Drink
Border spirit
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
My friends divide into three groups. There are those who are determined to anticipate Lent. There is a larger number…
The Battle of Brussels
My friends divide into three groups. There are those who are determined to anticipate Lent. There is a larger number…
Commanding vintages
As the bottles flowed, the talk ranged, to a serious vineyard, an awesome Field Marshal and a delightful restauranteur. For…
Commanding vintages
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
It will seem an ungrateful comment after the lunch which I am about to describe, but Manchester has some way…
Club mischief
When it comes to nightclubs, many have written, but none has surpassed the Perroquet in Debra Dowa. Le tout Debra…
Club mischief
When it comes to nightclubs, many have written, but none has surpassed the Perroquet in Debra Dowa. Le tout Debra…
Stewed Siena
The Indian summer was still fending off the mists and mellow fruitfulness. But the autumn term was about to begin;…
Stewed Siena
The Indian summer was still fending off the mists and mellow fruitfulness. But the autumn term was about to begin;…
A secluded paradise
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
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
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
We were eating tapas and talking about Spain. Leaving caviar on one side, when jamón ibérico is at its best,…






























