Fellow Wine Lovers,
Well I have to say Alex called it well last week with England beating Wales in a very exciting match on Sunday. The Six nations looks too complicated to call for me, but if I understand it correctly, we need a baby to be born to a prop, an early sunrise in Rome, croissants for breakfast and then if all these stars align, there is an outside chance England may just win the Six Nations. I can’t believe I might have to cheer the French!
Alex’s tip for the Gold Cup cheated and ran in a different race, so that kind of blew our Cheltenham tip out of the water.
Elsewhere in the news the Bank of England’s very own George Clooney suggested that if Scotland gains independence then RBS will have to move to England – Royal Bank of Sunderland anybody? George Soros has warned that Europe could face 25 years of stagnating; having seen what stagnating can do to a pond I think we should try and stop that or else everything will be slimy and smell of eggs.
Wine News
Following on from the impressive list of new additions last week I’d just like to mention that Meerlust Red 2011 (£12.99) is back in stock. The famed Stellenbosch estate didn’t make any Rubicon for this vintage so it is even tastier than ever! Also welcomed back to SW19 is the Aromo Viognier 2012 (£8.49) from Luis and the team in Maule Valley.
Marathon News (A calendar month to go!)
Mo Farah who, like Wayne, is making his full London Marathon debut in a month’s time, has returned from his altitude training in Iten, Kenya. He tweeted far too many pictures of sunshine whilst we were running in the rain. (Jose Mourinho style mindgames?)
Meanwhile our intrepid heroes are continuing their training plans apace. Both clocked up 30km runs last week, getting a bit of altitude in Richmond Park in Alex’s case, and over Herne Hill in Wayne’s. We’re a bit amazed at how hungry we get on occasion, and can both say with hand on heart that cold baths are an unpleasant experience.
The Children’s Trust is the UK’s leading charity for children with acquired brain injury, multiple disabilities and complex health needs.
Wayne is running for these guys and spent a great day there recently seeing what fantastic work they are doing. There are about 70 children resident and they have great facilities, including a fabulous tree house with wheelchair ramp (the longest in Europe!) and tracking under the corridor that allows the children to program their wheelchairs to take them between classes.
If you’d like to know more about The Children’s Trust there is a programme on BBC1 this Sunday 16th at 4.35pm, presented by Richard Hammond.
If you would be able to make a donation, and become a whisper of encouragement in our ears for 26.2 miles please go to
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/WayneAlexRunLondon
We, and more importantly the children, will be eternally grateful.
Tasting This Weekend
We’ll give air to a couple of those new arrivals from last week. How about Marktree Semillon/Sauvignon (£8.29) from Western Australia in the white department, and Three Peaks (£12.99) a delicious Côtes de Roussillon from Domaine Treloar, owned by Jonathan and Rachel Hesford, our newest best chums in South West France.
And lastly…
From Drinks Business “Wine scientists in Australia are recreating the conditions of a bushfire to help determine the effects of smoke on wine production.”
Firstly, surely a clue is in the word smoke.
Secondly, given that at least 4 million hectares of land have been affected by bushfires since 2000 is there a need to recreate them!
A nice weekend everyone!