Magnolias in Bloom

Google street view has come to London. Naturally I checked out our house - clearly visible of course although half of it is obscured by the foliage of a large tulip magnolia in our front garden.

The greenery was in full leaf when the google van drove by. A pity as the magnolia is now in full bloom.



The blooms come out in a matter of days. Unfortunately they fade and fall as fast. Still they are wonderful while they last.



Even if out house is part obscured I took a quick zoom round Fairfield Drive and there was my car in excellent detail I could even spot the small cuddly Angus the Coo on the parcel shelf :-)

Cataract operation went well

On Friday I had a cataract operation under sedation.

Many people bandy about the phrase "worst nightmare". In my case this is the correct, literal use of the term. I was traumatised in my early teens by a clip from the film "Un chien andalou" which purported to show a woman's eye being slit with a cut throat razor. I later learnt that it was done with a dead donkey and some clever editing but by then the damage was done.

Ever since then ocular damage has been the stuff of my worst nightmares. You may well imagine that learning I needed a cataract operation - normally done under only a *local* anaesthetic - caused no small amount of anxiety.

My eyesight had deteriorated noticeably over the last 18 months after a lifetime of very gentle change. Over the last three months an element of double vision and night-time mistiness prompted the optometrist to suspect a cataract and send me for a specialist opinion.

Courtesy of BUPA and an accommodating consultant and anaesthetist the options of sedation and a full general were available. Even so I treated myself to a couple of sessions of hypnotherapy with Liz Hogan to reduce pre-op nerves. It did the trick; Mary remarked how calm I had seemed on the Thursday night.

On the day the anaesthetist put in a cannula for the sedation and said that if I got too nervous they could switch to a full general anaesthetic. He said "I'll just squirt in a little as a pre-med" and the next thing I knew I woke up in the recovery room. An afternoon of dozing in my private room followed until it was time go get in a cab, collect Mary en route and go down to Konnigans for a relaxing meal.

There seem to be negligible after effects from the operation. I have to take it careful for a while: no strenuous exercise and a protective eye-patch at night. The most dramatic impact is that the surgeon inserted a +4 dioptre lens to correct my lifelong myopia. I will probably have to use a contact lens in the unoperated eye until that is done as well, as will probably soon be the case.

Using both eyes at once is too much image processing for my brain to handle given the difference in focus and image size. So meanwhile I am using an eye-patch which I switch to whichever eye is appropriate for the task in hand. Arrgh, me hearties!

My First Spin Class

Sunday morning Mary and I went to a Spin class at the local gym. It would appear that I was born without the "gung ho" gene. Phrases like "give it your best shot", "give it 100%" are just not in my vocabulary. And "no pain, no gain" is especially not. Just plain stupid. Like there is something virtuous about discomfort. "Satisficing" is a key word in my lexicon.

[Flame on] In my view all this macho, b*******t about exercise is a throwback to some hair shirt, Victorian attitude of "if it is unpleasant it must be good for you", the other side of the pernicious coin "if it is pleasurable it must be bad for you". The credo of miserable, kill joy, religious fundamentalists through the ages from the Puritans to the Taliban. [Flame off]

There are people who say they feel so much better under a fitness regimen; more alert and full of energy. I guess they must be telling the truth, I can hardly accuse them of lying, but for me I have never noticed any such benefit. Maybe I never got fit enough to notice it.

When I started cycling to work after years of no exercise I noticed none of these supposed benefits. After a year it still took me the same time to do the journey, I was just as breathless, my heart rate was just as high. The only difference was that I was less sweaty after my shower. At the start of the year I had to have it as cool as I could bear by the end of the year I could have a warm shower. That was it!

