest little pixey fingers. However: plug it into a keyboard (I'm writing this on a nice basic Logitech keyboard which cost me nearly £10) and a monitor and you won't know the difference. In fact, from this point of view it's better than a standard notebook as it takes up so little deskspace.
there's not a lot of storage for documents and programs and so forth. However, you can add more as easily as inserting an SD card, just like the one you maybe have on your camera or phone (I immediately added 16gb at a cost of around £20), and you can get into the habit of using external storage for stuff you're not using every day - I have mine plugged into to a big external hard drive type of thing when I'm sitting at my desk. Personally, though, I find that more and more of the stuff I do is web-based anyway, from Google Mail and Docs to Flickr and Blogger, so the problem is starting to disappear anyway.

In conclusion, if you're prepared to work around its natural limitations, this is a great, truly portable and even stylish personal notebook. I never thought I'd say this about a laptop, but I'm damned close to feeling some affection for it!

Could do better: 'Shine A Light' (The Rolling Stones)

2009-01-05T05:44:00.000-08:00

There's a handful of good bits in this (if you will) rockumentary, over which 'All Down The Line' from 1971's 'Exile on Main Street' stands head and shoulders; it's taut, driven and, apart from Jagger's peculiar vocal stylings, of which more anon, pretty fabulous, and reminds you why the Stones were was once considered the planet's greatest rock and roll band - and, unfortunately, when they were last considered genuinely vital, in both senses of the word. In addition, there's a great cameo from Buddy Guy, who stalks on stage and immediately looks like the real deal, shouting, singing and playing up a storm, reminding people what the blues sound like and making Sir Mick seem suddenly lightweight (though in fairness he does play some pretty decent harmonica on the track in question). There's Keith singing 'You've Got The Silver' with some feeling, backed up by Ronnie's better-than-efficient slide. Interesting that it's one of the few times in the film when the Stones look and sound like a band (rather than journeyman backup to a barely-tolerated frontman).

Unfortunately there's an awful lot of bad stuff. To name but some: Jagger's endless prancing and queening and shaking his scrawny tush about (OK, you're 65, Mick, we get it) Keith still pretending to be able to smoke a fag while playing (because it's, like, cool) and looking (I can't take the credit for this, unfortunately) like something that's been pulled out of Brian May and Anita Dobson's plughole. Ronnie still looking like the hired hand after 30 years or whatever it is, Charlie looking like he's all ready to smack Mick one (again) at any time.

Most of the playing is average-to-deplorable. 'Faraway Eyes' in particular is an almost unlistenable combination of Jagger's 'singing' (for which, on this song at least, 'mannered' is too small a word) and Ronnie's pedal steel (which he plays, or rather tortures, like a man who'd only been introduced to the instrument in the dressing room). Lots of really duff songs ('She Was Hot', I ask you....). Pointless cameos by Jack White and Christina Aguilera. Gushing encounters with Bill Clinton. And Hillary. And Hillary's Mum. Very rock and roll, I'm sure. Pointless and randomly introduced archive clips, most of which are tediously familiar. Fatuous 'what's the setlist' drama at the start to give Marty 'di Bargi' Scorsese something to emote over.

To say it's a curate's egg would be a kindness. Why is nearly all Rolling Stones output like this - not to be rude, but so tawdry and half-arsed, so redolent of the faint odour of 'can't really be bothered'? Too many egos involved (and that of the knight of the realm in particular) perhaps? I guess at their advanced ages, a really great music film like 'Stop Making Sense' or 'Sign o' the Times' would be too much to hope for, but given their longevity, and the affection with which both they and their really rather amazing back catalogue are still regarded, not to mention the resources available to them here, why couldn't this have been the Stones 'The Last Waltz'? It surely ain't.

Avoid (again), and try instead to track down a copy of '25x5' which will remind you that there was once a really great band here, and one which could still, even at this late stage, do so much better.

The Unicorn, Heyshott

2008-12-30T05:14:00.000-08:00

10 miles east of Petersfield, about 4 miles south of Midhurst. Heyshott is a lovely village but its pub always let it down - staid and stuffy and far too closely tied to Kings of Horsham. Kings' beer is acceptable enough but nowadays we all like a bit more variety in our drinking. Reports suggest that this has all changed though and that, under friendly and enthusiastic new ownership, both the choice of beers and the atmosphere are greatly improved and it's now well worth checking out.

The location is certainly spectacular, right in the lee of the downs, with great views from the garden. Good place for a sunny spring or summer day, perhaps combined with a walk (can't be far from here to The Fox Goes Free. )Also worth noting for the annual Guy Fawkes torchlight parade and bonfire. The Unicorn, Heyshott.. 01730 813486 GMAP

Photo courtesy of the excellent Gravelroots website.

Lost in the supermarket: 'The Mist'

2008-12-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

Terrific adaptation of Stephen King's novella by Frank Darabont, director of other King works The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption. Synopsis: after a violent storm, a mysterious mist rolls over a small New England town, trapping a representative sample of the local populace in the supermarket. Very bad stuff ensues.

I've always maintained that King is the anti-Spielberg (showing the horror, rather than the wonder, that lies beneath beneath the surface of small-town America) and 'The Mist' is somewhat like the anti-ET - the small but significant difference being that the beastie from god-knows-where in this one would rip your liver out or flay you alive long before you had any cute ideas about sticking him on the front of your bike and riding off to Little League.

It's highly derivative in parts (look out for steals from/ tributes to Jaws, Alien, The Birds and many others) but executed with such chutzpah that these merely add to the entertainment. Plenty of gruesome effects, but used with taste and discretion, and an uncompromisingly brutal ending (in the emotional rather than visceral sense). All very much hide-behind-the-sofa suspense rather than the stuff of nightmares though. Recommended for strong stomachs of thirteen years or so upwards, particularly recommended for those who think Dr Who is the ne plus ultra of this kind of material. Excellent family viewing, in fact...

It's Christmas ! etc. Where should you go?

2008-12-16T11:50:00.000-08:00

Just a few of the hip consumer’s favourite destinations at this time of the year...

