Go on, annoy me!

This is a bit of a rant, so those of you with a sensitive nature should stop reading now. As for the rest, whether you enjoy or vehemently disagree write in and tell me - or forever hold something or other.

As you probably appreciate by now, dear regular reader, I am blessed with an excitable nature, one that is easily upset; where I go, explosions sometimes follow! But don't get the idea that I'm some kind of maniac who gets pleasure out of getting upset for little reason; on the contrary, I like an equitable, easy life and get annoyed when things are wrong. Yes, chums, but according to my way of thinking my opinions and values have been finely honed over the years to a peak of perfection and I will not have them trampled on by any Tom, Dick or Harriet. Indeed anyone who tries will most certainly be on the receiving end of my appreciation, or should I say lack thereof.

Some of you may know me and some of you may think you know me, and that's fine. Quite frankly whether you approve of me or not is none of my business and makes little difference to me. What I find totally unacceptable is when anyone - and I mean absolutely anyone - decides to stake some sort of ownership on my life and how it is run, my opinions, my friendships, my passions, my time. You, whoever you are, do not have permission and, indeed, you never will. You may not do so.

Don't misunderstand me; challengers are welcome, as is criticism. Feel free to challenge me but I demand you do it properly - do your homework, think things through and be prepared to discuss properly what you want to talk about. Do not assume, whoever you may be, that your opinion alone carries any weight as far as I'm concerned if it cannot be backed by intelligent thinking and/or facts - I could not care less about what you keep in your head.

You may call me difficult or anything else you choose under the sun, even testing the depth of your vocabulary, and it still leaves me unmoved. Bring me thought, intelligence, depth and, however you choose to approach your subject, I will be happy to try to engage with you; I am not prepared to waste my time with intellectually lazy people, though, no, no time at all. Life without proper thinking is anathema to me, which is why I despise all those weaselly leftists still wedded to Mao or Stalin, and equally the execrably stupid extreme right wingers who feel Adolf and his boys were just misunderstood and we'd see they were right all along if only we looked carefully.

Read up, you miserable specimens, think and understand before opening your mouths and taking a stance. No, not selectively to support your pathetic points, properly, widely, dare I say objectively, and stop living in a make-believe world of ignorance and stupidity.

Non-thinkers piss me off, period.

Burgundy wine, a supreme choice

People who know me and share my interest in wine know that, if I was forced to choose one red and one white wine as the single best choice in the world - no, don't try and be clever, champagne is not included - on both counts I would nominate wines from Burgundy. Since 1985, when I first visited the Burgundy area on wine business, I have been in love with this amazing, quirky, singular area and its unique, wonderful wines.

I was reminded of this the other day when, thanks to the generosity of YT, whom you know well by now, dear reader, we were privileged to taste a red burgundy from 1999, an ordinary (village) Gevrey Chambertin "Coeur de Roy" by noted producer Bernard Dugat-Py served from a magnum. This supposed ordinary wine was an absolute stunner, coming as it does from a small producer focussed on quality; the vines for this are extremely old, some nearly a century, and the production is tiny, up to about five thousand bottles each vintage. The result is a concentrated, dark, multi-layered wine punching way above the weight of a straight Gevrey Chambertin wine: a rich, complex, red fruit and spice explosion tempered with oak on the nose leading on to a palate full of ripe red fruit, medicinal spice and soft tannins all layered into a seductive, classy drink that was hugely impressive and pleasing. If all these sensations can emanate from a mere village wine - what on earth are their Grand Cru reds like?

May I quickly clarify that the heart of Burgundy, the bit producing the most splendid wines, is the area known as the Cote d'Or running south westwards from Dijon, with Gevrey Chambertin the first major wine village in the first part culminating in Beaune. This area, the Cote de Nuits, contains the most prominent of the red wine producing vineyards, though some decent white is also made. When you reach and pass the charming city of Beaune you are in the Cote de Beaune, primarily white wine country but with some lighter reds of immense delicacy and charm. Outside the Cote d'Or resides the more workmanlike Burgundy vineyard, less grand but still capable of producing taste sensations to astound.

Not all Burgundy wine is astounding, of course, and prices are high. This is an area that rewards perseverance, knowledge and love, an area of earthy people, small vineyards, limited production and limited grand style. Forget Bordeaux with its grand chateaux, aristocratic owners and moneyed lifestyle. There is money in Burgundy for sure, but it is far less obvious, and most owners are more passionate about their wine that the money they can make. But this tiny area of rolling hills, pretty villages and vineyards has a magic that exists nowhere else in the world in my opinion.