I can see the point of pedalling hard to get up a hill but doing it on a static bike is like being a hamster in wheel. No, I shall stick by the motto "if you feel like exercise lie down until the feeling passes"

Tina Turner at the O2

Simply the best :-)

Saturday morning we had nothing planned for that evening. "Fancy seeing Tina Turner at the O2?" said Mary. Yeah, right like there will be any tickets available. But I looked on TicketMaster anyway and there were some tickets, cheapest in the house, "restricted view" which, looking at the seating plan, basically meant "behind the stage and you might just see something if Tina came right to the wings".

A quick Google revealed some secondhand tickets at face value from people who could not go - but the tickets had - and a couple of pairs offered at USD 1,000 - no way!

Anyhow I tried again at about 3 o'clock and would you believe it: a pair of top price tickets in block A2 (the block right in front of the stage) in the centre of row X, just 24 rows from the front. Brilliant seats so close we didn't need to look at the big screen to see Tina's expression.



The concert was a greatest hits and you can't ask for better than that.



Lots of costume changes including a "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" for "We don't need another hero".



For a woman of 70 (!!) she still had the skin, the legs and the, ahem, upper torso and she wasn't afraid to flaunt it. And with what energy - "I'll have what she's having".



Right near the end she came out on an extending walk way that cantilevered out over the front section of the auditorium until she was practically over our heads. A fantastic concert and an unexpected surprise, as evenings go simply the best.

25 Things About Me

Friends on Facebook will have already seen this but what the heck it took me a while to rack my brains so I thought I would get maximum mileage out of it.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right-hand corner of the page), then click Publish.)

1. Sometimes I claim to be Cockney as I was born in the old Charing Cross Hospital. If the wind was in the right direction you might just have been able to hear the sound of Bow bells.

2. I have sworn never to wear blazers with brass buttons. Have me committed if I do as it will be a sure sign I have gone middle aged, middle England.

3. Mary and I were married in *the* St Paul's cathedral. Mary would have preferred low-key registry and send friends a postcard from honeymoon. However courtesy of Dad's MBE we had the option of the chapel in the crypt. It cost me an antique hand cut solitaire. Worth every penny.

4. I never suffer navel fluff. My navel is almost completely flat due to minor post partum surgical intervention when it everted.

5. My uncle was a one-armed paperhanger and a most unsuitable, picaresque role model for an impressionable young man. Excellent :-)

6. I can juggle and ride a unicycle badly and certainly not at the same time. I have even juggled flaming torches and only slightly singed my fingers.

7. At school I guess I was a bit of a swot. What the Americans might call a straight A student. I pretty much used to be top of the class every year in every subject except when Nigel or Daphne were there when we split the honours. After three grade A's at A level it all kind of went downhill and I scraped a third at Oxford.

8. My signature dishes are peppers with capers and creme brulee.

9. I have had hair variously half way down my back, permed, blonde highlights, and short gelled spiky. I was all set for the purple dyed phase when the need for professional appearance at work got in the way.

10. I used to run the school archaeological society and arranged some serious speakers to present. Looking back they were all very gracious to have done so in exchange for a free school dinner.

11. I cannot abide the Middle Lane Owners Club. Those plonkers who refuse to pull back into lane one when the overtaking manoeuvre is complete.

12. I have never "bunked off" school. It would never have occurred to me to do such a thing. Just call me "Mr Goody Two Shoes".

13. I consider myself omnivorous but I am not a great fan of raw celery, okra (aka ladies fingers), tripe or seafood with suckers.

14. I would rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.

15. I weighed 9 1/4 stone at 23; now I weigh 11st. People say I don't need to lose weight I beg to differ.

16. I have dreadful teeth. I must have had over 100 fillings in my teens. Now I have 13 crowns including several gold posts and two titanium implants.

17. When I fill out forms that ask my religion I put Jedi. Me and 390,000 other Brits can't be wrong.

18. About the only thing I really learned at college was that I learn by specific examples but understand and remember by general principles. Apart from that I have nothing but contempt for Oxford as a seat of learning.

19. I hate waste. I get great satisfaction from meals that use an assortment of leftovers in the fridge. I have cavalier attitude toward 'use by' dates.

