Another mixed bag of news in the last couple of weeks. I spent several hours in hospital but not as many as Mrs Wino who suffered another miscarriage. On a much more positive note, Man City completed a glorious double over some lowly team from Stretford. Throw into the mix a really busy time at work and I almost missed Confessions of a Wino’s first birthday.
Last night I went to see a bit of Oscar Wilde. Born in Dublin, educated and excelled at Trinity College, and Magdelen Colledge Oxford, he then observed in close quarter London Society with his acerbic wit, before being buried in Paris at the tender age of 46.
I didn’t see him in the flesh, even the rotting, grave-sodden sort. I merely remembered him through one of his plays “An Ideal Husband”. Amongst the many lessons, most extraordinary above all, was my realisation that political scandals have been around since even before my forefather’s forefather (Great Grandfather, then?) was chased from the office of Mayor of Wimbledon in the 1930s. This play was written in 1895 when Wilde was about my age, and concerns the dilemma presented when a senior politician is confronted by his secret and corrupt past, in a black-mail attempt. Does the evil Mrs Cheveley succeed in extorting her demands? You will have to read/watch the play yourself. Whilst doing so, you will not be able to resist a snigger or two at how Wilde’s observations are all too relevant to today’s society.
This could well be one of the most expensive bottles of wine I have drunk. I bought half a dozen Rousseaux from the Wine Society for nearly £300 which compared to my average bottle price of £5 to £10, was a breathtaking purchase decision.
Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the latest season of CSI Miami is getting totally preposterous? David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine was, after all, one of the coolest police officers on TV. But the other night, with less than four minutes until a bomb destroyed a car in his compound, he calmly sat in it, then drove it down a 40 mile freeway, across two bridges, through a set of traffic lights, past numerous residences and deposited it on a beach (thankfully free of sunbathers) and coolly walked away from the car as it exploded in the background. Puh-lease! I’m going to stick to the vintage episodes when, for me, Caine was the perfect successor to the dysfunctional Las Vegas based Grissom, who himself was getting a bit preposterous.
Whilst on the topic of vintages, I found occasion to open a bottle I’ve been keeping for a few years.
OK sorry guys but it is a claret. Most people probably don’t consider Bordeaux reds to offer remarkable value for money, especially given the en primeur prices quoted for the 2005 vintage which made my eyes water. However its probably fair to say that if you consider quality independent of price, then Bordeaux would be near the top of most wine enthusiasts’ lists.
This is why, despite the exorbitant prices I broke the bank to reserve a few bottles of 2005. Something I may post about in 2015 (if I am still alive) when they are ready for drinking…
Anyway, back to the wine in question which I opened on our balcony in the summer of 2006 with my good mate Tony the self styled Lord of St Helens and his charming wife Jeanette.
Stumble It!