Eating in...
Rowan's Delicatessen, Lavant Street, Petersfield. Great comestibles, drink and cigars, a cafe to put your feet up in and a particularly fine place at Christmas for stocking fillers, sweetmeats and fancy stuff. Gentlemen's Relish? Don't mind if we do... 01730 262600
Bran Tub, organic fruit and nuts, vegetarian and healthy alternatives... if they would only cheer up, it could be just like Christmas. Lavant Street, Petersfield. 01730 267043.
Petersfield Market Every Saturday up to Christmas, including Organick for your organic fruit, vegetables, fruit juices, eggs and honey, Bryants for as good a range of quality fruit and vegetables as you'll find in any of the supermarkets, some great South African ... uh... is 'delicacies' the word? Not just that, but an increasing range of arts and crafts, carvings, ethnic clothes and jewellery, Chinese paintings (to order if you ask - myPetersfield did) ... try it first before you shop for stocking fillers elsewhere....
Djangos Excellent coffee beans and freshly ground coffee for your machine from a list of boutique blends in a shop above our favourite Petersfield cafe - look out for Djangos' Bireli
Hampshire Farmers' Markets. Too many great stalls to individually list, but always on the hipster’s visiting list is · Ashmore Farmhouse Cheese · Bookham Cheese and Pasta (fantastic 'Farmer's Hand' which you won't believe isn't parmesan) · Bowtell's Farm Shop, meat and game and famous sausages · Dorset Blueberry Company, all year with pies, pastries, drinks and, in season, blueberries · Secrett's, amazing vegetables and salad leaves from Milford www.secretts.co.uk · Isle of Wight Tomatoes... and chillies, and aubergines, and tomato products... and garlic.. · Long Crichel Bakery, traditional breads and cakes... · Itchen Valley Brewery · Loosehanger Farmhouse Cheeses, medal-winning Ayrshire cowsmilk and goatsmilk cheeses... their garlic and nettle is seriously addictive... · Peter Mushrooms, fresh mushrooms + soups, pates, ketchups, and a hot mushroom roll as an alternative to the hog roast for all you vegetarians... · Pollen Organics, sauces, pestos, mayonnaises · The Garlic Farm, brilliant range of fresh, smoked and preserved garlic and garlic products. · Potts' Pantry, locally produced pastries, pattiseries and confections, absolutely wonderful... And much more, including most of the local good farmers offering more geese, chicken, turkeys, game and other meats than you can shake a festive stick at, to buy or to order. With a decent size freezer, you can do a big part of your Christmas food shopping right here. More about the farmers' markets here: http://www.hampshirefarmersmarkets.co.uk and at 01420 588671.
The General Wine Company, Liphook and Midhurst. By appointment to your hip correspondent, fabulous range of wines from all regions at all price points, with unfussy but well-informed advice thrown in gratis. Great range of spirits, cigars and beers too, plus corkscrews, foil cutters, glasses and other drinkers requisites (and gifts). There's just no excuse for buying at supermarkets or online - GWC offers a better range, keen keen prices and a stack more engagement and enjoyment. Main branch: 25, Station Road, Liphook. 01428 727744. Junior branch, High Street, Midhurst (just as good but half the size and stock).
Nick’s, Wyld's Farm, Liss. Nick and Sophia Rook-Blackstone's organic farm out west of Liss supplies great fruit, vegetables and other produce through their farm shop (9-5, Thursday and Friday), the Petersfield Saturday Market, the monthly Farmer's Market in Petersfield square and their home-delivery organic box scheme - and Christmas trees too. Warren Road, Liss. 01730 891490 or nick@organick.org.uk.
Hammer Trout Farm and Smokery, Liphook. One of the oldest fisheries and smokehouses in England, producing not just smoked trout but meat, poultry, game, pates and more. Also at the Farmers' Markets. Hewshott Lane, Liphook, Hants. GU30 7SU. 01428 727508.
Rother Valley Organics wholly organic farmers and butchers near Nyewood, off the A272 south of Rogate. Beef, pork, lamb and mutton, chicken, duck and goose... fully traceable meats from grazing through butchery to plate. Online shopping and home delivery or you can visit, buy and collect during normal butcher's hours (9 to 4 or thereabouts during the week, 9 till 1 on Saturdays). Sandilands Farm, Rogate, Petersfield, Hants, GU31 5HU 01730 821062 GMAP.
Jeffersons, Midhurst (West Street). Organic butcher, and fishmonger too. Good range of sauces and pickles. 01730 813135
Harveys' brewery shop, next to the Bottle and Jug in Lion Street, Midhurst. Outlet for the excellent Harveys brewery in Lewes, East Sussex. Fantastic range of bottled beers, from low-alcohol to 8 and 9° winter specials. Draught beers to take away, good range of wines and ports, including a a great range of English wines. Glasses, gifts and Harveys 'breweryana'. Recommended. 01730 810709,
Durleighmarsh Farm, fruit, veg, meat and more. Fantastic range of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers to pick yourself or buy in the shop. Environmentally sympathetic farming methods. Good range of Christmas stuff (not before December 1, which merits praise in itself)) including poultry, holly, Christmas trees, mistletoe... lovely place. Find it between Petersfield and Rogate on the A272. 01730 821626.
Grange Farm, Grange Farm, Lovely farm shop at Empshott, signposted about four miles west of Liss on the Selborne road (B3006). Free range pork, lamb, chicken, geese, Aberdeen Angus beef, own products and local bread, fruit, vegetables and deli. Great at Christmas. Open Tuesday - Saturday 8.30am to 5.30pm, Sunday 10am to 1pm. 01420 538104. More here.
Mr Whiteheads Cider Company. Real traditional cider, scrumpy and perry without additives or preservatives. Range of strengths and flavours including interesting single varietal ciders. Sold in many local shops, pubs and markets but also direct from source, here, in bottles, barrels or polypins. Also local bottled beers and English wines. The Old Granary, Hartley Park Farm, Selborne, Alton, Hampshire GU34 3HS. Half way between Selborne and Alton. 01420 511733. Finally, if you must visit a supermarket (and let's face it, we all must at times), think about giving Budgens in Midhurst a try. They make a real effort to stock a proper range of local producers (and a full range of their produce) and deserve some encouragement... and you're likely to find a few pleasant surprises there.

Eating out... So many fine places to eat out at Christmas around Petersfield, but if you're looking for that Falstaffian, Pickwickian sense of replete rotundity, of all's-well-with-the-world and hail-fellow-well-met (and frankly it's what we want at this time of the year), we'd particularly recommend the following...
The Thomas Lord. Appearing in both pub and restaurant columns, it's a great place to drop in for a pint, but come back for a meal and be as amazed as we were at the quality of the food. Highly skilled but not madly ostentatious cooking, drawing on local suppliers and traditional English menus (in the best way), so anticipate game, fish, organic vegetables and old-fashioned puddings all prepared with great attention to flavour, beautifully presented and balanced. Excellent wine list with many available by small or large glass, half or full bottle. A real clubby atmosphere (in the best way) with roaring fires and big leather chairs, the Lord can comfortably accommodate anything from dinner à deux to large parties. Proper linen and heavy cutlery is a nice touch. Real value too - even the bill comes as a pleasant surprise. Just fabulous, and our dining pub of the year (Western front). 01730 829244. GMAP Also see our pub review here.
The Trooper Inn, Froxfield, 3 miles. Very much a dining pub and pretty much an out and out restaurant, with room for a hundred or more covers in two bars and any number of alcoves and annexes. The specials blackboard changes ever day and features a great range of genuinely tempting dishes, running from British classics delivered with imagination through modern European to a good handful of Asian-influenced dishes, backed up by a substantial a la carte menu. Shellfish features strongly. Excellent wine list is supplied by the General Wine Company. Place is warm and welcoming, a big fire going in the main bar and the walls dense with photographs and posters, hopbines and all that caper. The food enjoys an excellent reputation, it's a nice space to sit in, the staff know their onions and few visitors are going to be disappointed. Alton Rd, Froxfield. 01730 827 293 GMAP
The Keepers Arms. A finer and more consistent dining experience than it has ever been. Taken over and revamped in 2007 and given a design makeover appropriate to its shorter, sharper menu. Gets consistently great feedback, producing modern British food of an extremely high standard. Nicely balanced wine list and warm service. Undeniably more of a restaurant than a pub, but the generous lounging space in big leather sofas and armchairs by the fire give it a great, relaxed feel. Our dining pub of the year (Eastern front). 01730 813724 GMAP.
The Harrow, Steep, 2 miles; For lunch on a cold day within ten minutes of Petersfield centre, close to unbeatable. Beer strictly from the barrel, pea and ham soup that your spoon will stand up in and ye treacle tarte of Olde Englande. Who could wish for more? Tiny though, so get there early or late. 01730 262685. GMAP
The Hawkley Inn, Hawkley, 5 miles; everything you want a country pub to be; walking boots, wellies, horses, bikes, great beer and cider, rib-sticking pub grub, fire, moose, big garden. Seven beers change every week, always plenty of local ales. Get there: Follow signs for Hawkley from West Liss (Hawkley Road runs up the side of the Spread Eagle). 01730 827205, more at www.hawkleyinn.co.uk. GMAP
The Pub With No Name (aka the White Horse). Priors Dean, 4 miles. Big old pub in remote, appealingly bleak spot high up on the downs. Two snug bars inside, candle-lit and cluttered with old furniture have a dark, Jacobean feel which, in winter, warmed by open fires, is wonderfully welcoming. A brighter and lighter restaurant has been extended at the back, but we recommend eating in the bar. Food is traditional pub stuff but skilfully handled with excellent ingredients contributing to a good repertoire of standards backed by regularly changing specials. Excellent range of ales including its own No-Name bitter. Highly recommended. Check main listing for directions. Priors Dean, Hampshire, 01420 588387 GMAP
Three Horseshoes, Elsted. 7 miles. Ancient pub, great atmosphere, spectacular views over the downs, blazing fires inside, really very good. Food is classic British... Sussex lamb cutlets, Selsey crab, Scottish mussels, lobster salad, venison, Dover sole, and some extremely toothsome puddings. Beers are from the barrel, wine list is short but good. A local great. 01730 825746. GMAP

Shopping... Sick of the same old, same old? The press of the crowds, the soul-destroying homogeneity of the Christmas High Street? Here are some better places to shed your money and feel like you're having a nice time... and if they don’t do it for you, try Weald and Downland Open Air Museum Fabulous place to visit and a really nice shop too - really unusual stuff, worth a look at Christmas in particular, full of amazing stocking fillers. A Christmas favourite. Town Lane, Singleton, Chichester 01243 811363 brand. Good pitstop for coffee, chocolate, cake or lunch too... In Bakery Lane - the alley between Waitrose car park and Chapel Street. 01730 269847.

Petersfield’s best shopping

2008-12-16T11:21:00.000-08:00

One Tree Books. Petersfield's biggest independent stockist of new books and a lot more - cards, games, coffee shop (no bacon sandwiches but excellent bara brith)... Now on two floors and offering tickets for local events too. Great hub for local readers and writers, offering a regular book club and readings. Support your local bookslinger...7 Lavant Street, 01730 261199.