20. I can't work with background music. I find myself sucked into the music and can no longer concentrate on the task in hand. Conversely I happily work with Radio 4 talking to me all day, be productive and remember and recount what I heard. Who says boys cannot multi-task.

21. I really dislike it when people eat with their mouth open. It must have been drummed into me as a child "it's rude to eat with your mouth open".

22. I once made a New Year's Resolution to drink more French White wine. I kept that one up.

23. One Christmas I decorated the underground with Tinsel. Commuting on the northern line one December I decided people were looking too glum. So for several weeks I would fill the pockets of my pinstripe suit with tinsel and decorate the straphangers over several carriages each morning.

24. www.mmenterprises.co.uk has one of the oldest Marc Bolan pages on the Internet - since 27 November 1996 in fact. That is postively pre-historic in world wide web terms.

25. I don't do memes. Well to be specific if tagged I do the meme but do not pass it on. So this one ends here.

Lentil soup so thick...

...you could stand your spoon up in it.

Mary made a batch of lentil soup on Sunday using a recipe from The Soup Kitchen. I gave it a stir and thought "A spoon would stand up in this" so I did.

It stayed there long enough for me to run upstairs and grab my camera and run back down again:



Need need for CGI trickery here!

Downsizing the MIL

Last weekend, sitting on the Heathrow Express en route to Glasgow, Mary got a call from her Mum to say that she has been allocated a place in the local sheltered accommodation. This is very good news for May. The new place may only be a few hundred metres from where she lives now but that is up hill - not good for an OAP with angina and emphysema. Her new home will be much closer to the church, the shops and the bus stop, all on the flat, plus a number of her friends also live in the complex.

May is going from 2 bed, 2 reception and a garage to 1 bed, 1 reception. Her current home is full which means she is going to have to shed 50% of all she owns in order to make the move. So instead of a bit of shopping and relaxing the weekend took the form of clearing out and a trip to the local tip. Not quite "everything must go" but not far off.

It made me think how we would be severely challenged to downsize. Quite how one couple manages to fill a 4 bed, 3 reception house plus loft, cellar, garage and 2 garden sheds is a mystery to me. We are a bit like Thunderbird 2 with pods for everything: the picnic pod, the barbecue pod, the bicycle pod, the decorating pod, the Christmas baubles pod, the walking boots pod, the "every play we have ever been to" programmes pod...

2009 is designated as the year of de-cluttering.

Valentine's Day Weekend in Dublin

We were booked into Tom Ilic's for our romantic candle-lit supper when Mary spotted Ryanair were doing a deal: Flights to Dublin for ten quid including taxes. So it a last minute body swerve to Dublin for the weekend and 40 quid. Even better we had some Natwest loyalty points left over from our recently cancelled NW Mastercard - enough to get us two free nights in a hotel. Result!

It was a seven o'clock flight - too late for Mary to eat when we got to Dublin so we dined early, airside at Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food restaurant. By the time we got to the hotel it was time for a nightcap of Guinness and bed.

BTW I have to put in a good word for T5. They may have cocked up the initial opening but we have been through there four times now and it a has been smooth sailing evey time. Non existant queues for boarding card check, short queues for the scanners and spacious facilities airside.

Saturday was a typical Mary style four-part day The morning was spent in Malahide down on the coast wandering round Mary's old haunts and a pub lunch with a pint of Guinness at Gibney's. Back into central Dublin for a matinée peformance of October by Fiona Looney at the Olympia Theatre - very entertaining. Supper was at the nearby Mermaid Cafe - excellent as always. Part four was into Temple Bar and The Auld Dubliner for some live music and a couple more pints of Guinness.

All in all a fine weekend.

Charteris Wine Society: a Tour of New Zealand

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of M&M Enterprises.

Translation: Mary disassociates herself from these random notes of dubious accuracy. Any remaining errors are the my responsibility.

