Martin

@mandab.com

408 Followers 262 Following

Beer, cooking, tech, kindness, music. He/him/his Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa NZ 🇳🇿 Also on Mastodon at @mgbridges@mastodon.nz

Glass of hazy beer and a pie cut in half to expose a bountiful meat filling.
View of the Auckland city skyline from a ferry which has just departed from the downtown terminal. A cloudless blue sky.
Halved Brussels sprouts sprinkled with cooked bacon.
Plate of chicken on rice with green chillies and dried chillies.
Black dog sleeping on sofa, with paws on my be-trousered leg.
A tray containing six small glasses of dark beer on a wooden table, with a fake fire in the background.
Selfie at the gym. I'm wearing a pink t-shirt with the words "Speak Up" visible on it, and a green bandana, worn in a headband style.
A tray of a dozen homemade hot cross buns.
View over the sea towards Rangitoto Island. It's pre-dawn and the light is mainly dark blues and purples, with some orange on the horizon.
A plate containing a halved scotch egg (hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat). A pint of traditional British ale stands nearby.
Plate containing a full English breakfast: crispy bacon, poached eggs, fried mushrooms, black pudding, hash browns and grilled tomatoes. Mug of strong tea nearby.
Bowl of soup with sweetcorn kernels, spring onion and bits of crispy bacon.
Selfie of my arm, with a tube of blood plugged into it.
Selfie. I'm wearing a baseball cap with a Tigercow on it, sunglasses and a t-shirt saying Toitū Te Tiriti. The sky behind me is blue and cloudless.
A poem printed on paper in a wooden frame. The text reads: "Perhaps, this world is broken on fire, doomed to expire but right this second, somewhere someone has flowers in their hair to bring the light, and someone sits awake, all night just to hold a hand, take a look there are people running miles in silly suits, to show their care and yes this world is shattered everywhere, but there is glue and it is me and it is you picking up the pieces of each other to get through -- to all the people helping" Author: Donna Ashworth
Vivid green vinyl mini-dress with a black plastic chain, hanging from a coathanger in a shop window
Paper placemat divided into 6 squares. Each square contains a pork spare rib with a single bite taken out of it.
Partly cokked pizza on a round pizza stone, sitting on the metal bars of a gas BBQ
Champagne flute on a white surface, containing a pale hazy cocktail
Front cover of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for 2025,featurung the fictional Woolpack pub from the UK TV series Emmetdale.
Cocktail glass (a rocks glass, if you know what one of those is) on a wooden outdoor table. The contents are a hazy pale yellow and the garnish is a mint sprig.
Whole side of cooked salmon sprinkled with spring onions, sesame seeds, seaweed and bonito flakes.
Spatchcock chicken, golden brown. On a BBQ grate with a temperature probe sticking out.
Shirley Manson, the singer from the band Garbage, onstage at the Auckland Town Hall. The stage lighting is mainly red, and you can see the pipes of the Town Hall organ in the background.
Homemade pizza. Also a beer (can poured into a glass). The beer is "I Spy With My Little Eye Something Beginning With S" from Garage Project
Gym session written up on a whiteboard: Bench Press 5 reps x 5 sets at 79kg (Personal Best) Boxing routine: High/low punches - 30 sec Kicks - 30 sec Hard hits - 30 sec Rest - 30 sec Three times through = 1 round Situps + punch x 10 Two rounds in total
In the foreground are ferns, palms and other trees. In the distance is a bright red pohūtakawa tree against a clear blue sky.
A hornet trap made from a brown plastic bottle, the top third cut off and inserted in the rest. There's a fizzy liquid in it. Hanging outside from the eaves.
Selfie with a background of bamboo and a beer in the foreground.
Two beer bottles: Russian River 'Pliny The Elder' and the Double-Dry Hopped version of the same beer.
A bowl of green soup, scattered with coriander leaf, black and white sesame seeds and a dollop of yoghurt. Lumps of golden fried halloumi are floating in it.
Sir Clive Sinclair (a balding ginger-haired gentleman) sitting in a Sinclair C5 - a white, low-slung electric tricycle, in 1985.
A rectangular glass dish piled high with pulled pork.
A hunk of cooked pork shoulder. Various shades of red, orange and brown. Looks delicious.
Black barrel-shaped smoker with a domed lid and handle. Grey smoke is rising from it.
Smiling selfie. I'm wearing a straw trilby and holding a large glass stein of pale beer.
Pyrex dish filled to the brim with lasagne. The top is speckled golden brown.
A glass of beer, stood next to the can it was poured from. The beer is Porch Pounder APA from Behemoth Brewing
Homemade pizza on a pizza stone.
Tumbler glass full of ruby red liquid, with a large ice cube floating in it.
Closeup of yellow kōwhai flowers on a bush
View down a suburban street in Pre-dawn light. In the distance is Rangitoto Island against a sky of reds and purples.
A glass of hazy yellow beer next to the can it came from. The beer is "Hazy Hop Buddies : Don & Vlad" from Behemoth Brewing
Winners are grinners. Selfie of myself and Denise.
A bber, a cocktail and a bingo card
Glass of dark brown beer next to the can.
A plate with a dozen oysters in their shells. Behind it is a row of 3 small glasses of dark beer, a comically large pint of Guinness and a single small glass of pale lager.
Pre-dawn light over the harbour at Oāmaru. Small fishing boats on the sea. Orange light on the horizon with scattered grey clouds.
Cheeseburger in a shiny brioche bun, oozing with cheese
Tasting paddle with 4 small glasses of pale gold beer. People standing in the background. Busy taproom.
Somewhat damp black dog looking disapprovingly into the camera
Three packs of seasoning sprinkles from the company Pepper & Me, along with a recipe book from the same company.
A hand drawn card featuring a red dinosaur, a purple heart and the words Merry Xmas. A gift wrapped in dinosaur wrapping paper.
View across the sea to Rangitoto Island. The sky is a mixture of blue and clouds. There is a paddleboarder on the sea.
A parcel in an NZPost bag with my hand across the address label
Custard slice on a plate
Whiteboard showing my workout. Bench press 5 sets of 3 reps at 81kg (personal best) Then a workout of descending reps (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1) of: Dumbbell thrusters (2x8kg) Dumbbell pullover (15kg) Leg lowers With a 20 second wall sit hold at the end of each round. Workout took 19m 35s
Large glass dish filled with mac & cheese, crispy crumb topping
Black dog in the foreground, looking at the camera. View out through trees to Rangitoto Island. Early morning sky fades from peach to blue.