The Petersfield Book shop, cavernous, fascinating second hand bookshop dating back almost a century and featuring everything from dog-eared paperbacks (available 24x7 in the forecourt) to real antiquarian stock, plus old maps and prints. Good selection of new stock in the front too, and an art supplies and framing department which boasts a Royal warrant. Well worth an afternoon's rootle. 16A Chapel Street 01730 263438, mail sales@petersfieldbookshop.com

Academy Arts Centre fine selection of artists and craft materials, and a gift section which includes interesting small ceramics, paintings and jewellery. Framing too. Winton Road, 01730 261 624, mail: info@academyartandcrafts.com

Bonica. Fabulous floral arrangements. Very special indeed. Pages Court, off the High Street. 01730 267444. Some very nice gifts too - flowerpots, vases and more. Online orders too.

The Blacksmith's Daughter. Not your everyday florist. Good selection of flowers and arrangements and more besides. Regular floristry workshops. Bakery Lane (off Waitrose carpark. Why [oh why] would you buy your flowers at Waitrose?). 01730 261611.

Tricot Too, Dragon Street, cool Scandinavian style, clothes nicely arranged by colour and shade. Lots of Nordic-style stuff for kitchen and garden too. And Crocs. Very classy... 01730 231 218

Twenty the High Street, really very nice clothes - for women only, regrettably....20 The High Street (surprisingly), Petersfield. Tel: 01730 265466

Hackman and Potter opened its doors on December 1st in Dragon Street. Beautiful gifts and Finnish-inspired furniture. Not cheap, but not tacky either. Really exceptional stuff in fact. With Tricot Too next door, the south end of Petersfield high street is starting to become a real design destination. 2, Dragon Street. 01730 710011.

Far Horizons Gallery, Folly Lane, amazing range of gifts and jewellery from around the world, striking absence of tat. 1 Folly Lane, 01730 265864.

Inside Out. Nice selection of gifts, frames and decorative stuff. Add it to your Christmas circuit. Bottom of Bakery Lane, off the Waitrose car park. 01730 710717

C ute, Pages Court, High Street, Petersfield. Very nice clothes and toys for small children. Wooden and traditional toys, continental clothing, lovely stuff now packed into a sensible space since their move to Pages Court. Cards and wrapping, perfect for last-minute presents for the under 3 (feet). 01730 300900

Armorica, Rams Walk. Great range of classy and practical kitchen and cooking gear. Small but select range of electrical equipment upstairs - blenders, processors and so on. Serious about cooking but friendly local service. Good online site too and a fantastic specialist site for cook's knives - the biggest we've come across. 08456 017 262.

Petersfield Electrical Services, Lavant Street. Why trek down the A3 to a soulless warehouse when PES has already picked out an excellent range of white goods and audio-visual equipment? All your top brands at internet-matching prices pus great local service, spares, advice ... and not a spotty Herbert in sight. 01730 263 242

Petersfield Photographic, Lavant Street. Great source of leading camera brands, developing and printing services and all-important advice from people familiar with the kind of camera you don't also make phone calls on ... Passport photos, frames, accessories... fabulous Crumpler bags too! D&P by appointment to the Hipster... 01730 263848.

The Music Station Lurking up Bakery Lane between Waitrose Car Park and Chapel Street. If Santa specialised in hard-to-find vinyl, tapes and CDs, this is how his grotto would look. Very friendly, buys as well as sells (maybe more than)... surprisingly good jazz collection. Just about the only source of non-chainstore music in Petersfield. Also a welcome source of picks and strings 'n' things for guitarists who can't be bothered driving to Guitar Village in Farnham or Nevada in Portsmouth.

Qube All your philosophically challenging requisites under one virtual roof. Intriguing and worth a look. 01730 895222.

Citroen Care, Rake, 5 miles. Yes, yes, we know, you don't drive a Citroen, but really, that's just the name of the shop. Servicing and MOT work, tyres, bodyshop on all makes of car, very friendly, great prices, terrific quality of service. By appointment these many years to the hipster's extensive fleet and can't be recommended highly enough. If you're out of warranty, say farewell to can't-be-arsed main dealership misery. Unit 12/Rake Business Park, Rake, Liss GU33 7PN, 01730 894994.

U-Do DIY, Liss, 4 miles. Brilliant, tardis-like emporium on Station Road in Liss which manages to cram a substantial part of both B&Q and PC World into a space only slightly larger than a telephone box. All kinds of hard-to-find parts and spares, and avoid the pain and profanity of skinned knuckles and bashed thumbs with the advice given gratis with or without purchase. Enquire within for anything. Great place. 01730 894437

Midhurst and further afield

Cabbage White, Midhurst. Very lovely and classy stuff for home and garden. Knockhundred Row, 01730 814555.

WildWood Charcoal and Coppice Products. Beautiful things made from locally coppiced hazel, chestnut and oak - everything from coathooks to fencing, benches, chairs... . barbecue and artist's charcoal too. At the farmwrs' markets too and most of the big country shows. Halnaker, West Sussex 01243 778106, wildwoodcoppice@btinternet.com.

Pages Court is hot!

2008-12-16T10:38:00.000-08:00

No, bear with me, it really is. The town's best florist (Bonica) and best independent children's shop (Cute) have been joined by a terrific new cafe (monoloco) and FlipFlop, which is hard to describe other than by saying that it walks a precarious path between inspired and nuts in its presentation of extraordinary furniture, lighting, ceramics and the kind of geegaws and wimwams for which 'gifts' is far too small a word.

Almost no-one knows FlipFlop exists because it thumbs its nose at the very idea of promotion and advertising. Do youself a favour and go hunt it out, stopping on the way out or the way in for breakfast or lunch at monoloco. The breakfast menu includes scrambled duck eggs with a choice of organic local (very smokey) bacon or sausages, or kedgeree, or a fantastic looking full Blighty.Vegetarians get something built around home-baked beans and damned good it looked too. Lunch specials look pretty inspired too. Doesn't (yet) have Djangos' charm (or its exceptional coffee), but it's a nice place and the food, on first encounter, makes it a real contender. . .

Pages Court: it's what shopping malls would be like if they were small and any good. It's the Ram's Walk that it's OK to like.

Draw your children closer: Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'

2008-11-14T13:32:00.000-08:00

I finished 'The Road' feeling like someone had stuck a rusty corkscrew between my ribs and slowly twisted. Recalling Einstein's prediction that 'World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones', this astonishing novel reveals a world where all colour, warmth, light and shade have been turned down to their lowest settings, where life is reduced to a grim cave painting. But don't be put off - it's also compulsively readable - cliche or not, I couldn't put it down, but that was in part because I didn't want to put the light out and face the dark.

Can you describe a book so brutally, gut-wrenchingly bleak as 'great'? I guess there is hope in the love between father and child protagonists (though even this is as agonised and desperate a portrayal of that inter-dependency as you will ever read) and there is just the possibility of light at the end of this terrible journey, but it's fair to say that more optimistic takes on the human condition are widely available.

But are they more realistic? 'The Road' makes you fear that this, but for the grace of whoever, is just the way it is - that in the end it all comes down to a rat-like survivalist instinct, and that if we've cared to notice, we've seen plenty of similar journeys down similar roads, in many theatres of bitter conflict in the post-Cold War world - and furthermore that, if we don't get our act together, this is a road that could be waiting for any of us.

A book to make you think, and shiver, and draw your children closer. Masterful. A film of this will be out soon. Read the book first.

The Shoe Inn

2008-11-14T13:22:00.000-08:00

Exton, 7 miles west and south of Petersfield. The Shoe is a very friendly traditional village pub in the Meon Valley whose slightly tired decor is compensated by some excellent grub. Lots of fish and seafood, cooked with a sure hand and offering some some great flavours. Wadworth's beers, good short wine list, terrace in front of the pub looks towards a riverside garden. Busy even on a Tuesday night, worth booking. Shoe Lane, Exton 01489 877526. GMAP

The Bakers' Arms

2008-11-14T13:08:00.000-08:00

Droxford, 8 miles west and south of Petersfield. As they would say on Masterchef, 'oh yes...'. This is great, but begs some serious questions: 1) what have the good folk of the Meon valley done to deserve largesse on this scale, with at least three excellent dining pubs within walking distance of each other (see also The Thomas Lord and The Shoe Inn)? and 2) couldn't we see more of this kind of action a bit closer to Petersfield? Please?

Providing a masterclass in how to get it right, Anna Thompson and Adam Cordery took over the Baker's Arms two years ago and have turned it from what was - by all accounts - a pretty grotty local into the the kind of pub that any village and many small towns would kill for. Plain but comfortable and warm inside, with a nice assortment of furniture tucked into interesting corners, and a good fire blazing away. Good lighting, no music, just a really pleasant and characterful space to be in. Friendly, attentive staff, good local beer from the Bowmans brewery (this place operates as a real pub, not just a restaurant), a short but decent wine list - and fantastic food. The menu isn't long but offers a decent choice of dishes from classic steak béarnaise and chips (often it's the classics which separate the great kitchens from the ordinary) - to more adventurous cuts and dishes, mostly locally sourced, nicely presented and very, very well cooked. Food tends to the comforting, but it's not served in overwhelming quantities and as it also inclines to the lip-smackingly, plate-wipingly delicious, we weren't complaining. Good puds too. As so often I am indebted to the ever-reliable Herry Lawford, who drew my attention to The Baker's Arms. Excellent call Herry - more welcomed. Note that The Baker's Arms been winning dining awards since it opened and some of the big guides are sniffing around, so get in now and beat the crowds. Booking already advisable. High Street, Droxford 01489 877533 GMAP

The Trooper Inn

2008-11-14T13:01:00.000-08:00

Froxfield, 3 miles north and west of Petersfield, not far from The Pub With No Name.

