Drink

Border spirit

28 January 2016 3:00 pm

There has been a gastronomic revolution in London. For some years, the Boisdale restaurants, often mentioned here, have featured Macsween’s…

The Battle of Brussels

16 January 2016 9:00 am

My friends divide into three groups. There are those who are determined to anticipate Lent. There is a larger number…

The Battle of Brussels

14 January 2016 3:00 pm

My friends divide into three groups. There are those who are determined to anticipate Lent. There is a larger number…

Commanding vintages

2 January 2016 9:00 am

As the bottles flowed, the talk ranged, to a serious vineyard, an awesome Field Marshal and a delightful restauranteur. For…

Commanding vintages

31 December 2015 3:00 pm

As the bottles flowed, the talk ranged, to a serious vineyard, an awesome Field Marshal and a delightful restauranteur. For…

Even great wine can’t quite give me hope for Lebanon

12 December 2015 9:00 am

Housman had a point. If men could be drunk for ever, the human condition would be tolerable. But thought always…

Even great wine can’t quite give me hope for Lebanon

10 December 2015 3:00 pm

Housman had a point. If men could be drunk for ever, the human condition would be tolerable. But thought always…

An overflow of bookshelves, a huge kitchen, a cellar, music, dogs, hens, donkeys children . . . all the ingredients for civilised life

5 December 2015 9:00 am

In the later 1850s, Palmerston was Prime Minister: Gladstone, his Chancellor. It was a successful partnership between two very different…

An overflow of bookshelves, a huge kitchen, a cellar, music, dogs, hens, donkeys children . . . all the ingredients for civilised life

3 December 2015 3:00 pm

In the later 1850s, Palmerston was Prime Minister: Gladstone, his Chancellor. It was a successful partnership between two very different…

Guinness and oysters — or beef and Haut-Brion — in deepest Ireland

21 November 2015 9:00 am

We were talking about the West of Ireland and agreed that there were few greater gastronomic pleasures than a slowly…

Guinness and oysters — or beef and Haut-Brion — in deepest Ireland

19 November 2015 3:00 pm

We were talking about the West of Ireland and agreed that there were few greater gastronomic pleasures than a slowly…

We celebrated a birth with a wine that will last decades

7 November 2015 9:00 am

Good Saturday, 2015, stepping westward. Autumn sunshine: autumn leaves, almost comparable to New England: pumpkins everywhere, very New England. We…

We celebrated a birth with a wine that will last decades

5 November 2015 3:00 pm

Good Saturday, 2015, stepping westward. Autumn sunshine: autumn leaves, almost comparable to New England: pumpkins everywhere, very New England. We…

Thanks to the rugby the Scots have a real grievance at last

24 October 2015 9:00 am

The Scots do not know what to do. For once, they have a justified grievance. In recent years, this once-proud…

Thanks to the rugby the Scots have a real grievance at last

22 October 2015 2:00 pm

The Scots do not know what to do. For once, they have a justified grievance. In recent years, this once-proud…

Manchester has marvellous wines, and it’s not finished yet

10 October 2015 9:00 am

It will seem an ungrateful comment after the lunch which I am about to describe, but Manchester has some way…

Manchester has marvellous wines, and it’s not finished yet

8 October 2015 2:00 pm

It will seem an ungrateful comment after the lunch which I am about to describe, but Manchester has some way…

Club mischief

26 September 2015 8:00 am

When it comes to nightclubs, many have written, but none has surpassed the Perroquet in Debra Dowa. Le tout Debra…

Club mischief

24 September 2015 1:00 pm

When it comes to nightclubs, many have written, but none has surpassed the Perroquet in Debra Dowa. Le tout Debra…

Stewed Siena

12 September 2015 9:00 am

The Indian summer was still fending off the mists and mellow fruitfulness. But the autumn term was about to begin;…

Stewed Siena

10 September 2015 1:00 pm

The Indian summer was still fending off the mists and mellow fruitfulness. But the autumn term was about to begin;…

A secluded paradise

29 August 2015 9:00 am

Do-orzaat. Dorset is part of L’Angleterre profonde. It is possible to find evidence of modernity, but only in limited areas.…

A secluded paradise

27 August 2015 1:00 pm

Do-orzaat. Dorset is part of L’Angleterre profonde. It is possible to find evidence of modernity, but only in limited areas.…

In search of the platonic gazpacho

15 August 2015 9:00 am

We were eating tapas and talking about Spain. Leaving caviar on one side, when jamón ibérico is at its best,…

In search of the platonic gazpacho

13 August 2015 1:00 pm

We were eating tapas and talking about Spain. Leaving caviar on one side, when jamón ibérico is at its best,…