Robert Mondavi helped to put California wines on the map in the mid-twentieth century, and it’s good to see that his descendants aren’t just resting on their laurels (or their grape vines) and counting the cash they raked in when the winery was taken over. Instead they’ve set up a new winery in the Napa… Continue reading My First $300 Bottle of Wine
If you go down to the woods today …
In true Mr Toad style I have enthusiastically embraced a brand new favourite hobby … snowshoeing. It’s ideal for people like me, who want to enjoy the mountain scenery in winter, but have no desire to hurtle down a slope at 70 miles an hour, pitching headfirst into snowdrifts on the way down. The house… Continue reading If you go down to the woods today …
The Dangers of Drinking Wine
I wholeheartedly recommend holidaying in the company of a wine expert. Good wineries are researched, appointments are made, and all I have to do is turn up and taste the wine. Ridge Winery makes an award-winning red called Monte Bello which was one of the wines chosen for the famous blind tasting in 1976, known… Continue reading The Dangers of Drinking Wine
Where to take your parrot on holiday
Last week, on a hydrofoil from Naples to Ischia, I met a woman who was taking her parrot on holiday. When we asked her why, she said that he needed a break and she thought he’d enjoy himself on the island. Ischia is a volcanic island in the Bay of Naples, famous for thermal springs… Continue reading Where to take your parrot on holiday
Paris with the YouTube generation
Last week I took my goddaughter to Paris for a few days as a 21st birthday treat and it was refreshing to see it through the eyes – and screens – of a new generation. It’s no longer the rose-tinted city of Amélie Poulain, one of my all time favourite French films. Emily in Paris… Continue reading Paris with the YouTube generation
When is a semi not a semi?
Answer: When it’s a journey through time and space. Last week I visited a house that the Times described as ‘Britain’s most extraordinary home’. Talliston House is a three-bedroomed semi-detached house in Great Dunmow, Essex, which has so many histories attached to it, that it’s practically a GCSE subject in its own right. I didn’t… Continue reading When is a semi not a semi?
A surprise in Andalucia
The Moors and I have at least one thing in common – we do love a citrus tree. For me this manifests itself in an inability to walk past an orange or lemon tree without stopping to photograph it. For the Moors, slightly more amibitious in the citrus arena, it meant planting an abundance of… Continue reading A surprise in Andalucia
Matisse, the cactus and the chasubles
What inspires a lifelong atheist to turn to religion in his 77th year? It could very well be a fear of impending death, but in Matisse’s case it was entirely due to a pretty young woman. In 1941, when Matisse was based in Nice, he had an operation and advertised locally for a ‘young and… Continue reading Matisse, the cactus and the chasubles
Admiring the rubbish bins on the French Riviera
You know you’re in a classy place when they have bespoke rubbish bins. When we arrived in Eze on the first leg of our garden tour of the Côte d’Azur, it was no surprise to find a series of very tasteful designer bins, showcasing the highlights of the village. Apart from the bins, Eze is… Continue reading Admiring the rubbish bins on the French Riviera
I’m not a celebrity after all …
Keen to dip my toe into the new world of staycations, I went down to Cornwall for the first time since 1996, thanks to a very kind invitation from my sister-in-law, Hilarie. My first impression was that the weather has improved immeasurably in the past 25 years. My distant memories of sitting on a rain-swept… Continue reading I’m not a celebrity after all …
What I’ve learnt in Japan …
Something that I really love about the Japanese is their appreciation and wholehearted embracing of everything impermanent and seasonal. They love the idea that something is with us for a few short weeks and then disappears again for another year; there’d be no demand here for Creme Eggs in September. For them, seasonality underlines the… Continue reading What I’ve learnt in Japan …
Kyoto without the crowds
If there’s one covid silver lining for me, it’s the lack of tourists in Kyoto. Kyoto’s one of my top three favourite cities in the world, and I couldn’t wait to get back once I’d arrived in Nagoya. So, with a good weather forecast last weekend, I set off, determined to see some of the… Continue reading Kyoto without the crowds
What’s going on in Aichi?
Aichi, home of Toyota and miso sauce, is normally a rather staid and sensible place; it’s emphatically not Tokyo – no maid cafes or love hotels here, thank you very much. But recently there have been some strange goings on. The national English language newspaper printed the following disturbing story This bizarre-sounding crime is actually… Continue reading What’s going on in Aichi?
Japan: a walk in the park
I love a walk in the park in Japan … you never know what you’re going to see around the next bend in the path … … perhaps a couple taking their ferret out for a stroll? Having spent a year walking round the local park in Bedford, I can faithfully report that all I… Continue reading Japan: a walk in the park
Bend me, shape me
Mindful of the need to keep fit even when life is very constricted, I’ve done a 30-minute yoga class from the Yoga Studio app almost every day since the beginning of the Pandemic. At around 6 o’clock every evening I roll my mat out on the sitting room carpet, and pull on a hairband so… Continue reading Bend me, shape me
This is a job for … Vegetable Rescue!
We all want to do our bit these days – save the planet, become an eco-warrior, be a responsible citizen – and I’m no different to everyone else. But I think we need to acknowledge that there’s a healthy dollop of self-interest in most people’s desire to be an environmental hero … it’s not enough… Continue reading This is a job for … Vegetable Rescue!
I know exactly what’s in store for us all in 2021 …
Has it occurred to anyone else that what we’re experiencing at the moment is a rerun of the Plagues of Egypt? Or, to be more precise, what we are experiencing is all the same plagues, but not necessarily in the same order. In Biblical times the plagues started small and built up in intensity –… Continue reading I know exactly what’s in store for us all in 2021 …
How Korea is dealing with Coronavirus
Quarantine is taken very seriously here – you’re not allowed to leave the airport until you can prove that you have accommodation sorted for your 14-day isolation period. The Korean army is at the airport, processing everyone, installing the quarantining app on everyone’s phone, calling your named contact in Korea to make sure they exist, and checking up on your accommodation. Once they’re satisfied that you have somewhere to go, you are escorted to a taxi
What do I have in common with President Trump?
Week two of quarantine, and I’ve been passing the time by getting to grips with all things Korean – or more specifically, with Korean food and the language. I do love a country that takes its food so seriously that it provides written instructions on how to eat certain dishes. I first came across this… Continue reading What do I have in common with President Trump?
Life in quarantine: Gangnam-style
Well, not actually Gangnam, if you want to be pedantic. We’re in Seoul city centre, which is north of the river, and Gangnam is across the river from here, according to my map … but Jung-gu-style just doesn’t have the same ring to it, I’m afraid. It was a stress-free journey from a deserted Heathrow… Continue reading Life in quarantine: Gangnam-style