Excitement came to town this week as Chapel Hill hosted an exhibition soccer match between Wrexham and Chelsea football clubs. Wrexham, a little blue-collar town in Wales, gained notoriety after their lowest tier professional football club was bought by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney amidst the COVID lockdown of 2020. With a combination of social media stardom, comedic enthusiasm, and a whole lot of money (invested in facilities, coaching staff, and players) they transformed the failing club into a thriving business moving up the ranks of professional football in Great Britain. I started binge watching the FX series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ and found myself rooting for the town, the players, and the stars in this underdog story. Spoiler alert: They did lose to Chelsea, 5 to nil (0), but then, it was kind of like the Red Sox beating a little league team, not exactly on the same level.
I already was a Ryan Reynolds fan (go Canada!), but this was magnified by his hilarious role as the anti-hero mercenary Wade Wilson in the Deadpool trilogy. If Deadpool was a bird… he would have to be the Northern Cardinal with the bright red male plumage, black masked face, and prominent crest at the back of the skull. Also, the cardinals seem to be trying win the dead pool this year for real. I had to beg my husband to bring a certain female to the compost pile after fracturing her cervical vertebrae yesterday flying straight into the door window 😦 Cardinals are very territorial and will often attack their reflections, mistaking them for intruder birds on their territory.
The Cardinal’s short thick orange bill is perfectly designed for breaking open their favorite snack of sunflower seeds along with many other types of seeds and fruit. They will also dine on a variety of insects. They do not migrate over winter and maintain their bright plumage all year round. The males always look a little rough in the summer, I assume from fighting or mating practices that ruffle/ pull out their feathers. The juveniles like the young female below will develop the bright orange beak and smoother plumage as they mature.
Before buying a football team, Ryan Reynolds expanded his business portfolio in 2018 with the majority purchase of Aviation Gin, after tasting “the best negroni of his life” in Vancouver. While I can’t comment on his cocktail choice (sweet vermouth is revolting and should be banned), this gin has a much more neutral taste than other gins I have tried and I also prefer this one to all other gins in the world. Thanks, Ryan. While he sold the company for 610 million in 2020 (not a bad short term investment!), Reynolds is still an avid spokeman and the company was a sponsor of Wrexham for a time.
A classic martini can be made with vodka or gin, and a dirty martini includes olive juice or brine, the more brine, the dirtier the martini. We like it extra dirty! Gather your ingredients: Gin (Aviation), Extra Dry Vermouth, olive brine, green olives for garnish. Martini glass, cocktail shaker, cocktail skewer, scale or jigger for measuring.
Filthy as Deadpool's mouth Aviation Gin Martini
2.5 oz Aviation gin
0.5 oz extra dry vermouth
1.0 oz olive brine
5-8 olives, for garnish
Add gin, dry vermouth, and olive brine to shaker half-filled with ice. Shake for 20-30 seconds to combine and chill. Strain (double strain if you don’t like cloudy olive brine, but then, you probably don’t want a filthy martini) and pour into a martini glass. Garnish with olives (up to 8 if you like it really dirty!) I use 5, my husband chooses 8 🙂
My literary accompaniment this week is the fourth installment of Miss Peregrine’s pecular children series, A Map of Days, in which the Welsh peculiars head over the pond to the States and discover a whole new world. Just like the Wrexham players. Enjoy, and please drink responsibly 🙂
Birds, Books and Bourbon 