Drink

A gentleman of Bordeaux

7 April 2016 1:00 pm

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

26 March 2016 9:00 am

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

23 March 2016 3:00 pm

It was a scene evoking the first movement of the Pastoral Symphony. The evening sunshine was caressing the verdant woods…

A thirst for justice: the wit and wisdom of Oliver Wendell Holmes

12 March 2016 9:00 am

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, a great common lawyer, was an adornment to the American Supreme Court. His wisdom is still…

A thirst for Justice

10 March 2016 3:00 pm

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, a great common lawyer, was an adornment to the American Supreme Court. His wisdom is still…

The torturer named for a beautiful shrine

27 February 2016 9:00 am

As you came from the Holy land Of Walsingham Met you not with my true love By the way as…

The grim irony of Walsingham

25 February 2016 3:00 pm

As you came from the Holy land Of Walsingham Met you not with my true love By the way as…

The perfect wines to toast the end of the hunting season

13 February 2016 9:00 am

A few years ago, a distinguished cove in the diplomatic service was made High Commissioner to Australia. To prepare himself…

Game show

11 February 2016 3:00 pm

A few years ago, a distinguished cove in the diplomatic service was made High Commissioner to Australia. To prepare himself…

The fighting spirit of the Borders comes a posh wine merchant

30 January 2016 9:00 am

There has been a gastronomic revolution in London. For some years, the Boisdale restaurants, often mentioned here, have featured Macsween’s…

Border spirit

28 January 2016 3:00 pm

There has been a gastronomic revolution in London. For some years, the Boisdale restaurants, often mentioned here, have featured Macsween’s…

Drink: How I was forcefully reinforced at the Battle of Brussels

16 January 2016 9:00 am

My friends divide into three groups. There are those who are determined to anticipate Lent. There is a larger number…

The Battle of Brussels

14 January 2016 3:00 pm

My friends divide into three groups. There are those who are determined to anticipate Lent. There is a larger number…

The Field Marshal, the restaurateur and the wine family

2 January 2016 9:00 am

As the bottles flowed, the talk ranged, to a serious vineyard, an awesome Field Marshal and a delightful restauranteur. For…

Commanding vintages

31 December 2015 3:00 pm

As the bottles flowed, the talk ranged, to a serious vineyard, an awesome Field Marshal and a delightful restauranteur. For…

Even great wine can’t quite give me hope for Lebanon

12 December 2015 9:00 am

Housman had a point. If men could be drunk for ever, the human condition would be tolerable. But thought always…

Even great wine can’t quite give me hope for Lebanon

10 December 2015 3:00 pm

Housman had a point. If men could be drunk for ever, the human condition would be tolerable. But thought always…

An overflow of bookshelves, a huge kitchen, a cellar, music, dogs, hens, donkeys children . . . all the ingredients for civilised life

5 December 2015 9:00 am

In the later 1850s, Palmerston was Prime Minister: Gladstone, his Chancellor. It was a successful partnership between two very different…

An overflow of bookshelves, a huge kitchen, a cellar, music, dogs, hens, donkeys children . . . all the ingredients for civilised life

3 December 2015 3:00 pm

In the later 1850s, Palmerston was Prime Minister: Gladstone, his Chancellor. It was a successful partnership between two very different…

Guinness and oysters — or beef and Haut-Brion — in deepest Ireland

21 November 2015 9:00 am

We were talking about the West of Ireland and agreed that there were few greater gastronomic pleasures than a slowly…

Guinness and oysters — or beef and Haut-Brion — in deepest Ireland

19 November 2015 3:00 pm

We were talking about the West of Ireland and agreed that there were few greater gastronomic pleasures than a slowly…

We celebrated a birth with a wine that will last decades

7 November 2015 9:00 am

Good Saturday, 2015, stepping westward. Autumn sunshine: autumn leaves, almost comparable to New England: pumpkins everywhere, very New England. We…

We celebrated a birth with a wine that will last decades

5 November 2015 3:00 pm

Good Saturday, 2015, stepping westward. Autumn sunshine: autumn leaves, almost comparable to New England: pumpkins everywhere, very New England. We…

Thanks to the rugby the Scots have a real grievance at last

24 October 2015 9:00 am

The Scots do not know what to do. For once, they have a justified grievance. In recent years, this once-proud…

Thanks to the rugby the Scots have a real grievance at last

22 October 2015 2:00 pm

The Scots do not know what to do. For once, they have a justified grievance. In recent years, this once-proud…