Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens are all very nice, but they don't make it into my Top 10 for My Favorite Things (most of which can be found in these pages). One of my favorite things is Cask-Conditioned Ale, and one of my very favorite things is Shipyard Brewery Old Thumper Extra Special Ale fresh from a hand-pulled cask.

This marvelous malty elixir can be had all the time (as far as I can tell) upstairs at the Coat of Arms Pub in Portsmouth.

There are many fine discoveries in Portsmouth; it's a shopper's paradise. For the most part, though, I let Lorna do the shopping while I ponder the delights of a fine fresh cask-conditioned ale and scribble down my thoughts.

There's more to the Coat of Arms than the ale, though. You can try a draft Strongbow cider as well. And you can eat traditional delicacies like the Scotch Egg with hot English Mustard!

I wonder why Lorna never wants to eat there? ;-)