The town I grew up in was described in a Victorian gazetteer as “ill-built, but of good entertainment”. Eighty years later the entertainment had migrated up the A6 to Manchester, otherwise no change. The town council was known for its slothful attitude and reluctance to spend money to make the town a civilized place to ...
Restaurant ReviewsThis week’s decent drinking A few months ago, somewhere in the middle of Spain I stood gazing at a higgledy-piggledy collection of unkempt tatty bush vines rising out of a pebble-strewn field. “Why the hell would anybody want to make wine here?” I wonder. We’ve bumped up to this plateau, 850 meters above sea level, ...
Tasting NotesKeogh’s in South Anne Street, early doors on a Wednesday evening, was well nigh empty. Which isn’t to say publican Louis Fitzgerald was having conniptions. No, the customers were all outside, a great raft of them lorrying down the bevvy while savouring the sunshine. Great to see that the good old Dublin custom of ...
Restaurant ReviewsI’m having a glass in the garden with a friend of mine who, only having lately come to wine, is now making up for lost time. He picks my scrambled brains every opportunity he gets. Today, he wants the inside track on wine criticism. Over a drop of Laurent Miquel’s rich and quite elegant Nord ...
Wine & DrinkIf autumn is, as the poet said “season of mist and mellow fruitfulness” summer has to be that of “mozzie bites and burnt bangers”. Mind you, if scientists are right about global warning the vipers, pythons and boa constrictors so thoughtfully banished by St.Patrick will soon be back and we’ll all be scurrying back indoors. ...
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