And the best wines need to be tasted to be believed, honestly!

Food, glorious food

You may think I'm obsessed with food, as I talk about it so often, and it may not be far from the truth; it is not, however, the whole truth.

I love food, of that there is no doubt. It plays a hugely important part in our lives, giving us essential energy and helping our body to function properly, thereby ensuring and safeguarding our good health.  We need certain essential nutrients to survive and thrive, without which we would wither and develop all sorts of problems; most of these should come from our everyday diet, the foods we eat every day on a regular basis.

Food is also an essential part of social life, whether it's the family gathered around the table to share a meal or friends getting together for a meal; wine can often be the ingredient that completes the picture and helps make tastes, textures and people gel. There is, in my view, no better pastime than sharing food and drink with people you care about, talking, laughing, bonding, whether it's just a couple of people or a group. It can also be excruciating, of course, if it involves mismatched groups of people, family obligations or an excess of alcohol and, I'm certain, we all can remember a few occasions like that.

Food can also be an interest, a hobby, something to play with, tinker with and enjoy the results. Seeking out interesting food can become a consuming (ha-ha, pun intended) endeavour that leads us hither and thither, trying, tasting and learning new things. It needn't be precious or pretentious, though, as simple food can be equally interesting to elaborate stuff if you look properly; then again, complex recipes can yield majestic symphonies of texture and taste, surprising and beguiling. The idea, though, that being a food enthusiast means that all you care about is fancy, expensive, fussy food is patent nonsense - any true enthusiast will tell you so. Every plate of food is, at least for me, a challenge to taste, assess and appreciate, whether eating at someone's home or in a restaurant, from snacks (like sandwiches, kebabs or what have you) to fillet steak.



We are all different, granted, with different tastes and, indeed, different interests and priorities in life, but I feel we miss out greatly if we care not a bit for the food and drink in our lives, when we allow meals to be solely about sustenance and rarely about pleasure. Many of my most treasured moments have been spent around a table with friends, breaking bread and sharing convivial, warm minutes, even hours, talking, drinking, bonding. Food, real, good food, in any form can be glorious and has the power to make us feel so too, raising our spirits and adding real pleasure to our lives.

Let me also make abundantly clear that, while I am a meat eater I abhor inflicting cruelty to animals during their lifetime; battery farming, intensive rearing, boxes, small cages are all horrific things humans have contrived to cruelly exploit animals and we have a duty to ensure they are not allowed to survive or, heaven forbid, continue to thrive. We owe respect to our animals and should treat them well during their life, whether at the farm or in transport. We, as consumers, have immense power to instruct the market forces as to what is acceptable or, indeed, desirable.

And I can tell you for sure that all those who have no interest whatsoever in food (yes, and wine!) or see it through prejudiced little eyes have no place in my life, none at all. They are unwelcome, unwanted and I would be grateful if they kept their distance.

Out of sight, out of mind

The expression 'out of sight, out of mind' was, as I understand it, originally intended to describe human relations, especially affection, and the toll that separation takes on loving relationships; in that it forms the opposing ranks to 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'. Of the two, the first is applied equally to inanimate objects as to living creatures, with 'civilised' humankind taking it to extremes with recyclable materials. In any case, out of sight means out of our sight, not necessarily total disappearance, as my photographs show.

We produce and use for our convenience many objects made of plastic each year. Some of these are deemed recyclable, others not, which in itself is a regrettable situation - why can we not, in the 21st century produce only recyclable plastics? Is it purely a matter of cost? Are a few extra pennies on an object so critical that we are happy to risk destroying our planet for?

Then we have the recycling issue: it seems that despite the availability of technologies to recycle a great deal of the materials used on a daily basis many western nations choose to send their stuff away to be recycled, probably in the full knowledge that there is little of the technology needed available at the destination. Many poorer countries have been accepting materials for - of course - what for them is loadsamoney, then disposing of it in any way possible other than recycling. And we are content because the plastics are no longer our problem - out of sight, out of mind - and, in any case, the other side is happy because we gave them money.

