Wine: Barbera d'Alba, Cru SerraboellaYear: 2004
Grape: Barbera
Chateau: Cigliuti
Supplier: Berry Bros. & Rudd
Another excellent wine from BB&R - rich red from Piedmont with long smooth flavour.
Score: 7/10
Saturday 29 March 2008
Saturday Night's Wine
Wine: Barbera d'Alba, Cru SerraboellaYear: 2004
Grape: Barbera
Chateau: Cigliuti
Supplier: Berry Bros. & Rudd
Another excellent wine from BB&R - rich red from Piedmont with long smooth flavour.
Score: 7/10
Friday 28 March 2008
Tonight's wine
Wine: Qupe (really has an e acute but I don't know how to do that) - California, Santa Maria Valley
Year: 2005
Château: Bien Nacido - Roberto Linquist
Supplier: Berry Bros. & Rudd
Grape: Syrah
This one I really like. I'm not normally a fan of Californian wine - too much Ernst & Julio Gallo, bland crap, but this is excellent. It has a smooth, mellow flavour, no over acidity and a long pleasant after taste. Thoroughly recommended.
Score: 8/10
Wednesday 26 March 2008
Tonight's Wine
Writing this blog has encouraged me to think about recording a number of activities, and tonight I shall start committing my thoughts to paper (or more precisely to mass storage!) on the wines we drink at home. I'll also give each wine a totally arbitrary and unscientific score out of 10
Wine: Santenay, AC Cotes de Beaune
Year: 2005
Chateau: Joseph Drouhin
Supplier: Berry Bros & Rudd
Grape: Pinot Noir
Although described in the BB&R tasting notes as "An affordable burgundy of excellent pedigree from the greatest vintage of recent times" I found this just a tad disappointing. Difficult to describe exactly but my best shot would be to call it - a bit thin! I don't think I shall buy another bottle.
Score: 6/10
Saturday 22 March 2008
An afternoon at Quarry Bank Mill - Styal
With the added attraction of an Easter Egg hunt, who could resist? Certainly not Quinn & Sera so off to Styal for a walk round the mill and a look at the latest addition - the "secret garden".
It's been a few years since I last visited and whilst the fabric of the mill remains, there is a definite change in the "feel" of the place.
A number of the exhibits are definitely looking a bit tatty and there seems to have been an effort to modernise the "visiting experience".
In common with so many museums today it seems we have to be challenged by multi-media interactivity rather than being left to make up our own minds.
One thing that did annoy me was the ban on photography inside the property. I can understand banning flash photography in some places with delicate fabrics and paintings - but an industrial heritage site? When was cast iron last jeopardised by a camera?
A stroll in the garden after the walk through the mill was nice with Quinn in reflective mood & Sera skipping her way through life as ever!
Saturday 15 March 2008
Motorcycle Tyres - Recommendation - use B&C
Completely unsolicited testimonial
Had a new front tyre put on the Pan today - decided to go with a straight replacement of the original which was a Bridgestone Excedra. Booked it in with B&C Performance Tyres of Farnworth, Bolton (01204 577 333).
They could not have been more helpful - the axle on the front wheel was all but seized but the guy doing it persevered and got the wheel out, fitted the new tyre then sorted out the corrosion on the spindle and a few of the retaining bolts - all well above what he really had to do - fantastic service, friendly and very professional - I have no hesitation in recommending this place.
Had a new front tyre put on the Pan today - decided to go with a straight replacement of the original which was a Bridgestone Excedra. Booked it in with B&C Performance Tyres of Farnworth, Bolton (01204 577 333).
They could not have been more helpful - the axle on the front wheel was all but seized but the guy doing it persevered and got the wheel out, fitted the new tyre then sorted out the corrosion on the spindle and a few of the retaining bolts - all well above what he really had to do - fantastic service, friendly and very professional - I have no hesitation in recommending this place.
HSBC - What a bunch of to**ers!
Now I am a reasonable man.
It's a rare occasion on which I get angry, but today HSBC managed to do it.
In a previous blog entry I described the burglary: One of the items in my wallet was an HSBC credit card. Not a card that Iuse very often, but one that I wanted to keep. In the aftermath of the burglary I reported the card stolen, and was assured that a replacement card would be sent. Over the last few days I've received my replacement RBS card, MBNA card even my Nectar card but from HSBC nothing!
