25 January  – 1 February 2020 Saturday sadly was our last if brief moment in the UK as an EU member state. We clambered off an Easyjet flight from Nantes to eat a leisurely lunch in a Lebanese outlet in Gatwick North, before clambering on another Easyjet flight to Turin. We arrived as the light […]

Tuesday 21 January We caught the 09.06, having walked through frosty Andover, heading for Stansted via Clapham, Vauxhall, and Tottenham Hale to the Ryanair flight at 14.40 to Nantes. A slow but easy journey; and we were early.  This is a WSET fact-finding visit for David, and as a passenger, something of a holiday for … Continue reading The Loire – January 2020

  I am still reeling from the impact of yesterday’s visit to the V & A’s Quant exhibition. We met at 11 in the main foyer, and sensibly opted for coffee first, to catch up on some of the ludicrous number of years since our last meeting.  Despite having seen each other only perhaps half … Continue reading Mary Quant: the V & A’s time machine

How best to spend a wet autumn day in London ? How about a whirlwind tour of former day versions of the selfie? (though that not one of them is smiling is a bit of a clue that something rather more profound is going on) Helene Schjerfbeck, Anthony Gormley and Lucian Freud at the RA; … Continue reading A day of self portraits: 24 October 2019

Two working days in Provence for David happily combined with a visit to Saturnin-lès-Apt in the Luberon where we spent the weekend with Rob and Joanna (and other friends) in their new property La Madre de Dieu. British Airways from Heathrow delivered us safely and on time to Marseille’s terminal 1 (the smart end) and […]

Saturday       Work in progress Jill and Peter drove to Switzerland taking the magnums (presents from Giulio and Gianpaolo) and the remaining bottles of Trento doc sparkling wine we used for the toast.  Photo of group The rest of us headed to Morisfarms cantina at Poggetti, just beyond Cura Nova on the Scarlino … Continue reading After the party – late July 2019

Some pics..... This was the beginning: la degustazione The middle : la cena (home-sourced cinghiali) The toast: To the next 65 years! The end: finishing off the bottles The next morning at Morisfarms with Gulio and Janey A quiet hotel and a very carnivorous last supper

Over thirty friends and family joined us at Il Girifalco, Massa Marittima to celebrate David’s first 65 years. Hugh, David and I arrived on Tuesday 23 July to find Jill, Peter and Lottie (travelling on her ice-cooler blanket) already in place after their drive from the UK, and ready for supper (including that runaway favourite … Continue reading Late July 2019: arriving in Massa Marittima

The hottest day so far this year coincided with the annual Andover Wine Friends’ summer party (partly arranged to drink up all the unwanted wine which remained from David’s MW exam wine library) and immediately preceded the first day of our whistle stop tour of the North by train and bike. We left the house … Continue reading The Great North Tour – July 2019

This will be a piece about our time spent in London, staying with friends near St Paul’s in order for David to take the tasting papers for the MW qualification, and allowing me to enjoy two theatre matinees and several galleries and exhibitions: - Henry IV part I at the Globe and - Rutherford and … Continue reading The first week of June 2019