Down by the riverside...

It is becoming a, sort of, annual pilgrimage, this foray down to the banks of the Thames at Chiswick for a beer (other drinks also acceptable, unless they do not contain alcohol) or three with my friends A and M, with this year's being the 2nd annual! And what a load of fun it is too, especially in the sort of weather we have been having recently; out come the shorts, t-shirts, sunglasses and off we go to various enchanting hostelries by or near the river to catch up on news, dissect life and generally enjoy ourselves.

You, innocent creature, may think all this to be easy, even a game, but let me assure you it is hard work, requiring dedication and stamina over and above the call of duty! Luckily all three participants have had lots of practice in the art of drinking over the years (no, do not call us piss artists...), appreciate quality and know about limits - when you reach them, even exceed them, and when it's time to stop, at least temporarily! A hot summer's afternoon makes refreshment essential, but pace and rhythm are also important; we are finely trained athletes, machine-like in our approach and execution!

None of this would be half as much fun, of course, without access to a sensationally beautiful part of London, down by the river Thames in Chiswick. The setting here is serene, almost rural and quite unlike the Thames that you know and love in central London. There's hardly any street noise but little river traffic either, gently swishing along; the ducks seem to make more noise than most other than the few humans wandering about or, like us, relaxing in a riverside hostelry. Unlike us many choose to sit in the sun to either acquire a tan or top up an existing one, but we find that the drinks get warm at an alarming rate and we suffer correspondingly, so we give it a miss and, if need be, head indoors.

Be that as it may we had a  cracking time, despite our late start due to rail tracks distorting in the heat (yes, really, at 30 degrees Celsius...) and other such idiotic happenings and me getting my timing wrong... Starting with an ice-cold pint of dry cider as a cool-down sort of warm-up, I continued on real ale for the rest of the afternoon; my buddies stayed on cider for the remainder. So obviously this post should not have 'wine' as a label, strictly speaking, but the term is used loosely to describe alcoholic beverage, at least for today. The main object of my affection was London Pride bitter, made just downriver in Chiswick by Fullers, at its best a great pint, rich and complex with a hint of acidity and bitterness, discreetly hoppy and lightly aromatic. And, before the ignorant among you wonder how I could drink warm beer on a hot day, check your facts - real ale should be served at cellar temperature if served correctly, and that is cool, not cold. These beers are complex and full of taste, something obliterated when they are chilled making them bland and over-bitter; too warm or too cold are both wrong for the good stuff, much like good wine - ah, I just reclaimed the label... I think! Anyway, as two of the three pubs we visited that afternoon were Fullers pubs I was mainly able to stick to Pride, with a couple of interesting interlopers just to keep me on my toes.

Good company, good drink, gorgeous surrounding - I'm already looking forward to next year's pilgrimage, though the chaps and I will probably meet up for a session or two before then at different venues to fine tune our philosophies of life etc. etc., so keep reading and learning.

Greece - Simplify or Die!

Much has been made recently about the fact that the Greek government has signed some agreement or other with its overlords (strictly speaking its creditors...) in the European Union to supposedly become independent once again, standing on its own two feet and being able to raise money on the international markets with a level of credibility. You and the European Union would be forgiven for feeling that this signifies the end of nearly 10 years of struggling for the Greek economy, with normality and growth soon to reappear on the scene, and the long-suffering Greek people sighing with relief.

If so, both you and they would be wrong. The real Greek economy is still in tatters with little activity in any meaningful way other than tourism and the long-talked about growth nowhere in sight. Very little investment is taking place despite 'Greece being open for business' because the system there is fundamentally business unfriendly, hugely complex, expensive and frustrating to operate in. Antiquated procedures, hostile attitudes from government and a workforce that views itself as a partner in a business during good times, wanting a percentage of the profits, and a victim needing protection during the bad times.

But the biggest single problem is the inherent complexity of the system, as illustrated by the retail receipt shown in the photograph. Look at the complexity of what is a retail receipt for a single bottle of mineral water at Athens Airport and marvel at the wealth of information on there, the need to include all that on a simple till receipt which, incidentally, is not valid for reclaiming VAT despite being a legal receipt containing all possible information - for that you would need an invoice that would include your company details as well, even for a bottle of water worth .75 Euros! Hardly anything on there, incidentally, is advertising.