Another enjoyable evening of wine tasting at the Charteris Wine Society. This time a varietal canter round New Zealand including an introduction to the wine growing regions.

• Cloudy Bay Pelorus Sparkling NV (£12.76) - apple notes and very tart; a bit too brut for me.
• Villa Maria Single Vineyard Taylors Pass Pinot Gris 2006 (£11.06) - to me it smelled of midori but the flavour appealed to my sweeter palette. More enjoyable than a number of disappointing Italian efforts but too sweet for Mary.
• Delta Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (£8.59) - the aroma was a nasal assault of the most overwhelming gooseberry; on the palette - clean and crisp. The tartness was right up Mary's street but too sharp for me.
• Pegasus Bay Chardonnay 2005 (£13.27) - I got warm bread and putty on the nose. A fairly heavily oaked old world style
• Wild Earth Central Otago Pinot Noir 2006 (£15.31) - sharp maraschino on the nose and unripe cheery on the toungue with a hint of strawberry.
• Saint Clair Pioneer Block 14 Doctors Creek Pinot Noir 2007 (£15.06) - warm wood smoke on the nose and soft red fruit in the mouth. My preference of the two PN.
• Ata Rangi Celebre 2006 (£17.45) - So called Bordeaux blend but a bit of a misnomer with all that Syrah (50% Marlot, 30% Syrah, 20% Cab Sauv) - soft leafy forest nose and gentle tannins
• Villa Maria Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot (£13.61) - to quote someone there "a glass staining monster". Not so impressed myself, I got the faintest hint of mustiness on the nose and palette.

All wines available from The New Zealand House of Wine in Haslemere. Note: prices ex-VAT.

After which we went for supper at Vinoteca just the other side of Smithfield Market for a very fine supper of an aubergine based starter and pappardelle with wild mushrooms which was the best thing I have eaten in ages.

Where There's a Will

Catching up on belated posts I feel like the White Queen in Through the Looking Glass "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

Not last weekend but the one before we went to see Where There's a Will a farce by Georges Feydeau at The Rose Theatre in Kingston with Chris and Sue. It may be set in 1895 but some gender sterotypes have obviously not changed that much and it seemed remarkedly contemporary. Good play, well acted. That is as about as in depth as this review gets.

Supper afterwards at Carluccio's and a train home. Nice to get some culture and catch up on C&S's news.

Galashan twins win 10m British diving title

Identical twins Helen and Carol Galashan took their first big step towards the London Olympics in their new sport of synchronised diving by winning the 10-metre title at the British Diving Championships in Sheffield.



The 21-year-olds, both students at Leeds Metropolitan University who have only been diving for 2½ years, defeated Olympic duo Stacie Powell and Tonia Couch after becoming the first synchro pair in the world to perform an arm-stand back double somersault with 1½ twists - considered one of the most difficult dives in the world.

They took the gold medal with a final score of 299.76 points, ahead of Powell and Couch who took second place with a total of 285.90.

Full story at www.telegraph.co.uk

See also "Galashan twins in synch for London 2012"

Woke up it was a Chelsea morning

and the first thing that I heard. Was a song outside my window, and the traffic wrote the words...*

Today is the last day of my three month contract just north of Slough. My commute consists of a five mile cycle to Paddington and a two mile cycle at the other end. A frequent comment I get is "Isn't it dangerous cycling in London?". To which my answer is "Not if you cycle sensibly. And choose your route," My route takes me along the Thames path, over Battersea bridge, through some quiet residential streets in Chelsea and then through Hyde Park.

Cycling up Launceston Place I was thinking what "des res" the houses were so I looked them up on www.ourproperty.co.uk. It would appears that the last house in the street to change hands was in 2007 and went for a 'mere' 4.41 million. So not suitable for a first time buyer then!

