China - to trust or not to trust?

We are strange creatures indeed, we westerners, suddenly faced with a world health crisis probably originating in China. Until yesterday China was a good place, providing us with all sorts of useful products, many developed and designed by us, at prices we could only dream of if we were to produce them ourselves. So what if the people producing our shit - I use the word loosely - were only allowed to sleep for only a few hours a day and were obliged to live a slave-like existence; we were happy to benefit, closed our eyes and ears and allowed life to continue to our benefit.

Then coronavirus appeared, the one leading to Covid-19 and, possibly, a painful death for anyone contracting it. China seems to be where it first appeared - Wuhan specifically - and from there it spread like fire all over the globe, infecting people left, right and centre. Much speculation on the origins has occurred all over, with conspiracy theories blaming China, the US or whomever, but China has always figured as the main culprit, unwittingly or not - was it a result of little Chinamen happily munching an infected bat or two over a cup of rice wine or an escapee from a secretive virus-creating laboratory residing in Wuhan?

Yes, the official China reacted badly initially, underestimating the potential problem and trying to hide things under a veil of silence; totalitarian regimes work like that to protect their interests, unsurprisingly. Yes, it has been proven to have been a misguided, wrong move that had disastrous consequences, but then turned around and worked wonders by instituting draconian restrictive measures and generally tackling the virus head-on, with so far seemingly remarkable results.

Now we in the West have started attacking China as dishonest and dishonourable, claiming not only that they hid things at the outset but that they are lying through their teeth now, providing false numbers relevant to Covid-19 etc. Furthermore, we are accusing China of using the provision of their assistance in this general time of need for empire building and as a benefit to their long-term plans.

There is a wonderful book by Peter Frankopan, The New Silk Roads, that analyses and tackles these issues both in detail and in context, so they should come as no surprise for they are not new, but have been going on for some time now. Why are we acting surprised? Do we find it convenient? It is both stupid and untimely to analyse China's role in this matter and in this way, especially given the lack of proof. Given the fact that we are still grappling with this disease without a hint of and end or a cure, nor indeed specific analyses of the precise origins of this disaster, is in not best to wait until all is known before apportioning blame?

Now is not the time for recriminations, especially given the interdependence within most of the world. Much of the Western world now wagging fingers in China's face are also largely dependent on China's productive capabilities, is that not a recipe for disaster? What about fairness, which the Western world used selectively in years gone by to abuse not only China but large parts of the rest of the globe. China may well be (or not) to blame for everything to do with this, but prove it we must before engaging in righteous polemics and attacking hither and thither. Whether we like it or not we live in an interconnected world, largely of our creation, that needs to be managed sensibly. Neither we, nor anyone else, can send the gunboats in anymore - empires belong to the past and stay there they must; proper procedures for establishing fault must be followed.

Jaw-jaw must prevail, for war-war, even of the commercial kind, will lead to destruction and mutual loss. It should be seen as a last resort, not an act of whim and folly.

Liar, liar, pants on fire?

Well, what can I, what can anyone, indeed, say about the person 'leading' the Free World, the current President of the United States, Mr. Donald J. Trump? And, furthermore, what can anyone say of his supporters, the people who even now refuse to face facts while their country is being ravaged by an epidemic that had been signposted months ago. The United States of America is fast becoming a bad, bad joke, killing its people and undermining its world status.

Let me make some things clear so I am not misunderstood: I am - and always have been - an Americanophile, having lived in the States in the early 1960s and gone to first grade in an American school. Furthermore, a lot of my schooling has been spent in American or American-related institutions, where I have been able to appreciate many great things to do with American culture - yes, fellow euro-snobs, there is such a thing, albeit much younger than most of ours. And I have had both American relatives and friends, all wonderful people who have enriched my life considerably, many of whom are no longer with us. My criticism of this often wonderful country and its equally often wonderful people stems from the facts, untainted by political bias - I am not, have never been and never will be a socialist, left leaning or a communist - and coloured only by disappointment.

American Presidents used to be educated, well-spoken, worldly figures who by and large grasped that the US had a role to play in the world due to its size, military might and commercial power and aspirations, a de facto major world power on the side of freedom (free trade especially) and democracy. At times their behaviour was less than laudable both as individuals and as statesmen, often allowing their country to indulge in despicable, even criminal, behaviour by interfering in the politics of other countries sometimes for political (usually anti-communist in the Cold War era) or economic reasons, occasionally both. Their intentions were not always - but sometimes were - altruistic, even when expanding or reinforcing their sphere of influence.