Then a letter arrived from HSBC saying that as my card was nearing its expiry date and because I used it so infrequently as a convenience to me they would not be replacing it unless I specifically asked them to. As I did want to keep the card I rang the number provided and that's when the whole shambles started.
After waiting around 1/2 a minute the automated response asked me to key in my credit card number - I did that. The disembodied voice then asked for my date of birth so I keyed that in. Short pause and then I am told that I cannot use this service as I do not have a security number - but wait ..... I rang the number they gave me, I entered the information they requested, they have never given me a security number - so press 4 to ask for a human being to speak to me. Sure enough a human does come on the line, a very polite female who asks me for all the information I've just keyed and what the issue is. I explain and then she tells me that I need to be transferred to the credit card department - but wait .... That is the number I called in the first place in response to a letter from the credit card department.
Never mind I get transferred to another human being, this time a well spoken man who is polite to the point of obsequiousness. I explain that I do wish to renew my card, at which he tells me that he needs to take me through some security questions so once again I give my name, my date of birth etc etc. He then asks for the expiry date of my previous card. I tell him that the whole reason for the call is that my previous card was stolen, that HSBC know that and it is at their insistence that I am making the telephone call in the first place!
Because I cannot tell them the expiry date of the previous card, which they have already accepted was stolen I am now told that I must go into a local HSBC branch with proof of my identity.
Result HSBC loose a customer.
It's a rare occasion on which I get angry, but today HSBC managed to do it.
In a previous blog entry I described the burglary: One of the items in my wallet was an HSBC credit card. Not a card that Iuse very often, but one that I wanted to keep. In the aftermath of the burglary I reported the card stolen, and was assured that a replacement card would be sent. Over the last few days I've received my replacement RBS card, MBNA card even my Nectar card but from HSBC nothing!
Then a letter arrived from HSBC saying that as my card was nearing its expiry date and because I used it so infrequently as a convenience to me they would not be replacing it unless I specifically asked them to. As I did want to keep the card I rang the number provided and that's when the whole shambles started.
After waiting around 1/2 a minute the automated response asked me to key in my credit card number - I did that. The disembodied voice then asked for my date of birth so I keyed that in. Short pause and then I am told that I cannot use this service as I do not have a security number - but wait ..... I rang the number they gave me, I entered the information they requested, they have never given me a security number - so press 4 to ask for a human being to speak to me. Sure enough a human does come on the line, a very polite female who asks me for all the information I've just keyed and what the issue is. I explain and then she tells me that I need to be transferred to the credit card department - but wait .... That is the number I called in the first place in response to a letter from the credit card department.
Never mind I get transferred to another human being, this time a well spoken man who is polite to the point of obsequiousness. I explain that I do wish to renew my card, at which he tells me that he needs to take me through some security questions so once again I give my name, my date of birth etc etc. He then asks for the expiry date of my previous card. I tell him that the whole reason for the call is that my previous card was stolen, that HSBC know that and it is at their insistence that I am making the telephone call in the first place!
Because I cannot tell them the expiry date of the previous card, which they have already accepted was stolen I am now told that I must go into a local HSBC branch with proof of my identity.
Result HSBC loose a customer.
Thursday 13 March 2008
El Rincon
A belated company Christmas night out at El Rincon de Rafa in Manchester. Terrific food, good wine, celebrity guests - yes we saw Johnny Briggs (AKA Mike Baldwin).
Arrived just before 8 and had a couple of Riojas to get into the atmosphere, the rest of the party soon turned up and a few drinks got everyone into a relaxed mood. The meal was a LOT of tapas of which there were some superb dishes, in particular the fish (cod I think) moist & flaky in a light batter, the tiny chorizo sausages and the crab. With the tapas over two giant paellas arrived - cooked to perfection. The hardy ones amongst us then tackled the crema catalana - whilst tasting great it wasn't exactly how I remember the dish from eating it in Spain, more of ice ream dessert than a creamy sweet custard.
Resisting calls to order Spanish brandy, I think that would have been extremely foolish (killjoy I know!) people stated drifting away with the last of us leaving just before midnight, pretty full, slightly drunk and well satisfied.
Monday 10 March 2008
Thursday 6 March 2008
Burglary !
Sub title - How to be REALLY stupid!
Tuesday night, March 4'th.
With an early start in the morning, to catch a flight from Manchester to Cork, I took myself off to bed around 10:45 and was comfortably dozing off. Before retiring I'd done my usual preparation and put my wallet, car and house keys, mobile phone, passport and Euros on the kitchen table conveniently placed to collect on my way out in the morning.