And this, alas, is indicative of the way most everything is handled in Greece. Instead of promoting a simple, functional system that penalises dishonesty and cheating, Greece has created a system which assumes everyone is cheating and places obstacles in their way to stop them from doing so. Every business in the country is assumed to be dishonest and made to jump through an ever more complicated series of hoops in order to establish innocence and avoid punishment; this will often take the form of fines, but may also be unofficial, i.e. 'under the table', in other words bribes. This adds to the complexity, with a wide-spread underlying system of corruption in place, allowing dishonest companies and individuals to pay their way out of trouble but leaving the honest ones in limbo. Whilst Near and Middle Eastern neighbours might not feel unduly uncomfortable operating in such a system as it may resemble their own modus operandi, western companies are taken aback and find it difficult or impossible to operate in that way. In any case it would be illegal for most western companies to function thus, leading to further complications.

This is not a post about ethics, though, but about practicalities: Greece needs investment in productive segments of its economy in order to rebuild the damage of the past decade and more. The Greek economy needs rejuvenation which can hardly come from within, as most honest companies and individuals have been taxed almost dry by successive unfair, if possibly necessary, taxes to keep the Greek state afloat. Under present conditions, though, who would want to bring good money and effort into Greece? For what? The West, having been fooled before, is not rushing in; unfortunately neither is anyone else in a meaningful way, with the possible exception of the Chinese investment in the port of Piraeus. And, please understand, there are some good, sound companies in Greece that manage to survive and thrive despite the prevailing business climate. This is not a sign that all the others are incompetent or bad, exceptions always exist; the task (the challenge, if you like) of any proper government should be to make successful, well-functioning (and, therefore, tax-paying) companies the rule. Only then will the economy be productive without needing external support, overly high taxation, alchemy - all distortions and, ultimately, destructive.

Greece needs a bold, decisive government to simplify the system and help rebuild business confidence to stimulate growth, but I somehow doubt that I will live long enough to see that. While the present mob (yes, I mean the Greek government of the day) are not only incompetent but dogmatically aligned to State interference and complexity, the alternatives - such as they are - appear feeble and, in any case, will have to face opposition, even unrest, by the leftist trade unions should they ever come to power. So will Greece choose a dishonourable death rather than productive life embracing a move forward, with simplification and positivity at its core?

To the devil with stupidity, ignorance and petty politics, this is a struggle for survival which must be won, so wake up, now!

Stop Press: a piece of wisdom from Sir Winston Churchill taken from an article on the BBC website by their economics editor Kamal Ahmed that precisely describes the value of private enterprise, quote 'Some regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot, others look on it as a cow to be milked, only few see it for what it really is, the strong and willing horse that pulls the whole cart along.'

Brockwell Park is in my heart!

In the last few weeks I have been fortunate to be living practically across the road from Brockwell Park in South London, one of many beautiful parks, largely unknown to outsiders, which adorn London neighbourhoods. In the many years I have known the area I had foolishly never bothered to visit it, thinking it was just another green space; I was wrong.

Brockwell Park is a truly superb space available to all from 07:30 and until 15 minutes before sunset (there is a schedule, updated and posted regularly by the gates), more obviously appreciated in the summer months with the sun shining but, in fact, widely used all year round. To my mind it is a perfect park, large but not enormous, beautiful but not ornate, simply laid out, spacious  and accommodating to almost all. Within one finds ancient and young trees, shrubbery, lakes, a playground and even a miniature railway, all linked by a discreet network of pathways enabling the visitor to either hasten from A to B or meander about. Many runners - my corpulent self among them - often use the path that encircles the park close to its outer perimeter in order to increase the distance achieved.

But the cherry on the cake is Brockwell Lido, an open air swimming pool complex (featuring an olympic-size swimming pool) built in Art Deco style in 1937, since modernised and open to all throughout the year (caution: it is unheated!), and much appreciated; alas I have yet to use it, so you will have to wait a bit for a first hand account, though I'm told it's delightful. The local council, owners of Brockwell Park, tried to do away with the Lido on the grounds of cost in 1990 (to my mind there may have also been a 'class' element to this, as swimming facilities may have been regarded as 'for the privileged or bourgeois') but ended up bowing to local pressure and reopened it a few years later, having updated the buildings and including enhanced fitness facilities. It appears to operate successfully to the delight of locals and visitors alike.