Today, led (I use the term loosely) by a man who is ignorant of world history, doesn't listen to advisors/briefings/specialists and gets his world views solely from watching his favourite TV channels, America is becoming not only a laughing stock but an enemy to all and sundry. A spoiled, selfish and self-absorbed man, he is passing his code of conduct on to 'his' nation, making it behave like a bully. Yet such seems to be the ignorance and/or moral bankruptcy of his supporters that he is admired for things that leave the rest of the world shaking their heads in disbelief and, like me, in disappointment. And everyone daring to criticise or speak a word against him is labelled a liar (Ha!), a lefty, a hoaxer, a fraud...

In this Covid-19 crisis President Trump has shown the extent of his ignorance, indecision and inability to listen to experts and comprehend facts, especially if these facts are not convenient for him and his interests. This will result in a significant number of American lives being lost as a direct consequence, maybe even tens of thousands, yet his adoring fans still applaud him and his lies - and it is not inconceivable that he could win the next election. It is truly unbelievable and extremely dangerous to the USA, to its people, to the rest of the world and americanophiles like me.

But perhaps sanity will eventually prevail. What do you think, dear reader?

How was the town jester allowed to become King?

Let's face it, a manifest idiot, one who is supremely dishonest and with the intellectual capacity of a pea, in times gone by would have had limited opportunities, probably justly so. If he was mildly amusing - think bing-bong, bing-bong - he may have been elevated to a level where he would be allowed to amuse the local dignitaries and, if he was good at that, he may have reached the pinnacle of his 'career' by becoming the  town jester, or a jester of some other form. Conversely, if he was found to be less than amusing, especially if those he was supposed to entertain were powerful and didn't take to him, he may have had to witness his head and his body swiftly parting company.

Today's is a different society, with a much more fluid structure, where bing-bongers are not necessarily hampered by their lack of real qualities but allowed to make their own way in life. The person I'm talking about here - resemblance to a currently living personage is, indeed, intentional - happened to have a very successful, self-made, wealthy father who opened doors for him, nurtured his ego and financially supported him in his business career, certainly initially. Even he, however, could have not expected that his spoiled, brash, egomaniacal son would capture the hearts and minds - I use the word loosely - of quite a large section of the American people; this because the son in question, most probably actively following in his father's footsteps, looked down upon exactly this section of society. Entertaining them, yeah, why not, it shouldn't take much to please them, after all, but leading them and claiming kinship? How has that happened?

It just goes to show that people whose only contact with gold is, maybe, a gold tooth are easy prey for a man who thinks that gold everything is the epitome of chic!

This is not a process that has developed over time and matured as both sides got to know each other; rather, it's been a whirlwind affair full of lies and empty words, tacky glitz and bing-bongs, yet surprisingly durable nevertheless. This man's supporters are shockingly indifferent to reality, to actual deeds, to action and, in this present crisis, inaction and see him as a titanic figure battling the world for their and their country's benefit even while he shows flashes of his incompetence, meanness, dishonesty and, despite all his protestations to the contrary, stupidity.

How on this Earth of ours has that been allowed to happen? How? Are we human beings truly this stupid that we cannot see a jester for what he is? How do we see a giant when what is standing in front of us is a midget?

I will survive

A little over 41 years ago a young Greek man left his home and headed to the United Kingdom in order to pursue a dream. The young man, little over twenty three years of age, wanted to become a motor racing driver, a champion no less. He had his dream, was intent on pursuing it and was prepared to make any sacrifices as needed along the way.

You, observant and regular reader, have already spotted it - that was me, younger, hungrier, full of piss and vinegar. Boy, was I determined and prepared to suffer in order to reach my target, do what was necessary, get out of my comfort zone; getting to the dream was all that mattered. And, as luck would have it in about March or April of that year Gloria Gaynor appeared on stage at the London Palladium for an amazing concert that I was fortunate to witness, when her song 'I will survive' was at number 1 in the UK chart.  I didn't just go to see her and dance along to her rhythms, I listened to her words, took courage and belief that I could cope with my suffering, acquired new determination.

Suffer I did, in many ways, some of which seem almost amusing today, spending weeks sleeping in my car, with only the occasional friend's sofa bed  as a luxury break, little money for anything other than a quick bite at a fast food place, survival only important as it allowed continued dreaming, and the effort needed to achieve The Goal (spoiler alert, it never was, fully).