* Joni Mitchell, Chelsea Morning

Wine Tasting Dinner from the Lombardy Region

Enoteca Turi - Highly recommended. If you live in the Putney area (or beyond) it is worth the trip. Mid-week Giuseppe and Pamela organise wine dinners working their way round the regions of Italy. This is our fifth.

As always, Giuseppe does his research and gives an introduction to the history and geography of the region both of which influence the cuisine of the area. The chef prepares local dishes matched with the local wines. Educational and enjoyable at the same time :-)

Stuzzichini
Tastes and flavours
Bellavista 2007 Franciacorta DOC
*
Trota alla certosina
Fillet of trout with mushrooms, red wine and polenta
Riesling Oltrepo Pavese DOC 2006 Conte Vistarino
*
Pizzocheri della Valtellina
Buckwheat pasta with cabbage, potato and toma cheese
Parsilone VDT 2005 Tenuta Maggiore
*
Ossobuco con risotto alla Milanese
Valgella Ca’ Morei Valtellina Superiore DOCG 2004 Fay
Valtellina Superiore Cinque Stelle DOCG 2003 Nino Negri
*
Formaggi della Lombardia
Selection of the region’s cheeses: Taleggio, Gorgonzola and Provolone
Carmenero VDT 2001 Ca’ del Bosco
*
Torta paradiso
Amaretto di Saronna
*
Coffee

The Franciacorta was a sparkling to match a comparably priced champagne (GBP 22) but without the image it might not get the attention it deserves.

The reisling was not at all Germanic in style (nor Alsation) but more gentle New World I enjoyed it.

The Buckwheat pasta was the standout dish for me, rustic and very, very tasty.

With the Ossobuco I preferred the Fay to the Nino Negri, both alone and with the food. As the former is GBP 15.50 and the latter GBP 36.00 I could drink two for the same money, enjoy it more and still have change.

Wine tasting in South Africa

It will come as no surprise to our friends to learn that we visited a number of wineries for tastings. As always, very enjoyable to taste new wines and see new parts of the country.


Wine tasting at Morgenster

• www.morgenster.co.za - with olive oil tasting
• www.biltonwines.com - with chocolate tasting
• www.kanonkop.co.za - including a "lifestyle wine", what a peice of marketingese - which translates as "entry level quaffing wine"
• www.lapetiteferme.co.za - the best place to dine - book now!
• www.creationwines.com - gorgeous setting, we liked their SB's
• www.newtonjohnson.com - lunched there, Mary loved the Pinot
• www.zoetendalwines.co.za - the Mile is their flagship wine
• www.theberrio.co.za - lovely wines, had their cheese platter
• www.blackoystercatcher.co.za - newly opened tasting room and restaurant
• www.strandveld.co.za - southernmost winery in Africa
• www.iona.co.za - we had to go there because my Mum read about it and bought a bottle or two in Waitrose

As on previous trips we calls upon the services of Percy of http://www.percytours.com/ to act as guide and driver while we tasted and dined. If you don't want to drink and drive and want a knowledgeable guide give him a call, +27(0)72 062 8500, or drop him a line at travel@percytours.com.


Lunch at La Petite Ferme

Fynbos Walk 2 - Fernkloof

The Western Cape appears well endowed with nature reserves one of which is right on our doorstep: http://www.fernkloof.com/. Following on from the success of our previous guided walk (Fynbos Walk 1 - Klem and the Three Sisters) we enquired of the local Tourist Information for a Hermanus-based guide to do the same here. Which is how we came to spend two hours will Billy learning a lot about local flora and fauna.


Billy
If you are interest in a guided tour contact Billy at
billy.hermanus@gmail.com, cell phone +27 (0) 769 673 606.


Tortoises have right of way


Mary at the crossroads


View down to the coast

We subsequently went back and walked most of the other paths ourselves and saw a fine variey of fynbos in bloom.

Seven Day Forecast

If anyone wondered why we bought an apartment in South Africa look at these weather forecasts:


London a week of rain every day; Hermanus a week of sunshine every day.