The Trooper styles itself an inn, but it would be hard to imagine anything further from a traditional boozer. Although it still maintains a bar, where they'll happily serve you a pint, and a small but decent selection of beers (Ballards, Ringwoods), this is very much a dining pub and pretty much an out and out restaurant, with room for a hundred or more covers in two bars and any number of alcoves and annexes. Not that this need be read as a bad thing; in fact, the less you think of it as a pub, the happier you're likely to be. The specials blackboard changes ever day and features a great range of genuinely tempting dishes, running from British classics delivered with imagination through modern European to a good handful of Asian-influenced dishes, backed up by a substantial a la carte menu. Shellfish features strongly. Excellent wine list is supplied by the General Wine Company. Place is warm and welcoming, a big fire going in the main bar and the walls dense with photographs and posters, hopbines and all that caper. Stylish in a slightly Jack Vettriano way but hey, the food enjoys an excellent reputation, it's a nice space to sit in, the staff know their onions and few visitors are going to be disappointed. It really is a place you could comfortably bring your children and your aged P's without feeling the desperate ennui that normally accompanies a 'family restaurant' concept. Get there: west of Petersfield through Steep, up Stoner Hill (great views to your right) to Alton Rd, Froxfield. 01730 827 293 GMAP

La Piazzetta

2008-11-14T12:57:00.000-08:00

Simple but warm and comfortable Italian trattoria, installed on the Square in Petersfield since the end of 2007. The menu isn't staggeringly innovative - pasta and pizza, steaks and a handful of other pesce e carne dishes - but the food is excellent, with a real Italian feel. Seafood dishes - mussels, spaghetti marinara and more - are especially good. Terrific puddings too - classics again, but when that includes excellent ice-cream pancakes and a tiramisu which virtually floats off the plate, who's complaining? Nice short wine list and decent value too. Warm service, good with children and old people. We'll be back. 2, The Square 01730 260006.

The Spice Lounge

2008-11-14T12:30:00.000-08:00

Tucked away up a flight of stairs from the Square, Petersfield's Spice Lounge offers the best Indian food the Hipster has enjoyed in Petersfield and, we thought, more than a match for the more celebrated Madhuban in Liss. Interesting menu, offering more than the usual favourites and, even with four of us eating, a real struggle to make a choice. The food didn't disappoint, with strong, distinctive flavours throughout. Good value too. ... 1-2 The Square 01730 309309 GMAP

File under 'Fabulous': Shelby Lynne's 'Just A Little Lovin''

2008-11-09T01:47:00.000-08:00

'Just a Little Lovin'' is Shelby Lynne's tribute to the songs made famous by Dusty Springfield. It's a great album, delicately arranged but carrying a hefty emotional weight inside Shelby Lynne's velvet glove of a voice, echoing Dusty's emotionally fragile interpretations and mediating them through the great, blue-eyed soulful female voice of our time, the only contender for Dusty's seemingly untouchable legacy.

As has been said elsewhere, why did it never really happen for Shelby Lynne after the unclassifiable masterpiece that was 'I Am Shelby Lynne'? The clue is in that 'unclassifiable' - too hard to pigeonhole maybe - not quite pop, country or soul, too much feeling - of a sometimes painfully bleak sort - to call it easy listening (however easy on the ear it invariably is). This doesn't reach those heights (very little does) but file under 'fabulous' nonetheless.

The Lounge

2008-11-09T01:40:00.000-08:00

Occupying the site in Heath Road vacated a couple of years ago when JSW headed for grander premises, The Lounge offers comparatively unpretentious but nonetheless high quality dining in a small but comfortable space which, even when full, doesn't feel cramped. The food is squarely in the modern British camp (i.e. really quite traditional), rich and substantial (heading in the direction of comfort eating, but on a cold January night we weren't complaining) locally sourced where possible and treated with a restrained but expert hand. Positives: friendly and knowledgeable staff, very enjoyable food, decent short wine list, good value - expect to pay between £30 and £40 and to leave feeling you've had the best of the deal. Negatives: tables next to the big picture window can feel draughty... and someone should proof-read the menu. Nitpicking though - we liked the Lounge a lot. Welcome to Petersfield. 1-3 Heath Road 01730 266668

JSW

2008-11-09T01:29:00.000-08:00

Petersfield's smartest restaurant, Michelin starred and Michelin priced. Moved to new and swish premises in Dragon Street in late 2006 from the much smaller space currently occupied by The Lounge. Here, the rooms are roomier, but the decor - neutral and the atmosphere - austere - have been carried through. Presumably this is to minimise any distraction from the culinary fireworks to come but we felt it had been taken too far; for sure, no-one likes to eat under searchlights but the peculiarly flat, indirect illumination makes the room feel inhospitable - as though the traditional 'gloomy corner' had been extended to the entire restaurant - and certainly doesn't set the food (or the diners) in a flattering light. Another time we'd make sure we had one of the few window tables with natural light or (in summer) would aim to eat outside in what looks like a nice courtyard.

Both food and wine at JSW win plaudits; the food is certainly technically excellent (which is to say that you would never aspire to it at home), though more in terms of appearance and construction than flavour, the wine (from a fairly short list available by the glass) OK but unmemorable, the service professional (though not faultless) but the whole experience is emotionally uninvolving and pretty joyless.

We guess there are a lot of people around who still like this kind of haute cuisine. If you're one of them, then JSW checks all the expected boxes and may well ring your bell - don't let our oikish preferences put you off. Dragon Street, Petersfield, Hampshire. 01730 262030

Through a Lens Darkly: Don McCullin's 'Unreasonable Behaviour'

2008-11-09T01:23:00.000-08:00

A brilliantly written account of Don McCullin's experiences in every available 'hot war' across the 70s, 80s and early 90s.

On one hand, 'Unreasonable Behaviour' can be read almost as a boy's-own story of fearless derring-do, as McCullin plunges into situation after situation of almost unimaginable peril, with only a Nikon between him, an awful lot of hot metal and some really terrifying people, and with almost no regard for his personal safety. Heart enters mouth as early as the second chapter and rarely leaves thereafter.

On the other, it's one of the bleakest, most wretched books I have ever read, and not only because so much is concerned with brutality, atrocity and the very worst examples of human behaviour.

McCullin's bravery is initially astonishing - he reports very little fear even when faced with the worst danger, even when staring down a lens at its terrible consequences. Gradually it becomes evident, however, that what we are witnessing is less about heroism, more about an almost complete absence of self-worth and that the reason he can so recklessly put his life on the line is because he values it so very little. Not quite 'no sense, no feeling', for he is by no means a stupid or insensitive man, but something along those lines. There's something missing. As the book progresses towards an almost unbearably sad ending, the personal life moves increasingly centre stage and it becomes evident that the title isn't just about what McCullin has witnessed.

This isn't really a book for camera geeks. McCullin is a photojournalist first and a photographer second. His interest is in getting close to the action, less about the technical quality of the snap - which, ironically, is what makes them so arresting. But you'll look in vain for anything on lenses, bodies or films, other than a useful tip on what camera works best when you have to change film under fire and flat on your back.

Way to go: Trevor Dann's 'Deeper Than the Darkest Sea'

2008-11-04T05:52:00.000-08:00

So cards on the table, I'm a Drake fan of some 25 years standing since, intrigued by regular oblique references in the NME, I picked up a boxed set of his vinyl albums (Fruit Tree) in Brighton's great 'Vinyl Solutions'. Great, dark, sorrowful songs, exquisite playing, and tunes that got under your skin and never left.

I have to say that my love for Drake's music has been little enhanced by his various biographers, though, and Trevor Dann's book is no exception. Maybe that's not his fault; maybe we have to accept after all these years that there's really very little story here, but I didn't even think he made the most of what he had. There's way too much of what Salinger calls 'that David Copperfield crap' (which would be OK if it didn't just make Drake sound like a spoilt, moody and not particularly interesting public schoolboy), even more padding about his Dad's adventuring in Singapore and the West Midlands motor trade (interesting enough in a 'not-really' sort of way), some very tenuous drug and mental illness speculation, the usual ragbag of semi-learned digressions (how easy must they be to pull off in these Google-equipped days)... in short, a lot of dicking about and not that much Nick.

