Fellow Wine Lovers,
Having a look at the papers this week, we’ve discovered that Prince Philip has had a heart operation and that Harry and Meghan have become famous enough to get an interview with Oprah, which has really put the Buckingham Palace press machine’s nose out of joint. We did wonder if there was any connection with Meghan asking for a front page apology from the Daily Fail.
Nicola Sturgeon seems to have broken no laws but faces calls for her resignation, whilst Matt Hancock has been found to have broken the law by the High Court but not resigned. Lord Frost, our new/old man in the Brexit role, has unilaterally extended the grace period for goods arriving into Northern Ireland which the EU seems to think will have the Government breaking international law. I don’t know about you but all this talk of law breaking is an uncomfortable reminder of the marmalade menace recently retired to a golf course. Incidentally, we noticed he chose to stand at a lectern and say words to an audience this week too.
Anyway, as we progressed through the newspapers we came to one of them, printed on salmon pink paper, that seems to think we’ve had some kind of budget. We looked into it and it seems to be a trustworthy publication as there has indeed been a budget.
Naturally, it all started with a photo opportunity, a kind of Downtown Abbey meets M.C Esher affair with Dishi Rishi and his team arranged around a rather plush staircase. After that, it all got a bit fishy with Rishi donning his Sheriff of Nottingham persona according to the Rowntree Foundation. They state changes to universal credit will push more people into poverty and over a million people would be paying tax for the first time. It does look as though we are all going to pay for the World-Beating Moonshot test and trace consultancy fees whether we like it or not.
Whilst we’re on the subject, we think we have a spare hour or two on Monday’s and Tuesday’s and are available as consultants for a very reasonable fee. We have little expertise in much at all but do both own a suit that we could wear without a tie when necessary.
Talking of Moonshots, Space-X did their third test with their Starship this week. It did manage to land this time but then exploded eight minutes later. Much as we’re both desperate for some travel outside of the 7 mile radius of this building, we’re even less ready than Space-X to lay down our beach towel at the final frontier just yet.
There has been rather a lot of movement on the earth front. In Sicily it has literally been raining minerality as Etna has been throwing rocks and sand into the sky, New Zealand’s North Island had an earthquake of 8.1 magnitude just this morning and in Iceland there has been much talk amongst scientists that Mount Keilir is about to get busy for the first time since the 12th century. In Wales, they’ve found a secret tunnel to Tintern Abbey probably built in the 12th Century. Closer to home, there have been a lot of roadworks as Thames Water appear to have sprung many leaks.
News of booze this week features a freeze on alcohol tax in the budget, thanks Rishi! Also the US has announced they will drop sanctions on single malt Scotch whisky. This is also good news for Stilton producers who somehow managed to get wrapped up in the same piece of legislation. Not necessarily a partnership I’d go for, but horses and courses…
As for us, we’ve bought a new Aussie. Made by Ben Glaetzer, Heartland Directors Cut Shiraz (£28.99), from Langhorne Creek, is a cracker. The estate’s flagship wine, it has bags of berry compote, violet and chocolate on the nose. The palate is a spiced plum and bramble fruit, some liquorice spice and a finish almost as long as the Oliver Stone final cut of JFK. An excellent wine to ease you through those short ribs that have been going low and slow on the BBQ all afternoon whilst you watched Le Strade Bianche.
With that we bid you a fond adieu until next week’s thrilling instalment.
Cheers!