Brockwell Hall sits in the grounds at the highest point, master of all it surveys, and houses a cafe providing a useful service for visitors to the park, if a bit of a comedown for the building. Having said that and despite its Grade 2* listing the building is, to my eyes, relatively ordinary and undistinguished on the outside, built on a modest scale in a superb setting in the early 19th century as - and this is hard to credit today surveying its urban surroundings - a country retreat for a wealthy glass merchant! The house and its land were purchased in 1891 by the LCC (London County Council, defunct since the 1960s) and therefore saved, with more acreage added later to produce the current park. Of course many other country houses, often much more important, suffered far worse fates, including demolition, when they ceased to be relevant and became unable to survive after WW2, so we should be grateful for any that remain, however downgraded, and at least a cafe is an important local amenity. The attraction for me here is not found in the house, in any case,  but is in the almost perfect setting replete with ancient trees and green open spaces - in Brockwell Park England truly is a green and pleasant land, even if up the road lie the drab expanses of inner city grey buildings, together with assorted towers of council estates!

This is not a park on the grand scale of the Royal Parks in central London, nothing like as formal or fussy and far more relaxed. It whisks the visitor away to the countryside almost immediately one steps within despite the teeming traffic just outside parts of it and seduces not with its scale or grandeur, though it is neither small nor demure, but with its natural feel and elegance. It has become my favourite London park, displacing my beloved Regents Park on the northern side of which I lived for nearly twenty years.

Herne Hill railway station is two minutes walk from the entrance to the park and normally has a regular service so it is quite easy if you would like to visit it from other parts of London (but do check train schedules because they do alter, especially at weekends) and buses swarm all around from different parts of town, thus eliminating the last of your excuses. On a Sunday there's even a market in Herne Hill (by the station) with tasty food, amazing bread, organic and direct-from-farmer groceries and various trinkets, so things for all (most?) tastes, making the area even more attractive but busier. And there are plenty of local restaurants and welcoming hostelries awaiting you after your meanderings in the park to feed and water (ha-ha!) you in the best possible way, catering to all budgets.

Brockwell Park is a real treat for the senses and can be almost anything you want it to be for everyone, young or old. Visit and find out first hand, amigos, and please let me know how you get on. Those of you who can't be bothered to go have only yourselves to blame, so don't be jealous just because I happen to live but a stone's throw away; like the rolling stone that I have become over the last three or so years, I may soon be moving on again, or not. Whatever happens, part of my heart will always be meandering around the ancient trees of this amazing park.

Dawn of the new Tyrants

We are in the first quarter of the 21st century and humankind is meant to be moving forward in every respect, improving, becoming better. Yet all over the so-called civilised world we are witnessing the rise of political activity that smacks of things we thought long extinct, such as fascism or communism, but that in any case are variations on the theme of dictatorship of one sort or another. And while good, old-fashioned, unashamed dictators have always appeared  every so often, what we are seeing now is their appearance through the back door, the perverting of democratic systems by ambitious individuals seeking to appeal to the masses with distortions, lies and displays of 'power' and 'decisiveness', and doing this not during a period of crisis but in times of, by and large, peace and prosperity.

It may be hard to believe that electorates can be so naive or, indeed, downright stupid in order to support these thoroughly unpleasant individuals but in fact this is what is happening. We - the general public - are almost guaranteed to be stupid (or, at the very least, to act in a stupid way), easily influenced by nice-sounding slogans, attractive personalities and earnestly dishonest politicians. We like the 'solutions' these creatures offer so long as they sound plausible and especially if they don't expect us to have to do anything ourselves; their marketing advisors are well aware and create their 'product' accordingly.

