Mount Lavinia beach was packed with New Year’s Eve revelers. The placid blue ocean lapped against the long crescent of golden sand. Fairylights glittered and fireworks exploded overhead. There was music and dancing and lots of eating and drinking. “People are out enjoying their new found freedom” a ‘Wealth Manager’ in a black silk shirt…
Should one visit Myanmar? Yes. It is a beautiful country with lovely and friendly but desperately poor people who badly need the tourist dollar. How difficult is travel in Myanmar? Entry formalities are relatively uncomplicated and independent travel is possible. There are good local travel agents who can book hotels and arrange transport. There is…
Today I took the morning flight from Yangon in Myanmar to Kuala Lumpur with Malaysia Airways. There was no problem with the flight itself but the service in economy class left a lot to be desired. The stewards were glum faced and unhelpful and the lunch served was one of the worst, no choice inflight meals…
I had dinner at Van Zeller’s in Harrogate yesterday. The food was good without being great. The wine list was uninspiring and the markup was ridiculous. I have no problem with restaurants charging a fair price for good food but a 300 – 400% mark up for grape juice they did not ferment is immoral.
I had my first game of the season the other day. A good friend who shoots on Sundays brought me a few partridges and a grouse. They were roasted wrapped in bacon and served with Anna Potatoes and red cabbage. Ployez-Jacquemart 1996 en magnum set the scene for the Josmeyer Alsace Grand Cru Hengst 1997,…
An year ends and another begins in one insignificant life. There is a sense of urgency and restlessness that unrelenting passage of time heralds. One lingers over moments that touched ones heart – birth of a grandchild, another’s first day at school, climbing a wild rocky outcrop in a faraway land that one thought would…
“Have you brought something for breakfast?” I asked Peter. “I have a magnum of Devaux,” he said. There were boiled eggs, smoked salmon and half bottles of well chilled Manzanilla too. The smell of freshly brewed coffee began to fill the coach. We were on our way to London for Gauguin at the Tate Modern. I have waited…
Is there a bad time to taste wine? I am not talking about Maria Thun’s biodynamic wine tasting calendar. It is not the cosmic influences I am concerned with. I am thinking of more mundane earthly things like time of day and what and how much is in your belly when you lift your Riedel…
What wines should any good cellar contain? By cellar I mean a collection of wines either in an underground cave or a simple wine rack in the kitchen or under the stairs. These days who has a cave anyway? If wine is best enjoyed with food, it follows that ones cellar should be stocked with…
Ramani & I celebrated our forty years together at Sportsmans Arms in Wath on Friday 10 September:
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