May Bank Holiday

May Blog - Wines of Joy

We had a very good Pinot Noir the other evening, a popular, light-to-medium-bodied red wine made from the Vitis vinifera grape variety.

Tasting Notes: cherry, blackberry, raspberry, mushroom, forest floor, vanilla

Renowned for its elegance and complexity, it typically features high acidity and low tannins. Originating in Burgundy, France, it is notoriously difficult to grow, often dubbed the "heartbreak grape". Well, I salute the winemaker, ours was superb, but the forest floor note eluded my not-that-sensitive taste buds

Spring

There is no time like spring, when life comes alive. New wonders are revealed by an optimistic Mother Nature. Take the humble dandelion, a small, insignificant bud that we can hardly see, which grows and produces a beautiful yellow flower head. This head is made up of very small flowers. The dandelion then produces a ball of seed. These seeds do not need to be pollinated. This results in all the offspring being identical to the parent plant. The individual seeds have a parachute that the wind picks up and disperses. Nature, delve deep, and you will find some truly wonderful facts.

I have included a photograph of tulips I bought, with the overhead light creating a glow from the depth of the flower. Another example of the vivid colours we have in nature.

Australia - From our own correspondent, Debi Dickens-Smith

As I have half of my family now living in Australia, it would be remiss of me not to bring you news, observations and insight into what is going on down under. As I am distant from what enriches their lives, I have enlisted the help of my old friend, Debi Dickens-Smith, who lives in New South Wales, formerly from Mullumbimby. I know, you could not make it up. She brings a wealth of experience in journalism and travel; her enthusiasm and dedication remain as strong today as ever. Debi Dickens-Smith has lived in many places and will be sending articles through for my blog. Hopefully, keeping everyone in the loop.

Debi is hoping to catch up with the Smiths in Sydney in the next week to find out how they are settling in. It should be a good read.

Photographs from our budding Travel Journalist

Talking of Mullumbimby, famous for the fact that it was the first country town to receive electricity, in 1920, that was. A small country town with a vibrant arts scene and a hub for wellness practitioners, yoga studios and boutique coffee shops. A small town of just over 4000 residents, 53% female and 47% male. House prices have dropped by 21% over the last 5 years, and with 62% of all the houses owner-occupied, down from 71% five years ago, it's not a good sign, but then if you want to stay just 15 miles from Byron Bay, it could be the place for you. Debi is hoping to buy a house and move back in the next few months. Good luck with the house search, always a traumatic time.

You do know that the above paragraph is fiction; it will be good to have a little news from Australia to include in my blog, but I think that is a dream.

Just to let you know, Michael’s foot injury is on the mend. I do not know how it happened, but Robert is leaning towards domestic violence. The story goes that Matilda urged him on to do a back flip on a dodgy trampoline, and it did go wrong.

Sadie had caught her first cold and is not a happy bunny. Matilda is thriving; the high life of Sydney brings her so much joy.

Angela and family are well. Matthew has just completed his first year of studies and has done extremely well. He does have to do well, or the alternative is that a conversation with Angela on why he did not achieve outstanding results could be awkward. Reminds me of many conversations I have had with Susan, tricky. Good luck, Matthew. We are all rooting for you. 

An empire of those who have the capability to build is never enough.

I came from nothing. And I never intended to become nothing again.

In all the clouds drifting, I looked down at all the green below.

News closer to home

Robert and Lauren are finishing off their respective years at University and are staying in academia as they move on to the next chapter in their lives. Lauren has accepted a post at a prestigious private school in Nottingham as their new Art teacher, and Robert is doing his fellowship at Bath University. Things have a habit of changing; there is a rumour that the internationally known Colston Bassett School is also in the running for Lauren's special talents. Robert is looking at the commercial world of banking as an alternative. I will keep you updated.

Susan has got on with those little chores I suggested to her. Lawn mowed, bedding washed and sweeping the sand off the floor. Great job, love, you are certainly an eager beaver, but then Susan is renowned for having ants in her pants. I, on the other hand, built two chairs and a table for our patio, really pleased with the outcome.

The other news is we went to EightArch in Wimborne for a pint last night. A small independent brewery making some very interesting ales. Alas, they are a little too fixated on adding a fruity, floral note, not for me. Wine is good with fruity and floral, and a hint of oak, not beer. Lessons learnt for me, I will stick to the classic ales from a pub, Newcastle Brown Ale, comes to mind. One word of advice to those young brewers: stick to hops and barley; it is how you make beer.

I had a beer called a Dainty. They described it as;

A super drinkable pale ale packed full of juicy hops. The combination brings masses of ripe tropical fruit character, fermented with our house yeast, bringing increased amounts of stone fruit esters with a silky mouthfeel and soft bitterness. 

I thought it was more like a fermented fruit drink. 

As it was Burger Night, we decided to head home after collecting Burger Meal Deals from McDonald's. Not that good, my burger was a tad bland, but it served the purpose. Lesson learnt, do not change a good thing just for the sake of change.

Sometimes people ask 'How are you' at the start of a conversation. Well, do they really want to know or is it just a platitude? How am I? Well, my knee is giving me a little bit of problems at the moment. My back is not that great, and I have a heart murmur, which every now and again makes me feel a little bit dizzy; other than that, I think I’ll make it through to Christmas.

Actually, I think I’m getting old. I’m a little bit wary of change and the unexpected, but then on the other hand, I love the experience when I do try something new.

Maybe I should get out more often, anyway, that’s what Susan says. The problem with that is I have to speak to people, which I find normally boring, tiring, and a waste of time.

Give me a good burger night where the whole family is around the table, and everyone catches up on life’s challenges. I am in my element.

Anyway, gotta go, the alarm just went off for dinner. Susan is at Pilates, you know what that is. Hop, skip and jump.