Snake oil salesmen in the old wild west of the U.S. of America were not dissimilar to this kind of politician - smooth-talking charlatans who could convince any gullible member of their audience (us?) about anything they wanted to sell. If I'm not mistaken, a member of a famous business dynasty once said: ' I never lost money by underestimating my customers'. Yet millions of people are now, thanks to the global nature of things, the internet etc. under the spell of these 'leaders' who, like many before them, are waiting to pounce on the family silver and to abuse the power their exalted position will bestow on them. The difference now is that they are not appearing only in tin-pot countries but are becoming mainstream.

Before you start arguing the toss with me about them being human like all of us, fallible etc. and trying to defend the indefensible, look at these creatures carefully, critical faculties alert; do you really want them as your 'leaders' or, even, simply on your side? I most certainly do not, as I can clearly see that they are jackals and hyenas, opportunist little so-and-sos with hardly a shred of ideology and belief, other than in their own well-being and status, not a lion amongst them. Yet we vote for them in our thousands, accept them, even worship them. At least the North Koreans have the excuse of not having been given much of a chance to choose.

We have no such excuse - shame on us! We need to change our outlook and attitude, reverse current trends and promote human beings (yes, men or women, sit down Hillary, I don't mean you) of quality and integrity; they do exist, and we need to act now and find them before it's too late. The future should NOT be orange.

I drink wine, therefore I am

After many quiet months my pals A. and D reappeared yesterday and invited me out to play - to have a simple, inexpensive dinner adorned by a couple of decent bottles from their respective cellars. How could I say no when special bottles of wine are hard to come by in my present impecunious state? My own, once fairly extensive cellar, is now literally non-existent, containing maybe one or two bottles of any note. My standard tipple these days is quaffing wine, decent but inexpensive off-the-shelf jobs that would not excite anyone, let alone a wine person.

The venue was a new to me Persian restaurant in Bayswater called Hafez, which allows guests to bring their own wine in exchange for a not overly steep corkage charge, the drawback being that the wine glasses provided are merely adequate and not made to show off great wines. Food here is simple, wholesome and tasty but definitely not exciting, at least the dishes we sampled; satisfying and delicious they most certainly were, and provided a backdrop for the wines of the night which were, quite simply, spectacular - not even the glasses could dim the impressions they made.

We started with a Greek red wine from the north of the country, a Syrah 1994 from the somewhat utopian Domaine Carras in the Halkidiki peninsula, created on a grand scale by the Greek shipowner John Carras; the 1994 vintage is probably from the tail-end of the golden era of the property. Our example had a deep, lively, ripe red berry nose exactly in tune with its colour, which showed little sign of the wine's 24 years. The Carras Syrah has always been highly rated and, therefore, relatively expensive but on the strength of this bottle this cost was fully justified. The palate held an explosion of ripe red fruit with decent acidity, good balance and a long finish, surprising us with its youthful charm, vigour and sheer class. If you are offered one of these gems anywhere try it, though buying should depend on knowing how it has been kept as this would affect the condition.

Our second wine, from Castello di Brolio in the Chianti Classico region and the rather splendid 1999 vintage was also showing amazingly well -  Chianti is one of those wines that will often disappoint, especially at the lower price points and the more commercial versions. It is almost impossible to get a notable (not great, mind you) bottle for under £15-20 pounds and Castello di Brolio current vintages sell for more like £40 (£39.99 for the 2014 at Waitrose). Saving the pennies, though, to move up the scale is immensely rewarding with the wines being far more complex and interesting, and miles away from the clumsy hard tannins and one dimensional fruit of more ordinary Chianti. This example, bought a long time ago, primarily from the Sangiovese grape but with small additions of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, was no exception, showing a good ripe colour and little sign of age, ripe cherries and prunes on the nose and palate, the latter being soft, complex and long, making for a very satisfying glass of wine. I have had better Chianti, but only very rarely!

So there you go, I had a lovely evening chatting to my friends and drinking their superb wines, while at the same time stuffing my little face with a plate or two of Persian food and surviving to tell the tale. And I'll have you know, dear reader, I did it entirely for you, for your benefit, while allowing myself to enjoy it a tiny, tiny bit; I hope you appreciate my dedication and self-sacrifice.

Greece - Paradise Forsaken?

