It was the spring of 1988. Our wine scribe Jim Walker and his merry band of topers had embarked on a wine aficionado’s dream visit to Bordeaux, France. On the fourth day they found themselves in the Bordeaux appellation of Saint-Julien where they toured Château Ducru-Beaucaillou and enjoyed a splendid lunch there with its owners, the Borie family.
Continue reading “O! BORDEAUX – SOJOURNING IN SAINT-JULIEN”
Britannia’s bell
In the spirit of W.H. Auden’s famous poem,* on the Royal Yacht Britannia, the clocks have all been stopped at exactly 3:01 pm, the moment Her Majesty disembarked and the decommissioning ceremonies concluded. That was on December 11, 1997, and the only time the Queen has been seen to shed a tear. Continue reading “STOP ALL THE CLOCKS”
Red-Footed Booby
Isolated in the Pacific Ocean some 1,000 kilometres off the coast of South America, the Galapagos Islands are a living museum of evolution and home to some of the most unusual species in the world. Continue reading “THE GORGEOUS GALAPAGOS: DARWIN’S DREAM DESTINATION”
Castle Howard stands in for Kensington Palace
Many of Yorkshire’s great stately homes were used in filming the British television series Victoria and the most famous of these is Castle Howard. Continue reading “TV’S VICTORIA FILMED HERE”
English baked beans on toast
Keeping the vegetarian, trending vegan, in the household happy is a strain for an avowed carnivore, but beans are an excellent source of protein and fibre and should work. However, they have an unwanted side effect. Continue reading “DON’T MENTION THE G*S”
Gentlemans Portion 