Vacation Plans -- United Kingdom

Piffka

Yes we have made wine
No we do not drink it !

We only have the one vine at the back of our house, which can get pretty hot in summer, especially this summer as Walter will tell you.

I don't know what variety it is apart from red, and it usually gives quite a good harvest.

I think I'm right in saying we got as much as 15kg grapes one year. I have tried several times to make some wine. It certainly looks like wine, and if you don't get too close you might think it smelled like wine, but tasting it was a different experience. (Probably my taste buds have been over sensitised by Chateau neuf du Pape...etc) Well any way it all went down the drain, and acted as a wonderful drain cleaner btw.

One year I even gave all the grapes to a lady who claimed to make delicious wine out of berries vegetables old socks, you name it. But the bottle she gave me to sample was no better than my efforts, so we 'drained it' again if you see what I mean. Shame really they do look very attractive this time of year. In fact this year with such a hot summer, its supposed to be a premier cru vintage, well at least the birds can enjoy them.

Good for Mrs. Steve! I wonder how she does it? Our vines are wild after years of being forgotten. We're trying to decide if we should pull them or try to rehabilitate them or just leave them as they are. They are beautiful & bearing surprisingly well. That is an interesting website, btw, and intriguing that this is a century wine. I think many places will have an excellent wine this year. I hope so!

Oh, Steve, our posts passed each other. I'm sorry that your enological tries have not been so successful... except for the cleaning of drains, which in itself is a worthy thing. Wine of berries and old socks?? Reminds me of when we were very young and crewing that boat from Lymington to Paris. We'd bought (for very little money) a bottle of wine so that as we entered Paris we could have a toast. Well, it poured out orange-colored. Orange like Irn Bru and tasted worse. The Seine was a little more polluted that day.

15kg of grapes seems a massive amount. Ours had already been well-picked over by birds, but in a couple of minutes we picked 8 pounds or more and looked longingly at large bunches just out of reach. I'm afraid they'll be past peak when we go back this weekend. My plan was and still is to clip some vines for wreaths.

It may rain a lot in Lerwick, no doubt it does, but we're not going there.

However if you look at the BBC website and then ask for the five-day forcasts for St Andrews, Inverness and especially Portree, Skye, you will see five days sunny weather forecast.

Not that that means it won't rain there, we're not getting too carried away. Steve, before you pour your wine/ drain-clearing fluid away, you can steep your loose change in it overnight, and the copper comes up like new. A little domestic tip.

Sailing from Lymington, well that's great, you and Bill Tilman. We have done it too, but only in a 14 ft dinghy. The man we're staying with at Findhorn (yes, I've read about the big cabbages and the Findhorn Community) takes people out fishing....it'll be cold, though. might give it a miss, and just stroll along the beach.

Life's a beach, and then you fry-up. In autumn.

Bye all, for now.

McTag

About 1/2 of the famous vineyard "41oo" - used for "Château Count d'Harlow 1e Cru" - is to be seen here (Mrs. Walter certainly feels sorrow to have spoiled the pic :wink: ):

This certainly would be best:

... although my friends, who'd sent this card, noted on the back: looks the same in April/May!

Well - here's a suggestion. Why don't you eat the grapes - instead of putting them through that processing to throw out!?

But Margo, what about the drains??? (Janet was asking about you and sends her greetings.)

Walter -- that was a nice photo <currently missing> but you should be nicer about Mrs. Walter! Thanks for posting it.

Steve -- Your place looks great. So Ros is the gardener, huh? She does good work! Please send her my regards.

Walter, are you doing a rain-dance over there? It won't work, you know.



I'm off to the slopes of Glen Fiddich.

Have a nice and pleasant time, McTag! (And beautifull weather as well!!!)

Margo

Why don't we eat the grapes?

We have a very special variety of vine Margo. After many years of viniculture we have produced a special grape both inedible and undrinkable by man (or woman). We call it 'performance grape' its a decorative variety - that is the birds use them to make interesting art forms on our windows with purple bird ****.

<snort>

I've just filled the windscreen wash bottle, and cleared some unartistic bird-poop from off the bonnet.

Weather sunny here, forecast bright, wintry weather. Which is perfect for motoring and sightseeing.

Fiona has got us on the guest list of a nightclub in Newcastle tonight! Yes, really. A work contact. And I wanted to stay in the hotel and watch the sport on Sky. Women!

Bye-bye.

The McTags are obviously having a great time (or had had ...):



Seems, Queen Lizzy has got a new Royal Yacht by now, more matching the economic situation

I listened to a phone-in this morning about the Royals and the relevations from their former Butler.

I was quite taken aback by the strength of feeling against the monarchy.

Even the normally "Gawd bless 'em all" types appeared to have done an about turn and are calling for them to go.
(Perhaps out to sea in that leaky boat)

There is a real change of opinion in this
country against the monarchy, and it puts a
spring in the step of all republicans. I'll give them 5 years or untol the death of Queen Elizabeth, then bye bye and good riddance.

Steve, That will be an interesting event, not only for England, but for Canada and Australia. I wonder how they're going to react to the death of Queen Elizabeth?

CI - probably with the same apathy that most Brits will. There will be a big deal in the media, but the general public will not be too bothered. The carry-on after Diana died hopefully won't be repeated.

Steve, is this the butler who released the letter Diana wrote? Or is their more?

What's the dirt?

(Why isn't McTag telling us about his trip?)

Aussies = much the same as Steve, I hope - bring on the republic. We have queens enough already in Sydney!
Just imagine having that drip, Charlie (and a right one!) as your head of state. He makes Oz PM, John Howard, look good!

What a change that would be... would Philip still be the Duke of Edinburgh or would you sack the lot of them and do away with the House of Lords? I've always been able to excuse the British monarchy by saying that they can sometimes act as the conscience of the country, for example, in saying that some public thing should be saved. The National Trusts, the UK's Big Tree Association and such would never make it in the USA... you need wealth & power not beholden to big business to take a stand.