As seems obligatory when discussing Drake too, every recollection or anecdote or detail is driven home with sledgehammer weight and significance and simultaneously treated with a kind of precious reverence in the context of the Events to Follow. The title is much in keeping with that style - next to 'Heavier than Heaven', which does the same job for Kurt Cobain, it's my new favourite stinky rock-biog title.

I remain convinced there is a story there though - I would loved a great deal more digging into where that remarkable style came from, and exactly how this weightless, almost context-free individual came up with an astonishing collection of songs - unfortunately it's not here. The closest anyone has come to that is in Ian Macdonald's extended essay in 'The People's Music' and Joe Boyd's reflections in 'White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s', the only efforts to capture Drake that I'd really recommend.

I'm just glad I found Nick Drake's music before I found his back story, or wild horses wouldn't have dragged me to listen to it.

for fans only: 'Joe Strummer, The Future is Unwritten'

2008-10-31T16:37:00.000-07:00

Really for fans only, and undiscriminating fans at that. Some fascinating archive footage which really takes you back to the grey, grim days of England in the 70s, some good concert footage (though not a lot that you can't get elsewhere), but for me the relentless mythologising, by the various (largely un-named and uncredited) interviewees, and by Joe himself gets a bit wearying. The Clash made some tremendous music, but Joe himself, while his constant seeking after some kind of truth and justice is laudable, wasn't the clearest or most consistent of political thinkers and shouldn't be celebrated as such. I also lost patience with the Julian Temple style; the free-association of loosely-related images with the Strummer story quickly came to seem less playfully amusing and more like tiresome padding (to put it politely)... to be honest, I'd have preferred a shorter film that told it straight.

Best bits: generous contributions from Mick Jones and Topper Headon, some great footage from the States, where they really do look like the last great rock and roll band. More from Paul Simenon would have been welcome, but you sense that Paul had had enough of Clash nostalgia.

Conclusions: If you're a big and unquestioning fan of Joe and the Clash you're going to love this film. If you're anything less, you may find your hand starting to wander towards the remote...

Rocktastic: Guy Pratt's 'My Bass and Other Animals'

2008-10-31T16:24:00.000-07:00

Matey, blokey memoir of an itinerant and highly enviable musical life in the studio and on the road over the last thirty years or so with some of the biggest names in rock. Guy Pratt is the sideman's sideman, far from shy but not desperately seeking the spotlight at the centre stage either. So this isn't the usual stodgy soup-to-nuts account of life with one band, as so many rock memoirs are, but rather, a delightful dim sum of stories from his life as a kind of rock and roll Zelig, backing up Icehouse, Roxy Music, Robert Palmer, Madonna, Michael Jackson, The Power Station, Jimmy Page and the proverbial host of others, on all kinds and sizes of stages and in some of the most famous studios in the world.

Very much the main course dish in this buffet is the Floyd, for whom Guy 'has been' Roger Waters when occasion has called over many years (even backing him up from the side of the stage at Live 8). What makes it work is an endearing modesty - 'wot, me?' could almost act as a subtitle to 'My Bass...' - a gift for the telling anecdote and a sharp wit - there's some ripely funny stories in this book. A great insight too into what goes on backstage in the studios and on the road (Guy has never been shy about partaking in all that's on offer to the touring musician but seems to have kept his marbles and his ego under control throughout). All in all, a rollicking good read - and a rocktastically, enviably good life...

Violent, profane... excellent: In Bruges

2008-10-31T16:14:00.000-07:00

Took me a while to warm to In Bruges, but in the end I liked it a lot. As a story it's more or less completely nuts, and at times they appear to be making it up as they go along, but the script is sharp, it looks great - like a Belgian brown bar made into a film - and Gleeson and Farrell's performances carry the day, making the sketchiest and unlikeliest of plots - which this certainly is - into something quite resonant and even touching. It is, of course, completely unfair on poor little Bruges, but that's consistent with a film which is not exactly a monument to justice and fair play - Farrell in particular spreads his prejudices around pretty even-handedly. Warning: if you're sensitive to profanity, this movie is not for you - if they cut the F and C words (delivered with typically Irish brio), the film would probably only run to about twenty minutes. If you like this, try 'The Matador [2005]', which has a similar feel...

The Five Bells, Buriton

2008-10-31T16:08:00.000-07:00

4 miles south of Petersfield. Rising from the slough of mediocrity into which it had sunk in recent years, The Five Bells shows every sign of reclaiming the status it once enjoyed as a really great country inn. Roomy, comfortable, traditional bar on one side, classy but equally loafable restaurant area on the other. Menus are reassuringly short. Good range of ales - King & Barnes' excellent Sussex going down well when we visited. Very friendly service. Was once famed for its Sunday lunches and has that feel again now. Food is certainly good, and portions are generous to a fault - does anyone order pudding here? More reports welcomed. Early days, but a hearty welcome back already seems justified. High Street, Buriton, 01730 263584 GMAP

The Vine, Hambledon

2008-10-31T16:03:00.000-07:00

7 miles south west of Petersfield. Handsome old pub in the exquisite, chocolate box Hampshire village recognised as 'the Cradle of Cricket' and home to the Hambledon Vineyard. Nice mix of eating, drinking and plain loafing-about areas with a handful of shaded tables on a deck out back. Excellent menu and good beers, including the Vine's own and a fine example from the Black Sheep brewery in Cumbria. Melanie Flint from the Lone Barn B&B (looks damn nice itself) put the Hipster on to this one: "a lovely atmospheric local pub serving excellent food with great service." She was right, and we'll be back regularly. Get there: head west from the A3 through Clanfield on a rolling road which will take you past Broadhalfpenny Down, the oldest cricket ground in England and still, surely, one of the most dramatically located (home of the feared Broadhalfpenny Brigands). The Vine is located at the far end of Hambledon's main street. 023 9263 2419. GMAP

The Royal Oak, Hooksway

2008-10-31T15:53:00.000-07:00

9 miles south of Petersfield. Genuinely ancient - the building dates back to the 1500s and it's been an inn for at least half that time. Visiting the Royal Oak isn't a 'heritage experience' however - it's a functional village pub in the old-fashioned sense, serving good beer and plain but decent food, much of it to walkers and cyclists passing through between Chichester and the South Downs Way. Easy to miss - Hooksway is down a single track lane east off the B2141 Chichester - South Harting road, south of Harting Down. Blink and you'll miss it. 01243 535257 GMAP

The Fox Goes Free, Charlton

2008-10-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

12 miles east and south of Petersfield. Rangy, popular, comfortable old country pub. Stylish restaurant too, offering really exceptional quality and value - the Hipster was quite moved on its last visit by a piece of perfectly cooked belly pork at a very reasonable price. Excellent wines and beers, including its own traditional Fox bitter at a refreshing 3.5°. Nice garden where you can sit under old apple trees and enjoy lovely views of the downs. Rooms available, popular with the horse crowd. Regular music nights and poker school. Quite terrific really. More detail here. Get there: turn east at Singleton off the Midhurst/ Chichester road, travel two to three miles along a single track road. 01243 811461 GMAP

The Country Inn, Bepton

2008-10-31T15:40:00.000-07:00

Real traditional community village pub. Not horsebrassed and whitewashed and generally chi-chied to death, but properly characterful, comfortable and friendly. Good beer, plain but tempting food (ham, bubble & squeak and poached eggs caught the Hipster's eye), boules in the summer, big log fire in the winter, lots of room and distractions for kids in the garden. Community notice board, newspapers, book exchange... why doesn't every village have a pub like this? Get there: a mile or so west of Midhurst on the Bepton road, keep your eyes peeled for Severals Road on the right as it's easy to miss. 01730 813466 GMAP

The White Horse, Easebourne

2008-10-31T15:32:00.000-07:00

Just outside Midhurst, 9 miles or so east of Petersfield. Good unspoiled country pub, battered leather armchairs, fires, pub grub of the old skool. Greene King ales. Top of the range pub dog. Best pub in and around Midhurst that the Hipster knows of. Get there: Signposted just off the A272 half a mile or so east of Midhurst, opposite Cowdray's tradesmen's entrance. 01730 813521 GMAP

The White Horse, Rogate

2008-10-31T15:26:00.000-07:00

The White Horse, Rogate. 4 miles. Solid village pub, decent food, great Harveys beers. Used to be a good bet for a quiet pint and a seat but was chocka the last time the Hipster dropped by. Easy for the unwary to shoot past and then find nowhere to tie up, but actually there's a good sized car park right behind the pub. Deservedly popular. Get there: right on the A272 in the middle of Rogate, opposite the church. Parking behind the pub, entrance on the right hand side. 01730 821333 GMAP

