Intoxicating Prose

• Hebridean 'Love Boat'

  ‘You can do twins in there’ said Chief Purser, Dave Inge. Despite the fact that the ‘Hebridean Princess’ had been termed ‘a love boat’ by speaker, Martin Bell OBE on account of the frequent marriages between passengers and passengers, crew and crew, and possibly passengers and crew, Inge was not [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 30, 2009, 5:38am EST
  

• Hove-ward Bound

  CONSIDERING consumption (and copulation) are life’s cornerstones, the desire to know what others are eating is hardly surprising. But bites for bytes, it does seems that everyone has become a critic these days, vis-à-vis the Big Bang of blogs, review sites and real-time, mealtime, ‘Twitter’ updates...Such instant, accessible and often [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 25, 2009, 5:00am EST
  

• Style, Scanned

  MARINA, author of addictive fashion site, 'Style Scanner' and partner of cork connoisseur, Jonathan ('Wine Splodge') is hosting this decadently dressed mannequin. Dazed and hungover, I snapped it following the 24-hour train journey from St. Pancras to Portugal for the European Wine Bloggers Conference. Read Marina's interpretation HERE.To recall the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 24, 2009, 6:21am EST
  

• Express Distress

  THE rambling basement sequel to Waterloo’s ‘Bangalore Express’ has a colour scheme resembling a hyped sports shoe, austere seating and A3 placemats that double as menus (supplemented by a la carte flyers).The food compliment comprises a bewilderingly expansive array of dishes, from Indi-tapas to solitary low fat plate, via (drawing [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 22, 2009, 6:41pm EST
  

• Cutting Cheese on Moxon Street

  ‘All top gastronomy writers survive on Milk Thistle – you really must start taking it,’ advised Dacotah Renneau, the venerable PR from leading Prosecco producer, ‘Bisol’. In addition to Mark Hix’s tenderly cured salmon, Richard Haward’s fragrant native oysters and La Fromagerie’s artisan cheeses, Dacotah’s tall flutes offered revitalisation. They [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 20, 2009, 3:48am EST
  

• Roasting Guests

  THERE is, as the adage goes, no such thing as a free lunch. Owing to the intensity and expectation of organisers, I found a recent meal at Borough Market’s British restaurant, ‘Roast’ occasionally hard to digest.Invited by England’s largest wine producer, ‘Chapel Down’, who are based in picture postcard, Tenterden, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 18, 2009, 5:32am EST
  

• Lisbon, Part Three

  UNLIKE the majority of summits and symposiums, Bacchus’ ferment was a constant bedfellow at the European Wine Bloggers Conference. Held at the ‘VIP’ Grand Lisboa, an angular, orange pen for drab suits, with pebbly feng shui bits and a bar menu boasting ‘bee fillet’ (the sting was in the price) [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 13, 2009, 12:17pm EST
  

• Off the Rails

  PRESSED against the tinny fuselage of train number two – the Metro – we darted under Paris from the elegant Gare du Nord to jagged-looking, ‘Fritz Lang’ like hell, Gare Montparnasse. Our next transport, announced by a hectic, tick-ticking departures board, would cut to Basque border town, Irun, best known [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 10, 2009, 4:40am EST
  

• Dawn Bubbles

  ANDREW, author of ‘Spitton.biz’ forced me to go to the wine bloggers conference in Lisbon. I’ll be honest – the idea of actually paying to take a seat amidst 150 self-important, klaxon-loud alcoholics held all the appeal of acupuncture through the heart (which I suffered last week). He dressed it [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 09, 2009, 9:47am EST
  

• Spirited Marriages at Simpson’s

  I TWIRLED through Europe’s second ever revolving door into dapper institution, ‘Simpson’s In The Strand’ this afternoon. Established in 1828 on the site of the Fountain Inn - home to literary association, the ‘Kit Kat Club’ - its chequerboard floors, tiles and knight motifs nod to a past when patrons [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 05, 2009, 4:30am EST