Only this is not a solution to a problem but purely a shift on to somebody else. We may have been content to keep on doing this, but the recipients have woken up and want no more of it. Now we will need to solve our own problem. Isn't it intriguing that the Donald, so keen that no American jobs are exported in other industries, is not clamouring and, indeed, helping to develop US recycling facilities that would make his great nation - and it is a great nation despite the Donald and his vileness - completely independent in that respect.

Meanwhile in Greece most everything to do with recycling seems to be delegated to local government, which is moneyless and, therefore, powerless to do much about it. Facilities are rudimentary, as is most peoples' attitude to it, with recycling bins more often than not used as rubbish bins, further discouraging any citizen wishing to recycle by making the think 'what's the point?' Shameful administration, shameful participants and schemes that barely work means that most recyclable material goes to waste.

Innovation is needed on recycling worldwide, better solutions, better systems for collecting and sorting, more information to help and convince the public to do the right thing. All this needs to happen now, not in due course or in the fullness of time; the problem is choking us. Yesterday I spent a good part of my time, along with others, cleaning an otherwise pristine beach from plastic of all kinds, finding as we did all sorts of plastic bits and pieces in the sea or on the sand - some of which filled the black plastic bag you can see, though there was more, much more... yuk!

Shame on us...

We've been to the moon, are able to send rovers to Mars, tout Artificial Intelligence as a productive future force and look to technology for new solutions to old problems. Yet our planet is drowning in rubbish, plastic or otherwise, and we seem to be unable or unwilling to do anything about this, other than on a small scale individual basis while being derided by the majority. A majority that is happy to destroy our world for the sake of convenience, just that - fuck everything so long as I can have an easy life!

I am sorry that I have seen very little new on recycling, other than that the 'civilised' Western countries until recently were sending most of their goods to be recycled in China and the Far East in general, in a blatant case of 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind'. So long as we choose to bully our citizens to recycle, rather than inform them as to why, educating them and showing the facilities and methods available, taking the majority opinion with us, we have a weak position. When rubbish is shipped halfway across the world just so long as we do not have to think about it, we are all complicit with the destruction and waste it entails.

Where do manufacturers get off bringing products to market in non-recyclable - and in many cases harmful to the environment - materials purely for convenience or cost reasons? Is there a greater cost than the destruction of our world? What is the excuse?

The USA - and don't get me wrong, I have been a fan of America most of my life - is a huge producer of rubbish at a much higher percentage than their population. It is also a technological leader, a world superpower with immense ability to tackle problems intelligently and efficiently. Why isn't President Trump and his colleagues encouraging the development of ever more efficient recycling practices, but allows them to still choose ship ton upon ton halfway around the world at tremendous cost? Is it that rubbish is not a glamorous field to attract the great minds, minds that are able to conceive and create iPhones and their like, amazing computers and other superb products? Or is it that they are engaged in pursuing short-termism, unicorns and easy profit - hell, I'll get what I can now, in the long term we're all dead, anyway - to the exclusion of all else?

We need to do better, folks everywhere and not just in the USA, we need to do better NOW! There are no excuses, whatever strange orange people might say; the truth is that they don't care. If we do nothing, though, we who DO care, our world will be destroyed. What a legacy that will be for our children and our children's children - shame on us!

War - what is it good for?

Despite being rather aged - I am in my 65th year - I have been lucky never to have witnessed war directly, but only through news reports. Some of my American (U.S.) college friends had served in Vietnam and never wanted to talk about it, as it was an experience that had affected them deeply. I also met people who had been involved in trying to defend Cyprus during the Turkish invasion of 1974; they also bore scars. Always with wars, however we label them, there are victims, often very many of them.

Recently we had the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1, perhaps the most bloody of all modern wars, fought in the muddy trenches of Belgium and France. Looking back at it now we can see it for the enormous waste of life, the massive bloodbath that it was and, yes, we can ponder on whether it was truly justified. Shocking as the high number of deaths is, the destruction caused in everything all around is also mind-boggling - at the end of these things a large part of the world is left in ruins, economies in tatters with misery reigning everywhere.

Yet still people regularly advocate going to war and, indeed, there is a war on in Yemen currently, resulting in not only many civilian deaths directly attributed to the hostilities but a severe local famine as well to further decimate the population, irrespective of affiliation. The reason for the hostilities is not entirely clear to me but seems to centre around the disruption of the power structures in the region; the local 'major players' are reacting to something they perceive as wrong/disagreeable or not in their best interests with catastrophic consequences.