The Hamilton Arms, Stedham

2008-10-31T15:15:00.000-07:00

7 miles east of Petersfield. This place is different. The region's #1 Thai boozer (from a fairly small pool, admittedly), combining Thai restaurant with what feels oddly like a London local that has been bodily transported to the West Sussex woodland, complete with clientele. Worth visiting at least once a year, when the pub creates the fantastic Eastern Cultural Fair, taking over the woods and clearings opposite the pub, filling them with Thai and other eastern food stalls plus Asian entertainments and exotica, a little bit of Glastonbury landed in West Sussex and really rather fab. Get there: half a mile or less north of the A272, between Trotton and Midhurst, signposted. 01730 812555 GMAP

Three Horseshoes, Elsted

2008-10-31T15:07:00.000-07:00

7 miles or so east and south of Petersfield. Ancient pub with great atmosphere and spectacular views over the downs from the garden, really very good. Food is classic British... Sussex lamb cutlets, Selsey crab, Scottish mussels, lobster salad, venison, Dover sole, and some extremely toothsome puddings. Beers are from the barrel, wine list is short but good. Manages to cater to both the real ale and the champagne crowd (it's within the gravitational pull of both Goodwood and Cowdray Park) while maintaining its own identity. This is a gastropub dating from years before anyone coined the term, and full of brisk confidence. A local great with which the Hipster is a touch smitten. Definitely a pub to settle down and grow old with. Get there: Elsted is signposted south from the A272 between Midhurst and Trotton; follow your nose for a couple of miles. 01730 825746. GMAP

The Keepers Arms, Trotton (restaurant)

2008-10-31T14:59:00.000-07:00

Five miles east of Petersfield on the A272, more grape than grain (though two or three excellent local ales can be depended on) and certainly a finer and more consistent dining experience than it ever was. Taken over and revamped in 2007 and given a design makeover consistent with its short, sharp menu, losing some of its wilder eccentricities but retaining its intriguing spaces. The kitchen functions brilliantly, producing modern British food of an extremely high standard - the best the Hipster has enjoyed on the Sussex side of Petersfield by some distance, and several correspondents have informally commended it too. Nicely balanced wine list and warm service. Undeniably it's more of a restaurant than a pub, but the generous lounging space in big leather sofas and armchairs by the fire (and the south-facing terrace outside) give it a great, relaxed feel. A serious destination for weekend hedonists, but if you're local, don't let that put you off. More here.

The Keeper's Arms, Trotton (pub)

2008-10-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

5 miles or so east of Petersfield. What a great establishment this is. The entertaining but migraine-threatening interior of former days has been stripped back and toned down to a cool, light space while retaining the intriguing nooks and crannies which make it a great pub to visit with any number of people. A real 'destination' pub, with fine rooms and skilful cooking of an extremely high standard available at lunchtimes and evenings (see the hipster's restaurant review) and some intriguing beers. Excellent wine list too. Get there: perched above God's own highway (southern region), the A272, half way between Rogate and Midhurst. 01730 813724 GMAP

The Duke of Cumberland, Henley

2008-10-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

Maybe eight miles east of Petersfield. Exquisite, creeper and wisteria-clad small country inn, well off the beaten track (aka the A286), perched on Verdley Hill. Tiny, dolls-house bar and dining area (book if you want to be sure of a table) contrasts with big rolling wooded garden, dotted with tables and chairs, bisected by streams and ponds full of fat brown trout which regularly make the short hop to the pub kitchen. Lovely views north towards Haslemere and the Black Down. Good beers from the barrel and excellent, if slightly pricey, food from a small menu. Good looking roasts and game. Get there: Travel north from Midhurst towards Haslemere, look for the turnings to Henley as you approach Fernhurst. If you pass the Kings Arms (which used to be a great pub but, alas, no more), you've gone too far. The pub is on a steep single track road - look out for potholes. 01428 652280 GMAP

The Black Boy, Winchester

2008-10-31T14:24:00.000-07:00

17 miles west of Petersfield. OK, it's a long way off for a pint, but if you ever plan to motor west, this is one of the greatest city pubs you'll ever visit. An old curiosity shop of a pub, featuring a seemingly endless series of rooms, crammed with a variety of furnishings, stuffed animals and entertainments of all kinds. Grub is of the soup and sandwich variety, but fresh and very good, excellent selection of beers, friendly, warm and cosy in winter, fine big garden for the summer. Music on Mondays, 'Black Rat' restaurant across the street (owned by the pub) also looks worthwhile... Pleasingly removed from Winchester's well-beaten tourist trail. Worth the trip, certainly worth dropping in if you're passing. 1 Wharf Hill, Winchester, SO23 9NQ Tel: 01962 861754. Park in the public car park across Chesil Street. GMAP.

The Shoe Inn, Exton

2008-10-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

7 miles west of Petersfield. Very friendly traditional village pub in the Meon Valley whose slightly tired decor is compensated by some excellent grub. Lots of fish and seafood, cooked with a sure hand and offering some some great flavours. Wadworth's beers, good short wine list, terrace in front of the pub looks towards a riverside garden. Busy even on a Tuesday night, worth booking. Shoe Lane, Exton 01489 877526. GMAP

The Pub With No Name (The White Horse)

2008-10-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

Priors Dean, 4 miles from Petersfield. Big old pub in remote, appealingly bleak spot high up on the downs. Its popular name derives from the empty pub sign which swings grimly out on the main road, a final challenge for anyone trying to find the place. Two bars and restaurant, lots of room outside and in. The two snug bars inside, candle-lit and cluttered with old furniture have a dark, Jacobean feel which, in winter, warmed by open fires, is wonderfully welcoming. Can seem a bit less so on a summer's day, but a big sprawling garden makes up for that. A brighter and lighter restaurant has been extended at the back. Food is traditional pub stuff but skilfully handled with excellent ingredients (Cornish scallops, Scottish mussels or O'Hagan's celebrated sausages) contributing to a good repertoire of standards backed by regularly changing specials. Excellent range of ales including its own No-Name bitter. Has plenty of fans, including the poet Edward Thomas who was a regular and made it the subject of 'Up in the Wind', and celebrated chef and food enthusiast Antonio Carluccio. Excellent beerfest every summer with food, bands and camping available for weekend revellers, and other events through the year. In short: highly recommended. Get there: west from Petersfield towards Steep, follow the road as it winds up Stoner Hill. A mile or so past the Trooper Inn, look for the empty sign at the roadside and turn right. The pub is up a track on the right after 100 yards or so. Priors Dean, Hampshire, 01420 588387 GMAP

Mr Whiteheads Cider Company

2008-10-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Real traditional cider, scrumpy and perry without additives or preservatives. Range of strengths and flavours including interesting single varietal ciders. Sold in many local shops, pubs and markets but also direct from source, here, in bottles, barrels or polypins. Also local bottled beers and English wines. The Old Granary, Hartley Park Farm, Selborne, Alton, Hampshire GU34 3HS. Half way between Selborne and Alton. 01420 511733.

Grange Farm

2008-10-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

Lovely farm shop and butcher at Empshott, signposted about four miles west of Liss on the Selborne road (B3006). Free range pork, lamb, chicken, geese, Aberdeen Angus beef, own products and local bread, fruit, vegetables and deli. Great at Christmas, particularly if goose is on the menu, though excellent Norfolk black and bronze turkey also supplied. Open Tuesday - Saturday 8.30am to 5.30pm. 01420 538104. More here.

Durleighmarsh Farm

2008-10-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

Fruit, veg, meat and more. Fantastic range of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers (including an amazing 30 acres of asparagus) to pick yourself or buy in the shop. Environmentally sympathetic farming methods. Good range of Christmas stuff (not before December 1, which merits praise in itself) including poultry, holly, mistletoe... really lovely place. Find it between Petersfield and Rogate on the A272. 01730 821626.

Nick's - I can't believe it's not organic...

2008-10-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

The former OrgaNick, at Wyld's Farm, Liss.

Nick and Sophia Rook-Blackstone's farm out west of Liss supplies great fruit, vegetables and other produce through their farm shop (9-5, Thursday and Friday), the Petersfield Saturday Market (occasionally), the monthly Farmer's Market in Petersfield square, Jade News in Liss and their home-delivery organic box scheme. Used to be organic and indeed OrgaNick, before Nick took the wise choice between organic purity and sanity. Consider it 'nearly-organic' and, either way, damned good. Warren Road, Liss. 01730 891490 or nick@organick.org.uk.

The General Wine Company, Liphook and Midhurst

2008-10-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

Fantastic wine merchant with shops in Liphook and Midhurst. The Hipster rarely buys wine elsewhere. His online wine club subscriptions have withered and died and Waitrose and Sainsbury's now exist for emergency purchases only.