It is difficult to find words that will accurately portray the 'Greek situation', the state of the country that is modern Greece as it currently stands. Much has been written or said by others on the subject, some well-meaning, some malicious, some accurate, some irrelevant or even false. What is indisputable is that the country is in economic limbo, with state finances in disarray, an embattled private sector and a population largely on its knees - seeing people in Athens searching through rubbish bins for food is indicative of the scale of this modern tragedy, as this is something that had not happened there since the German occupation during WW2.

For any Greek, wherever in the world we live (and I am London-based), this is a distressing and dispiriting situation, even more so since, after nearly ten years of 'recession' (surely meltdown is more accurate), there is little sign of real improvement despite politicians mouthing off hither and thither.

Yet should you visit Greece, especially the islands during the April to October period, you will be hard-pressed to understand that there is a problem at all - not only will you be confronted by scenery of sometimes astounding beauty, with beaches and sea of a clarity and colour rarely encountered, but you will also see people going about their busy professional life. Do not be fooled, as tourism is the one thriving industry the country possesses DESPITE successive governmental efforts to mess things up, and you are viewing places during the tourist season, so that they are naturally busy. Even Athens covers up some of its scars well, but hardship there is more widespread and runs deeper; having said that, there has probably been no better time to visit this ancient city, one that has given so much to world civilisation.

So why have we Greeks made such a mess of our finances despite the assistance of the European Union with countless grants over the years? How have the people who created a culture that has influenced most facets of Western Civilisation managed to mislay their share of the thinking process thus derived? And how can the descendants of the creators (yeah yeah, I know we may not be untainted direct descendants, but this does not necessarily alter the argument as we are the heirs to all that preceded us) of mighty concepts like Democracy, Philosophy and History act as if they are unacquainted with their meaning and care only about the here and now, the having a good time today above all else. The most sobering aspect of the Greek crisis is the way most Greeks have reacted: instead of accepting the situation, making some sacrifices and a big effort to make things better for the country as a whole, we have largely fought tooth and nail to maintain often undeserved privileges and to keep earning as much as possible at the expense of others (if at all feasible)! So in the middle of all the suffering, with people begging or searching through the bins for food a new Bentley showroom opens in Athens!

The funny thing is that there has never been a better time to visit Greece as a tourist, or even to buy property there as a long-term investment project; even Athens, despite all the ugliness inflicted upon it in the post WW2 years, maintains some gorgeous buildings offering neoclassical symmetry, beauty to spare and reminding us of the past that we have thrown away for the sake of quick profit. Ah, greed, the universal, powerful sentiment governing human beings...

The photographs I have been able to include show but a little of the beauty available and major on the Cyclades and the Athens area, so are not fully representative; Greece is, after all, predominantly a mountainous country and large parts are currently verdant, only slowly succumbing to the intense heat of the oncoming summer. The simple purpose - my purpose, to be precise - was to show a bit of the beauty that can easily be enjoyed there by better-off residents and visitors alike - this is a version of paradise that was until recently accessible to all Greeks and anybody able to

endure their passionate embrace of life and love, combined with the intense heat of the summer months.

What Greece is not is a Paradise for cheap, destructive tourism, nor should (or could) it ever be so, as it is small and fragmented. There is a complicated transport network in place to service the needs of the multitude of islands, but also many remote mountainous communities, and this can never be cheap. Greece is also not all things to all people - the weather is too harsh for that, especially in the summer - but holds a rather more eclectic appeal, especially to those of us who seek to understand the present and help shape the future by looking at, studying and trying to understand the past; there it is a treasure-trove that, for some, becomes a love affair for life - many superb writers have published books of their personal journeys. And it is not a Paradise in any way, shape or form for anyone trying to earn an honest living complying to the complicated, ever-changing web of legislation imposed by the Greek state in order to make up for its own shortcomings.

But this is another subject, soon to be tackled on this blog. And a post about Greek wine (much improved at all levels) will also appear before you soon, so keep reading; you are also welcome to comment on my scribblings, in admiration or otherwise...

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Cornwall is available to be savoured

Strictly speaking this was my second visit to Cornwall, the first one being about just under twenty years ago and therefore lost in the mists of time; to all intents and purposes it felt like the first time and I was enraptured.

