2017 British Summer Time started yesterday and clocks went forward by one hour. It was a glorious Sunday in this Yorkshire spa-town. There was wall to wall sunshine all day. Forsythia are blooming in the gardens, verges are covered with Daffodils and parts of the Stray are carpeted with white and purple Crocuses. it was…
Early on in the week we made Harira for supper – the Moroccan thick soup with chickpeas, lentils, rice, tomatoes, garlic and ginger. It didn’t come out quite the way neither the recipe nor we intended, so we added loads of leftover roast guinea fowl from the previous evening to it and opened a bottle of…
It is already mid-summer but days with good summer weather have been few. Week 28 was no exception. Buying exciting new wines and walking in the Yorkshire Dales were the highlights of the week WINE The man from Enotria Wine Cellars popped in at the beginning of the week. He had driven all the way…
“Let’s spend the weekend in the Dales” Renu said. She travelled by train from London to Darlington with Bailey and took a taxi to Richmond. That afternoon Rani and I drove up from Harrogate. We met up at the Bishop Blaize pub in Richmond’s Market Square and drove to our rented cottage in the little…
The morning was bright and sunny. The rain and north winds of yesterday were gone. The day was right for a walk in the country. I drove to Brearton, a small village just outside Harrogate and walked along narrow lanes in to the country. A white and brown cat followed me for a while. Sheep…
This year I spent the Easter weekend at home with the family, chatting, drinking, eating and taking Bailey, my daughter’s little dog for walks. The television was not switched on even once and no one missed it. Here are the wines that were uncorked: 1. Manzanilla Solear, Barbadillo – in half bottles that can be finished easily…
A MARSH BECOMES A BIODIVERSITY CENTRE Kotte Marsh, situated just outside Colombo has always been a good spot for an evening walk watching waders and the odd nesting Paradise Flycatcher. At one time, there were plans to drain it and build a housing complex. There was an uproar from nature lovers. It is now being…
The tasting list included Champagne Perrier-Jouet NV, Barbadillo Manzanilla Solear, Niepoort Douro White 2011, Crawford River Young Vines Riesling 2010, Hugel Gewürztraminer 2008, Rene Mur Muscat Alsace Grand Cru Vobourg 2000, Warwick Cabernet Franc 2008, Warwick Pinotage 2009, Torbreck Cuvee Juvenille 2009 and Moss Wood Amy’s Blend 2010.
I was being driven to the Gattinara vineyards in the Alpine foothills of northern Italy. I tried to talk to the grim faced driver. “He is a Russian,” the girl from Antonilolo said. I spoke to him in Russian and he nearly fainted! Was my Russian that shocking? That was a few years ago. This…
Julia Trustram Eve of the English Wine Producers conducted a tasting of seven English wines at the Harrogate Speciality Food Show on Monday 27th June 2011. Jenkyn Place Brut 2007: Predominantly Chardonnay (60%) with the rest made up of the two Pinots. Too acidic, short with no consistency or flavour. Difficult to imagine paying £24.99…
