What are you doing right now?

[Minty]

Getting ratarsed on a six year old Australian Shiraz in a dignified manner (there you are Ollie, another mention of Australia).

With a name like Shiraz, you would think it would be an Iranian or an Israeli wine. Do Iran & Israel make wines? I know Jesus had to go make his own because the off-licence was shut on a Sunday in those days, but suppose 2000 years later if they're making wine in Norfolk they should be making wine with their climate.

In the interest of international relations, suppose I ought to get a bottle of each and try them before reporting back to you all what they are like. Aren't I so thoughtful?

Betcha don't know who made the first commercially available home brew wine kit (you'll be amazed when I tell you!)

[Caspin]

Go on, tell us...

I am searching the house for food. I guess someone didn't bother shopping on the way home last night. I guess that someone was me. Silly me.

[Minty]

The story is it was a guy called Brian Duffy who owned a wines and spirits shop in Bath, specialising in ordering in particular wines for the connoisseur.

After many a long conversation with wine buffs in his shop, during which the topic of the home brew wine makers hobby came up many times (it was only legal in the UK from 1963 when Chancellor Reginald Maudling made it no longer prohibited), he put together a little kit with all the bits & pieces people would need & a set of typed and lithographed instructions with his own illustrations to be sold from his shop.

It was an instant success & a representative from Boots The Chemists came along & asked him to sell them the rights to reproduce the kit to sell in their bigger shops. This he did, making him a lot of money.

You will probably know Brian Duffy better under his alias.




Jet Black, the drummer & founder of the band The Stranglers!

He's apparantly invented all sort of other odd bits & pieces in his time, although this could be one of those "Bob Holtness played the saxaphone solo in "Baker Street" and the guitar solo in "Layla" stories"

OK, had dinner an hour ago & now I am hungry again. No, it wasn't Chinese!

[Caspin]

Wow you eat early!

I'm watching 'Super Saturday' Olympics. All those nice gold shiny GB medals

[bobert26]

I'm pretty sure there's a city called Shiraz in Iran.

[Caspin]

Trying to resist eating the pastries while I'm the only one up and about. Must. Resist.

[Minty]

[Caspin]

Good thing I ate my nice pastries some hours ago. Now I am attempting to make dinner while actually watching TV. Expect a few burnt patches!

[bobert26]

Just watched Curiosity land on Mars.

[Minty]

Just hope it didn't kill the cat when it landed, or NASA will have Crazycatldy to answer to.