Eating the zoo

The first time we went to SA we saw "trio of venison" on the menu. Although we like game we gave it a miss thinking it was deer cooked for three different ways. Only afterwards did we discover it meant three different beasts. This trip I have dined on eland pie, kudu steak, ostrich burger and the best ever springbok steak not to mention carpaccio of warthog.


Carpaccio of Warthog

The food and wine is ludicrously good value. On our previous trip we saw a wine we knew and liked on a menu at 55 ZAR. A fair price for a glass (GBP 3.60) we thought until we realised it was for a bottle!

Between Christmas and New Year we went to the best hotel in town - the 5-star Marine Hotel and went for the tasting menu. Absolutely fantastic. Mary reckons the Springbok was the tastiest meat she has ever eaten. And all at a fraction of what is would cost in London.

TASTING MENU

Norwegian Salmon Tartare Coronet Caper Creme Fraiche, Cucumber Joup
- Villiera Tradition Brut NV

Tian of Prawn, Basil and Tomato Prawn Mousseline, Avocado Cream and Horseradish
- Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Ballottine of Guinea Fowl and Foie Gras a la Grecque Vegetables, Pear Chutney and Brioche
- Paul Cluver Chardonnay 2007

Chicken and Shitake Mushroom Consomme Coriander Dumplings, ,Choy, Spring Onion
- Monis Medium Cream Sherry

Oven Roasted Loin of Springbok Pomme Fondant, Caramelised Onions and Cherry Venison Jus
- Beaumont Pinotage 2006

Passion Fruit Sorbet Rooibos Spoom, Lemon Jelly

Assiette of Pavilion Desserts
- Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2004

ZAR 550 (GBP 36.67) for food and wine per person!

Fynbos Walk 1 - Klem and the Three Sisters

Just back from three weeks in South Africa and catching up on some retro-blogging. The main thing we did was get to know the locality: lots of walks along the beaches and in the local nature reserves plus trying some new restaurants and wineries. Dirty job but someone has to do it.

As part of the Kleinmond Fynbos Festival they advertised a walk in the Kogelberg Nature Reserve. So we turned up and were the only takers. We did a five hour walk up 634 m (2080 ft) to the Three Sisters ably guided by Klem Dunstan.


Klem and Mary


Flowers in the Fynbos

The flora was particularly amazing plus we had the added bonus of this lizard chap.


Lizard in the Fynbos


View of Sandown Beach

If you are interested in a local guide Klem's contact details are: klem@cybersmart.co.za, +27 (0) 832 980 654.

A weekend in Valencia

Some while back my Dad saw an item about the opera house in Valencia design by Santiago Calatrava. The end result was that we three siblings and Dad (and BIL Pete) went to Valencia for the weekend to visit the aforementioned building in the City of Arts and Sciences.


Valencia - opera house

The building, and the whole complex, was quite stunning. A building to rival the most dramatic in the world. It surpassed expectations; indeed the whole complex was quite extraordinary.


Valencia - Dolphinarium

The whole of Saturday was basically spent at the complex. Admiring the buildings, a film at the IMAX and a dolphin show.


Valencia - Irish pub

In between times we walked, talked, ate and drank. Saturday night we had a superb meal at Sagardi (brilliant restaurant, shame about the website).


Valencia - Sagardi restaurant

More pictures on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8179454@N02/sets/72157610589966699/

Valpolicella and Amarone Wine Tasting Dinner

Another enjoyable evening at Enoteca Turi in Putney. Guiseppi and Pam put on another of their regional wine dinners, this time from the Veneto.

My scrappy notes reveal that, for the Risotto course, I preferred the Ripasso to the Classico - no surprise there. However with the food my allegiances switched to the Classico. The Tedeschi amarone was so port like it was too powerful for the duck and would have made a better cheese accompaniment.

