Drink
Grouse rules
The autumn bank holiday is like the five-minute bell at the opera. The shades of the prison house loom. All…
A toast to Provence
Friends have a house in Provence, near the foot of Mont Ventoux. Even in a region so full of charm…
A toast to Provence
Friends have a house in Provence, near the foot of Mont Ventoux. Even in a region so full of charm…
Character study
Will Lyons, a delightful companion, is not only a friend of mine. He has one of the finest palates in…
Character study
Will Lyons, a delightful companion, is not only a friend of mine. He has one of the finest palates in…
Felines and Figaro
I know little about human medicine: still less about the animal equivalent. So I had always assumed that vets were…
Felines and Figaro
I know little about human medicine: still less about the animal equivalent. So I had always assumed that vets were…
From Hegel to Riesling
John Stuart Mill did not describe the Conservatives as the stupid party. He merely said that although not all Tories…
From Hegel to Riesling
John Stuart Mill did not describe the Conservatives as the stupid party. He merely said that although not all Tories…
A summer evening with Cameron
Journalists are chronic exaggerators. Strong words are always being thrown away on trivial events. ‘Whitehall was shocked last night as…
A summer evening with Cameron
Journalists are chronic exaggerators. Strong words are always being thrown away on trivial events. ‘Whitehall was shocked last night as…
Gossip from the top table
In the 1970s, when there were many fewer restaurants in London, Locket’s was much the best place to eat around…
Gossip from the top table
In the 1970s, when there were many fewer restaurants in London, Locket’s was much the best place to eat around…
Adventures of a hell-cat in heaven
Over the weekend I officiated at a funeral. Earlier in the morning there had been lowering rain clouds, but by…
A hell-cat in heaven
Over the weekend I officiated at a funeral. Earlier in the morning there had been lowering rain clouds, but by…
Nicholas Soames’s Twitter account is a miracle (and so is his diet)
Miracles are not ceased. A few years ago, a kindly educational therapist took pity on John Prescott and set out…
Nicholas the miraculous
Miracles are not ceased. A few years ago, a kindly educational therapist took pity on John Prescott and set out…
The wonders of white Burgundy
I promised a return to Burgundy and the 2014 vintage, which becomes no less impressive when recollected in tranquillity. We…
White mischief
I promised a return to Burgundy and the 2014 vintage, which becomes no less impressive when recollected in tranquillity. We…
Dinner with a Grand National winner
Not quite nil humanum a me alienum, but I have always been interested in other people’s trades and worlds. That…
Riders and diners
Not quite nil humanum a me alienum, but I have always been interested in other people’s trades and worlds. That…
The kindest man in the Bordeaux wine business
There was a moment during the war when De Gaulle was being more than usually impossible. Roosevelt, furious, asked Churchill…
A gentleman of Bordeaux
There was a moment during the war when De Gaulle was being more than usually impossible. Roosevelt, furious, asked Churchill…
On the trail of a Burgundian Holy Grail
It was a scene evoking the first movement of the Pastoral Symphony. The evening sunshine was caressing the verdant woods…
On the trail of a Holy Grail
It was a scene evoking the first movement of the Pastoral Symphony. The evening sunshine was caressing the verdant woods…
