Drink
At least we still have wine
Even in recent heat, the English summer can be magical. As long as there is shade, a pool and a…
The perfect summer drink
Imagine a camel train, crossing the great desert. The remaining water is rancid; the beasts’ humps are shrunken. Death looms.…
Think pink
In the battle of ideas, it is sometimes necessary to make a tactical withdrawal. That is now the case over…
We’ll always have wine
‘Club’ is a four-letter word. Whenever a club is mentioned in the press, it will inevitably be portrayed as a…
Sea fare
One could get used to this. I come from seafaring stock, albeit distant. ‘Anderson’ suggests Viking antecedents, especially as my…
Wishful drinking
I fancy myself as a bit of an oenophile and during the lockdowns, when my local branch of Majestic was…
On the same page
In the West End of London there is an alley which insinuates its way between the Charing Cross Road and…
My madeleine moments
I was reminded of the worst liquid that I have ever consumed. It was the last occasion on which I…
Super Tuscany
Amid the grandeur of old Edinburgh, in the lee of the castle, is one of the finest buildings in Scotland:…
Wild Geese of wine
The Irish rarely understate their achievements. Yet there is one exception. Over the centuries, the links between Catholic Ireland and…
A voyage of discovery
If only toasts and good wishes were weapons of war. At every serious repast I have attended since the invasion…
Women’s work
The inhabitants of Tuscany and Umbria can claim to be the most civilised beings on the planet, even exceeding the…
Vintage years
Across oceans and continents, less favoured nations produce more history than they can consume. In these islands, the English —…
Med winter warmer
The larger islands of the Mediterranean all have their glories. Fought over for millennia, they now seem to have attained…
A lot of bottle
Thirteen years ago we shared an office building with a large international bank. A common lift connected both businesses to…
A dram for Tam
The bleak midwinter. Actually, since I wallowed in curmudgeonly complaints about dreich days, everything has improved. Clear blue skies, pleasing…
The Cape of good reds
‘Earth has not anything to show more fair.’ One can admire the view from Westminster Bridge and feel near the…
Just bring me a boiled egg
The Connaught Hotel’s formal dining room was always, to me, a place of childish myth; more comforting for being mythical.…
Deliver us from vinegar
Rich men often look out for bargains. I suppose that is why they are rich. But there can be problems.…
A bottle with the battle
Four hundred and fifty years ago this month, a great victory helped to safeguard European civilisation. The battle of Lepanto…
Barometer
Drinks at the palace The Queen was reported to have given up regular drinking. What do we know about her…
When the stars align
We were in deepest Dorset, l’Angleterre profonde. The weather was also typically English: inundations followed by counter-attacks from the Indian…
Of vice and men
In the Levant, the grape has been cultivated for millennia, some of it used for wine. The hills of Lebanon…
To the gentlemen of Verona
There was a marvellous general of yesteryear called George Burns. He had a good war and a splendid peace. He…
A Rhine art
In an apparently benign — almost prelapsarian — setting, the Rhine is an epitome of the human condition. Scenery is…