The prosecco was nicely Brut and the better for it than many other proseccos. I was surprised that they served a light red with the scallops - I think a white would have gone better; also it made the tasting a little heavy on the reds and a white there would have balanced it more.

As always Guiseppi gave a short talk on the region, its food and wines and a good time was had by all.

Cicchetti
Venetian canapes
Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Doe Col Vetoraz

Cappesante alia veneziana con pasta, radicchio e fagioli
Seared scallop on fresh pasta, with bean sauce, radicchio and crispy pancetta
Bardolino DOC2006 Giovanna Tantini

Risotto al Valpolicella e salsiccia
Risotto with Valpolicella wine and luganega sausage
Valpolicella Ripasso Seccal DOC 2005 Nicolis
Valpolicella CIassico Superiore DOC 2001 Marion

Petto d'anatra con peverada e verza, gamba ripiena con peara e sedanorapa
Duck breast with peverada and Savoy cabbage, and stuffed leg with pear and celeriac
Amarone della Valpolicella DOC 2001 Allegrini
Amarone della Valpolicella "Monte Olmi" DOC2004 Tedeschi

Torta di cioccolato
Venetian chocolate cake
Recioto della Valpolicella Le Torade 2004 Ca' La Bionda

Coffee

Olive Harvest in Puglia

Not just any old olives but our own olives off our own trees. A quick Sunday afternoon harvest using equipment kindly lent to us by our neighbour Mino Maggi. In a couple of hours we managed to harvest about 35 kilo which should give us around 3 litres of extra virgin olive oil.


The olives looking ripe


Spreading the net


Net, crate and rake


Raking the olives off the branch


The final haul
We dropped the crates round at Mino's and he will add them in to his crop for pressing. We'll collect our little contribution's output next visit.

Helene Darroze at The Connaught

Friday we went for one of those meals of which the Alitalia in-flight magazine rightly said to the effect of "you go for the experience and you do not look at the price". So it was with Pete and Amanda when we went to sample the delights of Helene Darroze at The Connaught.

The lady herself has twice been awarded two Michelin stars although I am not sure of this restaurant's current rating. Suffice it to say it was indeed an experience. The food was excellent but what struck us was that you could not move for flunkies. As soon as you wandered into the foyer someone would glide up to direct to you the loo even before you had a chance to look puzzled.

We went for the taster menu at GBP 95 per head but the wines bumped the total bill up to an obscene amount of money. The Condrieu was *absolutely* stunning; I wish I could afford to drink like that every day!

WINE:
Ruinart Brut NV
Condrieu, Mathilde & Yves Gangloff '06
Faugères "Le Sonje de l'Abbé", Abbaye Sylva Plana. 2004
Banyuls but which? My notes grow hazy

MENU:
LE CAVIAR D'AQUITAINE..
in a black jelly, Gillardeau oyster tartare, veloute of haricots mais from Beam poured over the top

LE FOIE GRAS DE CANARD DES LANDES.. cooked "au torchon" with mild spices, Sollies fig chutney

LES CHIPIRONS DE LlGNE..
cooked with chorizo and confit tomatoes, black and creamy "2006 vintage" Camaroli Acquarello rice, Reggiano parmesan foam

LA SAINT-JACQUES D'ECOSSE..
roasted with cepes and parmesan crust, pumpkin mousseline, Piedmont hazelnut infused chicken stock

LA GROUSE..
spit roasted and flambeed "au capucin", grilled duck foie gras, Brussels sprouts, "retnette" apples and "chasselas de Moissac" grapes simmered in a jus of yellow wine from Arbois

LA FIGUE DE SOLLlES.. compote with a 10 years old Maury caramel, Greek yoghurt sorbet, crispy fruit and nut bread

LE CHOCOLAT SA MARA DE REPUBLlQUE DOMINICAINE.. cream and sorbet, crystallised orange tulle with citrus fruit sorbet, "poached prune, Armagnac sauce

