This article is destined to appear on eRP, but as the of the year is upon us, I’ll post my music report up on my blog… Wine-Journal’s Music Review of 2009 ‘Tis the time to be merry and as tradition dictates, I compile my annual list of albums and singles of the last twelve months. [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: 2009, animal collective, music, st vincent, yeah yeah yeahs | 3 Comments »
I am deeply concerned about the goldfish. After Malthusian selection had whittled down four to the surviving one, “Goldie” has started headbutting the side of the aquarium. Only recently, I had learnt that goldfish have pressure sensors that prevent them from swimming into the side of fishtanks, so I can only conclude that Goldie’s have [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: christmas, day of the triffids, goldfish | Leave a Comment »
Aaaarrrrghhh! It is 11 o’clock on Christmas morning and I have spent the last two hours screaming increasingly offensive expletives at a “Disney Princess” kitchenette that I am trying (and failing) to screw together. The instructions’ diagrams have been scrawled by the same misanthrope responsible for IKEA’s. Is this some bloody IQ test? I should [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: christmas day, disney, turkey, xmas tv schedule | 1 Comment »
Christmas Eve: my favourite day of the Festive period. Let’s face it, Christmas is all about the anticipation rather than the day itself, which is over in the blink of an eye. There remains a vestige of childlike belief that in a few hours, Santa Clause with be soaring across the starlit sky in his [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: bistro, christmas eve, crib service, guildford, the grand, turkey | Leave a Comment »
We watch Lily’s nativity on DVD (£7.50 a pop…a bargain?) To be honest, the cameraman did a professional job, in fact, it starts like a Sergio Leone movie. The nativity play itself is actually a recording of the rehersal, rather than the performance that parents were privvy to. As the biblical story unfolds, I cannot [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: dvd, nativity | Leave a Comment »
I am winding down for Xmas: not an easy task when you are a workaholic, but it must be done. Some quality time with my offspring is called for. In the morning, I settle down sandwiched between daughters to watch Raymond Briggs’ classic animation “The Snowman”. After 25 years it is still one of the [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: david bowie, raymond briggs, the snowman | Leave a Comment »
It’s the shortest day of the year. We get a glimmer of sunshine around midday before it buggers off beneath the horizon. I make a mental note never to emigrate to northern Scandinavia…no wonder so many people there go mad and resort to death metal. Today is the final tasting of the year at The [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
I take Daisy shopping at Waitrose in the morning as Lily still has her cough. I foolishly opt for the steep road short-cut whose black ice means that I have to rely on gravity to stop the car before traversing the A3100. Waitrose’s car-park is like an ice-rink and holding a two-year old in one [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
I wake up at the Pavillon hotel in Margaux. Theoretically I should be suffering a mild hangover, but the pedigree of last night’s fermented grape juice ensures that my body is lenient in punishment for such wanton libation. I catch the flight back to Gatwick, catch the train back to Guildford where I write up tasting notes and [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Day 1: Monday 14th December Eyelids creek open at 4.30am. Where have I heard that before? Oh yes…moi…several times in recent months. Do I have some masochistic yen for unnatural awakenings? At least I had a sound sleep. Upon closing the front door and looking into the universe above, I am the solitary spectator to [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: bonalgue, bordeaux, christian, clos du clocher, feytit clinet, jean-claude berrouet, jean-francois moueix, l'enclos, moueix, pomerol | 1 Comment »
