Fellow Wine Lovers,
As is customary at this time of the yea, we have chosen to give you a roundup of events of the last 12 months:
January 2022 found us quoting Labour MP Diane Johnson: “When the prime minister has to spend his time trying to convince the British public that he is stupid not dishonest, isn’t it time for him to go?” We were also reading about Liz Truss on Wikipedia.
February 2022 saw the launch of Operation Hillman which involved The Met Police sending a questionnaire to many people in Westminster regarding Partygate: “As these questions are part of Operation Hillman, which of the following Hillman motor vehicles did you see at Downing Street? Minx, Husky, Super Minx, Imp, Hunter, Avenger or Hustler (please tick all that apply)
To help our sponsors, do you prefer Claret or Beaujolais with your Brie de Meaux?”
As it turned out not answering the questionnaire got you off the fine for insufficient evidence, regardless of any CCTV footage!
March 2022 we found ourselves mentioning Rwanda. A bat that had been missing for 40 years was rediscovered in Nyungwe Park. After being scolded for being late for supper, the pair of Hill’s Horseshoe bats were measured and their call recorded to make it easier to identify them in future and then released.
April 2022 arrived and the fools were still in charge. Mad Nads was selling Channel Four and Chancellor Rishi Sunak discovering his wife’s ‘non-dom’ tax status whilst breaking an election manifesto pledge not to raise tax on the rest of us. ‘Replicas’ by Tubeway Army turned 43.
May 2022 found Wayne on his bike in Mallorca avoiding a high pollen count here, the Tories lose Wandsworth Council and the Negroni, the Mojito and a Pina Colada named as the UK’s top three cocktails. Also fines landed on the desks of those caught up in Operation Hillman seemingly regardless of whether they were driving an Imp or a Minx!
June 2022 arrived almost as a surprise with some sunshine and some disgruntled Peers who were distinctly unhappy with the catering. “There are only so many smoked salmon or prawn and crayfish salads one can take week after week”
“limited range of pre-packaged sandwiches”
“Could the sandwiches be presented on a plate with a bit of salad rather than in cardboard?”
Moving quickly into July 2022, we saw the Sri Lankan President flee the country, the Italian government collapse and Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss say nasty things about each other to show who was the best person to lead the Conservatives. Moeen Ali scored the fastest half century in T20, the Lionesses got through to the Euro final at Wembley, Marianne Vos in the Yellow Jersey in the Tour de France Femmes and the start of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
August 2022 and most of you had fled the area. Wayne was left to contend with Truss and Sunak still knocking verbal lumps out of each other but now in a series of fancy dress costumes that most of us would call work clothes. La Vuelta a España started with a Time trial in Utrecht and Tory Peer Stuart Rose warned “you can’t grow your way out of inflation”.
September 2022 found us with a new King, Liz Truss as Prime Minister and Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor. Truss and Kwarteng decided to introduce a budget to grow us out of inflation that we now know cost the country around £70 billion. Remco Evenepoel won the Vuelta a España.
October 2022 rolled in with us wondering if No.10 would end up on Air BnB but Superman Sunak stepped in to save the day from the real crazies. Wales lost to the Cook Islands in the Rugby League Cup and the James Bond film Dr No celebrated its 60th birthday.
November 2022 found jungle watchers witness disgraced former Health Secretary Matt Hancock chomping on unmentionables in I’m a Celebrity. Superman Sunak turned out less than Super and performed a U-turn on his decision to skip COP27 in Egypt whilst Lady Mone became embroiled in a very unpredictable PPE and VIP lane scandal that saw her take a leave of absence from the House of Lords and flee the country.
So here we are, rapidly approaching the end of December 2022. The clowns are still in charge both here and in Westminster. The clowns in Westminster would like to remove your rights to equal pay in 2023. The clowns here would like to thank you all for your kind support in 2022 and wish you a happy New Year filled with good health, opportunity and laughter.
We’ll be open until 6pm today, noon until 6pm on Saturday and then we’ll return on Friday 6th January at, yes, noon!
Godt nytår!!