Friday 14th November 2008 Dinner

Company Christmas Party '08

The taxman allows a company to spend up to GBP 150 per annum on work do's for the staff. Since Mary and I are the workforce we decided that the office Christmas party would be a "Right Bank Stars Dinner" organised by The Wine Society Dining Club. A fine evening with some fine wines:

The Wine Society Dining Club
THE 236th DINNER

Wednesday 12th November 2008 at 7.00pm

Guest Speaker Mr David Peppercorn

In the Chair Patrick Karney

The Painters' and Stainers' Hall, 9 Little Trinity Lane, London EC4V 2AD

MENU

Smoked Chicken & Woodland Mushroom Terrine
Red Onion & Mustard Seed Relish
Kalamati Olive Biscottini & Fresh Chervil Pluches

Selection of Warm Organic Rolls

Loin of Lamb with Pinenut Rosemary & Parmesan Crust
Fondant Potatoes
Primo Cabbage & Chatenay Carrots Cumberland Sauce

Selection of Cheeses

Individual Spiced Apple Charlottes
Florentine Biscuit with Butterscotch Ice Cream

Tea and Coffee
Selection of Indian Teas and Herbal Infusions
Richly Roasted Arabica Coffee
Chocloate Mints and Truffles

WINE

Boizel Champagne

Chablis Les Clos 1996 Drouhin

Chateau Canon 1985

La Fleur-Petrus 1995

Cheval Blanc 1993

Warre 1983

Fifteenth Wedding Anniversary

Last weekend we went away to celebrate our fifteenth wedding anniversary (the actual day was Thu 30-Oct-08).

The first ten years we decided rather than buy each other presents we took it in turns to arrange mystery weekends away. For our tenth we went back to Egypt, our honeymoon destination. Since then we have made it a final trip to Italy to close down Trullo Azzurro.

Since fifteen years is more of a milestone Mary decided to reintroduce the mystery element. I was told to pack a bag, my passport and present myself at T2. It was only then that I knew our destination - standing at the Air Maroc check-in desk stating "Casablanca".

We *had* to have lunch in Rick's Cafe. The film may have been shot on a sound stage in Hollywood and this cafe was only opened recently but I don't care. I think is pretty cool to be able to say "I've dined in Rick's cafe in Casablanca". It is actually an old residence that has been tastefully renovated and converted into a restaurant.


Rick's Cafe outside


Rick's Cafe inside

Friday was mostly spent wandering around the city especially the souk and shopping areas.


Market pomegranates


Market olives

Saturday was mostly spent wandering around the streets admiring the art deco architecture of which there is plenty, a legacy of the country's time as a French protectorate which brought with it European influences.


Art deco Volubis Hotel


Art deco Guynemer Hotel

A Weekend of Culture

Last weekend was a weekend of culture.

Friday night we went to See "Love's Labours Lost" at The Rose Theatre in Kingston. An excellent production directed by Peter Hall. The costumes and set were particularly a visual delight. What the papers said:

"An absolute feast for the ear...Peter Bowles's Don Armado is a delight...a Shakespeare production of the highest calibre." The Guardian

"A production full of the ripe pleasures of a classic comedy" The London Paper

"William Chubb is both hilariously pompous and unexpectedly touching as the pedantic schoolmaster Holofernes, and Greg Haiste's Costard is a genuinely funny clown...this comedy may be demanding but it pays rich rewards." Telegraph

"An elegantly staged piece, and as with most Hall productions, beautifully spoken." What's On Stage

"Shakespeare as Shakespeare intended it." The Guardian

Saturday we went to a Festival New Orleans at The O2, mainly to see John Mooney. We saw his set and then went to eat at Los Iguanas. We sat outside and were able to watch Buckwheat Zydeco followed by Dr John from the comfort of our table. Excellent :-)



We are really looking forward to next year's jazz fest. We are going over to New Orleans for The French Quarter Festival and the first weekend of the Jazz and Heritage Fesitval.



Laissez les bon temps roulez!