Alan Snudden's enterprise offers a fantastic selection of Old and New World wines right across the price spectrum, sold with real expertise (ask him about Corsican wines if you get the chance). The shops aren't fussy or fancy, but always classy, the advice is equally friendly and informative whether you spend £4.99 or £499 on a bottle. Good range of spirits, cigars and beers too. The GWC Shipper's Club offers worthwhile perks and discounts and information about tastings and dinners and the annual Wine Fair in Liphook's Millenium Hall is absolutely not to be missed.

The General Wine Company is a real treasure, and there can be no excuse for buying at supermarkets or online - GWC offers a better range, keen keen prices and a stack more engagement and enjoyment. Main branch: 25, Station Road, Liphook. 01428 727744. Junior branch, High Street, Midhurst (just as good but half the size and stock).

Petersfield Farmer's Market

2008-10-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

Hampshire Farmers' Markets. The flagship outlet for Hampshire farmers and independent producers, with all produce strictly locally produced. First Sunday in every month in the square in Petersfield, 2nd and 4th Sundays in Winchester, third Saturday in every month Alton. Meat, vegetables, preserves, breads, honey, specialists in tomatoes, chillies, mushrooms, honeys... Too many to individually list, but always on WikiPetersfield's shopping list is

Ashmore Farmhouse Cheese
Bookham Cheese and Pasta (fantastic British parmesan)
Bowtell's Farm Shop, meat and game
Dorset Blueberry Company
Secrett's, amazing vegetables and salad leaves from Milford www.secretts.co.uk
Isle of Wight Tomatoes... and chillies, and aubergines, and tomato products...
Long Crichel Bakery, traditional breads and cakes...
Itchen Valley Brewery
Loosehanger Farmhouse Cheeses, medal-winning Ayrshire cowsmilk and goatsmilk cheeses... their garlic and nettle is seriously addictive...
Peter Mushrooms, fresh mushrooms + soups, pates, ketchups, and a hot mushroom roll as an alternative to the hog roast for all you vegetarians...
Pollen Organics, sauces, pestos, mayonnaises
The Garlic Farm, brilliant range of fresh, smoked and preserved garlic and garlic products.

This barely scratches the surface. Every month there are new stalls, all the Petersfield local farm shops and many from further afield are represented, so this is really unmissable for anyone interested in fresh, local and genuinely interesting food. ... at least one or two roasts are usually ongoing, so skip breakfast and get here early.... more about the farmers' markets here: http://www.hampshirefarmersmarkets.co.uk and at 01420 588671.

Petersfield Market

2008-10-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

So yes, in amongst all the fancy dan foodstuffs and so forth, it's shaming really that Wikipetersfield been so lax in drawing your attention to the town's twice-weekly market. Regular favourites include Nick's almost-organic stall for your almost-organic fruit, vegetables, fruit juices, eggs and honey, Bryants for as good a range of quality fruit and vegetables as you'll find in any of the supermarkets and, uh, those South African folks who set up camp every Saturday and cook up something delicious for you to try (and buy) - big spicy sausages, marinaded meats, biltong and a selection of other South African produce for all the local Home from the Hill types. Other stuff more hit and miss and irregular, but Jones the butcher draws a loyal queue, a fish stall is occasionally there and there's an ever changing display of clothes, jewellery, ethnic stuff... we recommend it as a regular port of call before you visit the supermarket. Here's the thing though; wouldn't it be great if the market offered really good meat, bread, cheese and delicatessen every Saturday? So that your local market provided a genuine alternative to the supermarkets for virtually all of your fresh produce? And wouldn't this be a great thing for a local council to focus on - providing and encouraging a platform for local farmers and producers and really working to keep the heart in Petersfield? Why should a really great local market be just a monthly thing? It's just a thought....

Rowan's Delicatessan

2008-10-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

Really top quality fine foods emporium with a real emphasis on great local produce. Peter and Lucy Rowan's place goes from strength to strength with a broad range of cheeses, hams, pates, delicatessen and those hard-to-find ingredients. A nice bright cafe offering good tea, coffee and the best of their excellent stock of sweet and savoury stuff has been a feature for a while - that's about to be overtaken by a new and extended dining area. Basically, everything you would look for in a good deli and a few surprises too. Particularly good range of locally produced bread, honey and champion pies and pastries. Excellent choice of regularly rotating cheeses (as we write this, Rowan's is one of only two outlets nationally for Isle of Wight Blue, England's Champion Cheese 2007). Nice selection of wines and cigars and Hampshire beers and ciders. Now stocking over twenty loose teas and coffee beans (ground to order). Knowledgeable and friendly staff. Great place at Christmas for stocking fillers, sweetmeats and fancy stuff. And if all of this isn't enough, ask nicely and Peter Rowan will knock you up a lovely hand-built guitar. 4, Lavant Street, Petersfield 01730 262600.

Djangos

2008-10-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

Putting a bit of much-needed culture into Petersfield's cafe scene, Russell and Briony's place is Petersfield's coolest bistro by a country mile. Serving spectacularly good coffee (try the rare 'flat white') and cake all day long but increasingly a serious restaurant too, offering great bistro cooking at lunchtime and on Thursday - Saturday evenings too. Short but personally sourced wine list, mostly from the Loire region, is worth checking out. Music, with a strong leaning towards gypsy swing and jazz (there's a clue in the name) plays a large part in the operation, with lunchtime, afternoon and occasional evening shows by some fine musicians of the acoustic persuasion - look out for the Hanging Tree Band in particular, as well as Russell himself - often combined with something worthwhile in the food line. Proper art also features regularly on Djangos' walls. Now selling excellent coffee beans and freshly ground coffee for your machine from a list of boutique blends in a shop upstairs - look out for Djangos' Bireli brand. Find Djangos in Bakery Lane - the alley between Waitrose car park and Chapel Street. 01730 26761

don't call it bittersweet..... 'Once'

2008-10-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

In case you hadn't heard, `Once' is a musical, but don't let that put you off - go buy it or rent it right now. I recommend buying, not least because DVDs are so cheap now - Amazon will let you have this for under a fiver, which is just silly - that unless a film is brand new, renting is starting to look like pretty poor value.

Anyway, 'Once' is a musical like you've never seen or heard, whose songs - and in passing, they're great songs - whether busked on the street or being polished up in the recording studio, are perfectly pitched and completely, naturally integrated and in tune with the narrative. It's also a deeply affecting love story of the kind that life is full of but which are so rarely brought to the screen, full of stumbling and uncertainty but utterly believable - about an affair never consummated, whose complications are left tantalisingly unresolved. Despite concerning itself with rough-edged Dublin street musicians, it's a proper romance, in an almost courtly sense.

I guess what makes it so great is its humanity. Looks like it was shot using whatever the modern equivalent of Super 8 is, so it has a filmic quality but in a very rough way - somewhat reminiscent of the look and feel of those Before Sunrise/ Before Sunset movies, but with none of their preciousness. Full of rough edges and what look like first takes - probably from necessity, but creating a warm, organic quality and a genuine sense of reality. The central performances are beautifully played, restrained but at the same time full of passion and real feeling, and the supporting players are right on the money too. Dublin does its thing pretty well, of course, reprising its performance from The Commitments (where we first saw Glen Hansard, looking a lot more ginger as the guitarist, Outspan)...

Look, there's no point going on about this unpolished gem. Buy, rent or even better, if you get the chance, go see it. Then get the CD - the music is that good.

A fine romance... 'Broken English'

2008-10-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

This was a surprise. Low key, small scale and all the better for it, 'Broken English' explores New York thirty-something Nora's nervy, anxious search for the love which she senses is passing her by. Parker Posey, who I don't really recognise from anything else, is great in the role, her confidence, mood, even her appearance visibly changing from scene to scene as the movie progresses. Melvin Poupaud, as Julien, the Frenchman she runs into, is a perfect foil, sensitive to her mood swings and anxieties while, in demanding the big decision on which the film pivots, creating some fresh ones of his own.

The action swings between New York and Paris and for once Paris is played by itself, not by the usual stock footage of the Eiffel Tower seen through a hotel window. A small, resonant, genuinely romantic and very human film - I liked it a lot.

Unfortunately, I have to add that it won't be out in the UK till I don't know when - I caught it on a transatlantic Air France flight where the choice of English language movies was limited (or I might not have bothered). I should also add that I nearly always enjoy movies hugely on planes, and am often moved to tears by the sappiest things, which I put down to either the pressurized cabin or the large quantities of booze I've usually managed to put away by the time the film starts, so maybe I'm not the best judge. But if you need something similar to keep you going, I'd recommend 'Once' very strongly.