It seems that some of us - President Trump seems a prime example,  his dictator 'friends' also - regard going to war, with all that ensues, almost as a show of character/strength/bravery. But is it so?

I dare say there are just wars, such as protecting one's country, home and family from those hell-bent on causing harm. There may even be noble causes, wars to protect, liberate or prevent the slaughter of innocents, but the end result still involves untold pain and suffering, even if it has prevented even more of the same. For there is no glamour in war, no romance, only death and destruction on a scale hard to imagine, so we mustn't fool ourselves thinking carefully before we accept glib arguments and justifications.

And no, I am not advocating weakness, nor am I a particular fan of the Nazarene's 'turn the other cheek' or 'love your enemy' doctrines. Whatever we do, though, we must never allow wholesale slaughter like WW1 again no matter who or what is involved, be it Russians, Americans, Chinese, whoever. We must undeniably progress, we must surely also improve, and this must mean limiting wars - and, therefore, their effect - to rare and absolutely unavoidable events. It should be crystal clear to us by now that little good can ever come from them.

Cowardly orange draft dodgers who advocate violence, thinking that their wealth and privilege will shield them from the consequences should be be ignored or ridiculed and marginalised, not lauded, for they are neither strong nor brave in condemning others to death in order to play their little games. Tanks to celebrate 4th of July indeed!

The Animals and I...

No, don't get upset, I'm not having another go at the SYRIZA 'politicians' currently running Greece, nor am I referring to the wonderful but long extinct pop group that sang about houses and rising suns; my concern, very real, is for proper wild animals, these majestic creatures found all over this Earth of ours.

For centuries we have treated our environment and the animals living within as being there for our convenience and service, inferior species to human beings, really not that important. Our actions have led to great harm to a number of species and, sometimes irreparable, damage to the environment in general. We either did not know or, simply, refused to understand what was in front of our eyes - that animals have feelings, intelligence and an important role to play in this world of ours; some of us still refuse to realise this despite all the evidence now being freely available and largely irrefutable.

The public domaine is full of stories, films and videos showing us animal behaviour in the proper, respectful light, without making then out to be cartoon creatures. To my mind one of the major problems in the way we perceive animals today is the false sense of anthropomorphism gained through watching too many cartoons, where animals are shown to behave exactly like humans and just look different. This does the animals and our perception of their role in this world a huge disservice.

Nature is enchanting, magical and full of beauty, but it is also harsh, cruel and violent; wild animals do not behave according to some code of sportsmanship and kindness, though they can at times exhibit both. Their main preoccupation is with the survival of their species, often solely their immediate 'family', and to this end they do their utmost, including killing other animals as and when needed. They don't hunt purely for sport - humans do - and they don't destroy another animal for pleasure, responding as best they can to the demands of their environment. Death is part of the natural cycle, cuddly animals do get killed and eaten, which is not pleasant to watch but is an essential part of that cycle.

Yet the same fierce predators that do not hesitate to pursue and rip another animal to shreds in order to feed themselves, ensuring the survival of themselves and their 'families', also exhibit tremendous tenderness and affection towards all they consider their own, including humans. The incredible Kevin Richardson (a.k.a. The Lion Whisperer) in South Africa is accepted and loved as an equal by pretty well all the wild animals in his sanctuary, but his approach is rare, unique even - he treats each animal as an individual, giving them respect and approaching them with sensitivity over and above the affection. Perhaps what he does is not perfect, but it comes as close as possible in this imperfect world of ours and offers a hope of preserving - properly preserving - amazing species that, in turn, will help preserve a world worth living in.

I urge you all to watch animal documentaries on YouTube - I have no channel and no financial interest in any other - to see animals rescued from conditions of unimaginable cruelty, to look into their eyes and see the confusion and pain. I urge you to look at nature documentaries, seeing these animals in their natural habitat, happy and expressive - hear the might of a lion's roar, for example - and alive with what makes our planet tick. I urge you all to condemn the mistreatment of all animals, but especially wild ones, understanding that we share this world with other creatures without needing to abuse them. You do not need to fall in love with these animals (lions, elephants, even hyenas), as I have, but you should try to understand them and learn to appreciate them and what their continued existence means for all our futures.

And if you can and want to, please support all those who devote - truly devote - their lives to these majestic creatures and their survival, enriching us all immeasurably.

As for the other beasts, the politicians, alas there is little hope of them becoming extinct anytime soon; also, we are already paying for them and their actions.