I love Ron Pattinson's writing. There is something so mid-1700's about it. Vague trembling scientific examinations, untrod paths of first person observations, the search for the ah-ha moment even with the odd reference to the era of A-Ha. And then there are the personal reflections, philosophical essays on the universal truth of the state of man's place in this mortal coil, like today's ruminations on what has been described as "pairing" beer with food, this time at Christmas:

I don't plan my Christmas drinking as much as stumble into it. Then stumble through it. And end in some type of unconsciousness. Matching beer and food is paramount to my enjoyment of the day. Personally I find St. Bernardus Abt with a Lagavullin on the side matches any meal or snack perfectly. And any mood or time of day. Unfortunately, this year may be different. "Why don't you drink all those beers you have lying about before buying new ones?" Dolores is way too logical. But opposing her isn't a good idea. I still have the scars - both mental and physical - from the last time I tried.

There, just when we think we are dealing with the early beginnings of the Age of Enlightenment we are suddenly a century later in Dicken's Victorian era of violence, excess and domestic drama. And what food pairings. Everything goes with exactly what is at hand. A true Christmas miracle.