The George

2008-10-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

The Square, Petersfield. Really rather snazzy - more a bistro/ bar than a pub, but let's not be picky. A handful of excellent ales (Deuchars, Hopback and Sharp's Doombar when we were in), a terrific range of wines by the glass or bottle (from our friends at the General Wine Company, we're guessing) and a nice selection of brasserie-style food. 'Burger Kitchen' looks good too, if you have a substantial gap to fill, as does Sunday brunch. Acoustic music on Friday evenings, something a lot louder on Sundays... really is a very good place. Sofas and easy chairs around the bar at the front, tables and chairs at the back and an outdoor courtyard too, featuring the celebrated Mexican Hut: tequila, Corona, Desperados and ice cream (shot and a beer, just four of your Earth pounds) . Best place for a drink and a bite in the centre of Petersfield, certainly, and really making an effort. One to watch. Frankly - we like. 01730 233343 GMAP

The Square Brewery

2008-10-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

The Square, Petersfield. Honest town centre pub. Gales beers, decent range of pub food, arguably the best old-school breakfast in town. Increasingly the place to go for live music in Petersfield. 01730-264291. GMAP

The Good Intent

2008-10-04T15:40:00.001-07:00

College Street, Petersfield. Really very decent old school boozer. Gales beers, old-style but good-looking pub grub (O'Hagan's excellent sausages feature strongly). Old-fashioned atmosphere (in a good way), no smoking restaurant area. Provides a platform every Sunday night for most of the local bands, jazz on Thursdays. Recommended. 01730 263838 GMAP

The Harrow

2008-10-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

Two miles from the centre of Petersfield and unchanged since the Liberals last tasted power. Beer strictly from the barrel, pea and ham soup that your spoon will stand up in and ye treacle tarte of Olde Englande. Who could wish for more? In its own way, perfect. Downside: tiny, welcome can be a bit chilly, service can be flaky, toilets would also have been recognised by Lloyd George. This is nitpicking however; in truth it's a great characterful pub. Get there: signposts for Steep off the old A3 into east Petersfield. 01730 262685. GMAP

The Thomas Lord (restaurant)

2008-10-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

Not many establishments justify a full pub and restaurant writeup- they're generally pretty clearly one or the other - but the Thomas Lord is a justified exception to that rule. As we've found before, it's a great place to drop in for a pint, but come back for a meal and be as amazed as we were at the quality of the food. Short menu which changes every day and quietly undersells what will turn up on the plate (in clear contravention of standard restaurant practise). Highly skilled but not madly ostentatious cooking (you'll look in vain for timbales of anything here), drawing on local suppliers and traditional English menus (in the best way), so anticipate game, fish, organic vegetables and old-fashioned puddings all prepared with great attention to flavour, beautifully presented and balanced in a way that makes three courses entirely feasible. Excellent wine list with many available by small or large glass, half or full bottle. Attentive service, friendly without being overpowering, lovely ambience with a mix of rooms, tables and lighting which gives the place a real clubby atmosphere and can comfortably accommodate anything from dinner à deux to large parties. Proper linen and heavy cutlery is a nice touch. Real value too - even the bill came as a pleasant surprise, and how often do we find ourselves saying that? The Thomas Lord taxes our limited powers of description, but you should have gathered by now that we sure did like what we found here. In fact, it shames us to say it, but we struggled to find anything to criticise. Get there: West Meon is on the A32 Alton - Fareham road, a mile or two south of the intersection with the A272. The pub is signposted off the main road just inside the village. 01730 829244. GMAP Also see our pub review here. Picture courtesy of Herry Lawford, by the way, who also contributed the following sage remarks:

"The Thomas Lord is everything one could wish for in a country pub - except perhaps for the lack of a view. But once inside, it exudes the warmth and charm of its cheerful owners and the unmistakable smell of a good table. Exceptional cooking, using local produce and supporting local farmers, butchers and fishermen, results in dishes such as mouthwatering pork chops, succulent venison and a perfect vegetable 'shepherds' pie. A short but interesting wine list includes a very tasty and reasonably priced Chilean Carmenere red - and the beer is of course excellent. Add two blazing fires and a semi-private back room lined with books (that you can buy for 50p each), and aged wood everywhere, and you will be tempted to stay all day. About £25 a head for two courses and a lot of wine! "

The Thomas Lord (pub)

2008-10-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

West Meon, 6 miles from Petersfield. Draws on its association with the eponymous founder of Lord's cricket ground and former resident of West Meon with plenty of cricketing memorabilia, but not overpoweringly so. More to the point, it's an absolutely tremendous country inn: roomy, comfortable, with a nicely weathered assortment of furniture, including big leather armchairs, many pulled up to fires which blaze through the winter. Friendly, chatty and, it would appear, a matey dog at every table, which may not be standard but was a nice touch on the cold day that we were there. Excellent range of beers, tempting short menu, drawing on local suppliers - when we dropped by for lunch, smoked haddock stovie topped with a fried egg and a dash of chilli hit the spot very nicely. Good for lunch, great for dinner, or just a fine place to idle away a few hours with beer and the papers. If it was closer, could be our new favourite pub, as it is, it certainly justifies a trip. Get there: turn south from the A272 towards Fareham on the A32. The pub is signposted to the left just inside West Meon village. 01730 829244. GMAP. See also the WikiPetersfield restaurant review here.

The Hawkley Inn

2008-10-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

Five miles from Petersfield, The Hawkley is everything you want a country pub to be; walking boots, wellies, horses, bikes, great beer and cider, some seriously good food, fire, moose, big garden. All this and power showers too, in some very smart accommodation introduced at the end of 2006 and very popular with DFLs and parties attending weddings in Hawkley's rather spiffy church. Seven beers on tap that change constantly, and decent wine too. Always plenty of local ales, (I've personally never had a bad one and would walk several country miles any day for the fff Moondance). Music at weekends, good beer fest every year. Perfect pub in any weather, crowded at weekends, however, when food service can be on the slow side - get there early or late if waiting a while bothers you - and the number of untethered children may occasionally test your tolerance (though this seems less of an issue since new space opened up in the pub at the end of 2006). A great place, even better than I'm making it sound; there have been a few changes of personnel there recently, including the much regretted departure of Jeannie, the last link with the old Hawkley days, but it seems to be holding its own and even improving in some departments - food in particular is much improved since a new chef took over a couple of months back. Get there: Follow signs for Hawkley from West Liss (Hawkley Road runs up the side of the Spread Eagle). Pococks Lane, Hawkley. Liss 01730 827205, more at www.hawkleyinn.co.uk. GMAP

Gods and Monsters... 'Heaven and Hell' (Don Felder, The Eagles)

2008-10-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

Don Felder was the guitarist brought in by the Eagles after their 'Desperado' album to add a bit of rock bite (and, it was hoped, some better sales figures) to the country soft-rock which had at that time failed to make a major impact on the US public. The move was largely successful - the big hits started to roll in, The Eagles barely left the US charts for the next twenty five years, and as for the money, the only trouble was finding time to spend it. Don's contribution was undoubtedly critical - his was the final ingredient in what would be (with Fleetwood Mac) the defining sound of US FM radio, although his original contributions were few, his music and arrangement for 'Hotel California' were the cherry on the icing on an already very large and rich cake.

So why, you might ask, the long face?

Well let me leave Don to one side for a moment and, digressive though it may seem, just say that this book certainly changed my opinion of the Beach Boys' Mike Love. I'd always seen Mike as the most unpleasant and charmless man in rock's glorious history, but not any more, at least not while Glenn Frey lives and breathes. I mention this because, though Frey's main purpose in the band was, as far as I can see (at least after the creative juices ran dry in 1973 or thereabouts) to make Don Henley seem like a nice guy, it's his malign personality rather than Felder's that dominates this book, the poison that gives the the Eagles' superficially carefree songs their distinctive aftertaste.

Back to Felder though, and as for 'Heaven and Hell', I have to say that by far the most readable sections are those which describe the hapless Felder being comprehensively beasted by the tirelessly manipulative Frey and Henley, ably assisted by manager Irving Azoff. If misery-memoirs and rock & roll are your thing, you're going to love this; Felder's long-suffering wife Susan got it right when, after he'd finally been booted out, she observed that his departure from 'that abusive relationship' was long overdue, but he appears to have been the last one to recognise it and, right to the end, you sense that if Frey or Henley shouted 'jump', his only question would be 'how high?'.

The greater part of the book, unfortunately, is a v-e-r-y pedestrian account of a decent, workmanlike, not especially bright guitarist who got incredibly lucky, who had it all but always wanted more - more recognition, more love, even more money. Unfairly treated? Well, probably, but in truth he arrived late, contributed comparatively little that was memorable (other than the music for Hotel California), had some pretty good times along the way and walked away with both nose and fabulous bank balance intact, so it's hard to muster too much sympathy. The dominant note, particularly in the second half of the book, is of maudlin self-pity (never attractive) but in truth, the devils had the best tunes and, as demonstrated by the consistently admirable Bernie Leadon (in many ways the conscience of the book), the option to depart with dignity was always there...

Fundamentally a journeyman book about a journeyman player and I'd say for fans only; the less committed will find a better perspective in Barney Hoskyns' excellent 'Hotel California'.