First things first, though, as my initial impression after miles through the lush Devon countryside was peculiar - I was looking at Bodmin Moor and thinking that Cornwall was going to be the polar opposite, a far more stark, harsh environment. I was wrong, of course, as it actually contains both stark, desolate stretches and extremely verdant parts, rich in greenery of all sorts. What I have seen of the countryside is a mixture that is pleasing to the eye and invites the visitor to seek out more.

As we were travelling around quite a bit on a boat - come on, reader, get with it, it's only the previous post...! - I saw marinas, river estuaries and coastal areas within a few miles of the Falmouth area and experienced extreme (to my Mediterranean eyes, anyway) manifestations of natural phenomena like tides - how funny to see an area devoid of water, with boats sitting in the mud, where only a couple of hours previously they were bobbing up and down in the water! And what a new experience, not altogether pleasant I hasten to add, of said tide going in one direction and the wind blowing from another, forcing boats to roll like bucking broncos.

Another novel experience was having to time our forays in the dinghy from our mooring to wherever according to the tides in order to avoid getting stranded for a few hours. At least on one occasion we just about made it before the mud came up to meet the bottom of our dinghy, cutting slightly short the relaxed meal at the Yacht Club; not exactly a major hardship, dear reader, but it can be somewhat inconvenient...

We also did a lot of walking, up and down hills and around bays, but also in urban areas; some of the scenery was more enticing than others. Usually at the end of a long trek there'd be some eating establishment or other, serving wholesome grub, but on occasion we even had to do with Pizza Express, which every time these days manages to disappoint in a different way, so different from when it was a small chain in London and always reliable.

One of the most beautiful things we saw was the garden at Glendurgan, created nearly 200 years ago by local man Albert Fox. A valley garden requiring lots of dedication and eccentricity to conceive and bring to life, it contains an amazing variety of trees and plants from around the world creating an amazing setting. The Fox family still live at the adjoining Glendurgan House (elegant if rather simple and not especially large) which is private and not available to visit, though the garden is now in the caring  hands of the National Trust and capably run for all to enjoy for a small fee. All I can say is if you are in the Helford River area you would be fools not to visit Glendurgan Garden, even if nature is not necessarily your thing; it is beautiful and intriguing in equal measure, full of charm. I loved it and can guarantee that you will too. Those of you with sharp eyesight will also recognise C & B from previous appearances on this blog, as we have had several outings, sometimes in the mud, sometimes on a beach. They always lead me to interesting places, often ones that I would never have chosen to visit myself and always ones that I really enjoy visiting.

We spent our Saturday evening in St. Mawes, which is a charming little town and as you already know across the bay - it's a big bay - from Falmouth. At the end of town is a small castle, romantic-looking today but once very much a part of the region's defences against sea-borne intruders. The town itself is very picturesque if ultra-smart, with lots of personalised number plates on assorted Bentleys and Range Rovers. What I saw of it was well looked after, some of it impressive, and looked prosperous, something not necessarily universal across Cornwall. But then when you look at London a neighbourhood like Chelsea is not exactly the same as, say, Peckham; money does talk and makes itself obvious in the condition of the buildings. The big surprise for me was the sea, which looked enticing, so much so that I ended up swimming for a few minutes on Sunday. The second surprise was how cold it was - it looked fine from the boat! Still, I can see myself going back to St. Mawes but not during a Bank Holiday weekend to give the local hostelries a chance to delight rather than disappoint me, as I'm sure they can.

Falmouth has loads of little - and big - places which were mostly heaving on the Sunday evening; tired and unwilling to experiment we ended up in the aforementioned pizza establishment as the intended destination, next door to the pizza place, was closed 'due to unforeseen circumstances' and the other local choice was not able to seat us for another half an hour or so.

And the funniest thing was that I didn't get to try an authentic Cornish pastie until we were in Bridport in Dorset on Monday, on the way long way back. Probably a great place to visit normally, it was so unpleasantly full on the Bank Holiday that we didn't even bother with the intended walk but just munched our pasties - not a gourmet experience, by the way, it's a stomach-filler - and ran back to the car. It was a long way back but we were happy, and Cornwall had gained another admirer to add to a vast collection. My late mother was one and she only knew Cornwall from books and photographs, but never got to visit, so I dedicate this post to her memory.