Around 11:15, my sleep was interrupted by a loud shout from downstairs "OI OI": not quite conscious I then heard my wife on the phone dialling 999 and asking for the police. Curiosity took over and I got out of bed, quickly threw on some clothes and dashed downstairs.
Although I'd gone to bed, my wife was waiting up for her son to come home and because of that, the outer porch door and front door were both unlocked. On hearing what she thought was said son coming in, but not popping into the living room to say "hello", she took a look into the hall and was somewhat suprised to see a young man, dressed mainly in black with a handful of our posessions around his person - my wife's handbag, briefcase and my conviently placed phone, wallet and car keys (though I'm delighted to say he ignored my passport).
That's when the "OI OI" came out. At that, the little toe-rag made a rapid exit to join two others waiting outside and sprint off up the road. By the time I got downstairs my wife had called the police and to my great surprise ran outside, jumped into her car and made off in hot pursuit like some avenging angel. Fortunately she didn't find the miscreants for I hate to think what the consequences might have been!
The police arrived within ten minutes and were extremely efficient, professional and sympathetic. My only disappointment was that the dog handler didn't open the doors of his van and let the dogs out. I presume they need to actually know who they are after before they do that. A search locally yielded no trace of the burglars, but did turn up the handbag and contents (minus purse, mobile phone & blackberry) in a neighbour's garden. No such luck with my wallet.
The following morning brought some better news, the briefcase and full contents were returned by a stranger having been found a few streets away and a little later my driving licence was found just two streets away and returned by another good samaritan.
So the net cost was just some cash - around £100, all our credit cards, two mobile phones, one blackberry, cars keys (for two cars both of which have had the immobilisers re-programmed but will now need their locks changing), house keys (note to thieves - "the locks have all been changed") and most of all my old tatty wallet. I've had that wallet for some 20 years. I bought it at the seaside in Royan, it was cheap and cheerful (a bit like me I like to think), and now it's gone.
Tuesday night, March 4'th.
With an early start in the morning, to catch a flight from Manchester to Cork, I took myself off to bed around 10:45 and was comfortably dozing off. Before retiring I'd done my usual preparation and put my wallet, car and house keys, mobile phone, passport and Euros on the kitchen table conveniently placed to collect on my way out in the morning.
Around 11:15, my sleep was interrupted by a loud shout from downstairs "OI OI": not quite conscious I then heard my wife on the phone dialling 999 and asking for the police. Curiosity took over and I got out of bed, quickly threw on some clothes and dashed downstairs.
Although I'd gone to bed, my wife was waiting up for her son to come home and because of that, the outer porch door and front door were both unlocked. On hearing what she thought was said son coming in, but not popping into the living room to say "hello", she took a look into the hall and was somewhat suprised to see a young man, dressed mainly in black with a handful of our posessions around his person - my wife's handbag, briefcase and my conviently placed phone, wallet and car keys (though I'm delighted to say he ignored my passport).
That's when the "OI OI" came out. At that, the little toe-rag made a rapid exit to join two others waiting outside and sprint off up the road. By the time I got downstairs my wife had called the police and to my great surprise ran outside, jumped into her car and made off in hot pursuit like some avenging angel. Fortunately she didn't find the miscreants for I hate to think what the consequences might have been!
The police arrived within ten minutes and were extremely efficient, professional and sympathetic. My only disappointment was that the dog handler didn't open the doors of his van and let the dogs out. I presume they need to actually know who they are after before they do that. A search locally yielded no trace of the burglars, but did turn up the handbag and contents (minus purse, mobile phone & blackberry) in a neighbour's garden. No such luck with my wallet.
The following morning brought some better news, the briefcase and full contents were returned by a stranger having been found a few streets away and a little later my driving licence was found just two streets away and returned by another good samaritan.
So the net cost was just some cash - around £100, all our credit cards, two mobile phones, one blackberry, cars keys (for two cars both of which have had the immobilisers re-programmed but will now need their locks changing), house keys (note to thieves - "the locks have all been changed") and most of all my old tatty wallet. I've had that wallet for some 20 years. I bought it at the seaside in Royan, it was cheap and cheerful (a bit like me I like to think), and now it's gone.
Sunday 2 March 2008
Mother's Day
Once more, using the new phone (Sony Ericsson K810i) to take a picture and publish it directly to the blog - suitably impressing my mother!
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