Fellow Wine Lovers,
The campaign to choose a new leader of the Conservative party is still rolling along, I’m sure we’ve had Italian governments that have lasted less time and choosing a Pope is definitely a faster process. I saw that Lord Cruddas has offered to buy a place on the ballot paper for Boris Johnson, does that sound like democracy in action to you? Seemed like trying to buy a way around the party’s own regulations to me.
As both candidates promise us tax cuts, tearing up EU laws, sending more refugees to Rwanda and increasing defence spending we found ourselves rather disappointed on a number of points.
To start with, neither candidate has promised us free ice cream. Here we are in the middle of a climate crisis, the temperature is over 30˚C and all we can talk about is tax cuts? What about a raspberry mivvi?
We also wondered what had happened to the manifesto the Government was elected upon. This is a contest to become leader of the party that has been in Government for twelve years. Surely if either of the candidates promises are a fundamental change to that 2019 manifesto we should all get to vote?
I think we’d just like somebody up to the job to get it, I’m not sure we will though. John Oxley wrote a good piece in The Spectator on the Conservative crisis if you have a spare 5 minutes. The Metro splashed the front page today with “PM attends meeting” it was with energy companies about winter pricing. Our concern is appreciated but not to worry, he’ll be able to claim it on expenses.
I’m not sure why, but the Thick of It quote seems to be doing the rounds this week: “So dense the light bends around him”.
I’ve just seen an enterprising chap walking up the Melrose Avenue with an inflated paddling pool over his shoulder. Not sure where the water will be coming from but hey ho, Wimbledon Park in summer eh?
In 2016 Trumpolina said: “You see the mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” On Wednesday Trumpolina ‘took the Fifth’ 440 times whilst being questioned by New York’s Attorney General, it seems the only question he was prepared to answer was his name. We’re speaking, of course, about the “greatest witch hunt in the history of our country” or “the business practices of the Trump Organization” depending on who you would choose to believe. I found myself wondering if Trumpolina has ever been to Salem.
I suspect a number of his ‘associates’ on both sides of the pond are getting a little twitchy following the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago. What did they find in the safe? Nuclear secrets perhaps, a pile of roubles, Stormy Daniels holiday snaps or just a list Twitter passwords?
Before we sent Alex off to rediscover if sherry tastes better in situ than Wimbledon Park we had a meeting with a supplier that had dropped off of the radar. The net result is that both Chateau Vincens Cahors Origine 2018(£17.99) and the Chateau Paraza Minervois 2017 (£15.99, magnums £31) are back in the building. We’ll be able to let you know about the sherry experiment in due course.
This weekend we’ll open a bottle of Cave de Turckheim Edelzwicker (£10.99) from the Alsace, a winning blend of Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner and Riesling that is dry and fresh with some lush green apple fruit and a fab aperitif whilst the coals warm up.
To remind ourselves how delicious a Minervois is, we’ll have a guzzle of the Chateau de Paraza 2017 (£15.99) and now the coals are warm we’ll pop the haloumi and lamb kofte on.
That’s it from us, use sunscreen, drink some water and don’t play with matches.