Of course I could never have managed even a fraction of what I did without the support of some wonderful people along the way:

1. My parents, despite their misgivings for my chosen goal were able to provide crumbs to help me stay alive.
2. DH and IM-H gave me a base in London and allowed me to help in their enterprise, learning about London and survival skills while meeting interesting people along the way.
3. My two volunteer mechanics of 1980, Graham and ... (apologies, I have forgotten), whose unpaid if unskilled support helped me race for pennies.
4. My wonderful friend Vic Holman, still a friend today, who trusted me when nobody else, including myself, had any reason to, and allowed me to race while owing him a not insubstantial amount of money.
5. All the people whose names I rarely knew who offered me their support every weekend, with kind words, smiles and encouragement, helping me believe in myself.
6. The great Bob Geeson, the best race engineer I have ever known, whose support, cynicism and humour - not to mention unrivalled technical ability - allowed me to seriously dream of the top, and to show my best colours.
7. All the other racing car manufacturers, engine builders and the financial supporters large or small who, in so many ways allowed me to spread my wings, show my potential and fly. And dream.

Some of the above are no longer with us and may never have known how grateful I have been for their support. Others know, or knew. The adventure took place, the result was not what was hope for though I did achieve quite a lot with very little, but I did survive.

I'm still surviving, Gloria, if only just, but instead of dreams I now have memories.

Food, passion and coronaviruses

You, dear regular reader, know that I am a person for whom food is extremely important - and not just as a means of survival or existence; I love good food and the culture that goes with it. But good food depends on passion, as every form of it, from wonderful fruits and vegetables to exquisite restaurant dishes, require hard work and sacrifices with relatively limited monetary return.

Passion for great food is rare, wonderful and always worth supporting. Through this we preserve food traditions that may be centuries-old or create new ones, make better foodstuffs of every description, help celebrate life by sharing little glories, help share joy and the life-giving qualities that food, decent food made with love, brings. To me there is no greater pleasure than breaking bread and drinking wine, all made with care and love, with people you care about.

I was recently looking at something on YouTube, where a young man was summarising why he has gone back to his small, unsexy, family food-smoking business to be the 6th generation involved: 'I did a lot of fancy things with a lot of fancy people' he said of his previous career in big business in a big city 'but there was no heart. So I came back' (I apologise if I have somehow paraphrased him). To many of us, you see, money is not everything, passion is, and those of us involved in food and wine use this passion to lead us to great products, great moments, great pleasure.

As a professional voyeur on the periphery I am constantly amazed and pleasantly surprised by the number of people who share this outlook, this feeling. Few, if any, are world-renowned and famous, other than within their field, and - do you know - they don't care one bit. The reason they work hard, lose sleep and sacrifice creature comforts is because they are passionate about their craft, their products, their chosen field; the appreciative nod of the knowledgable buyer is all they need. I am in awe of these people, in awe of their passion, grateful for their very existence.

Life is about passion, creativity, dreams, at least as much as it can be about comfort, luxury and material things. Life is about the little things that make it special, the ones that someone else's passion has brought about and allowed you to get to know and appreciate. Life, whether through our passion or someone else's, can be extraordinary, even if due to external circumstances (hello coronavirus!) we now have to put it on hold and wallow in boredom.

At least that's what I think, dear reader. Feel free to disagree...

Riding on Greek buses

With all the scary stuff about viruses I very much doubt that you guys will be out there, hurrying to catch a ride on a Greek bus in Athens. In a way it's a pity, as buses are one of the last great bargains, with rides costing as little as 90 eurocents for ninety minutes of bus/metro/tram hopping in the greater Athens area, allowing the user extraordinary freedom in getting arounf.

Alas this doesn't seem enough for many Athens residents, particularly the young, who choose to trade without validating their tickets. While it may be an exaggeration, or even a statistical aberration of when I happen to observe, but eight out of ten bus passengers appear not to either have tickets or to properly endorse them according to the rules, with the young being the chief miscreants. It seems that a large number of people think that they just don't need to pay for using public transport in Greece.

Does it matter? Is it a problem? Oh yes, it is a growing, painful problem, as the bus company just cannot afford to pay for spares for its buses and being forced to cannibalise older vehicles for spares to keep the fleet moving a much as is possible. This is a serious, massive problem, neither acknowledged nor discussed presently, as it is leading to an impending collapse of public transport in its present form. Yet we persist in this reckless abuse - only this evening I witnessed fewer than half the people boarding a bus validating a ticket or travel pass.

Why is this? Well, one of the reasons is that these days there are very few controls on public transport, with the few existing being on the underground railway - I have not seen a ticket inspector on a bus in years - so the people feel that there is a free for all. What is even more worrying is that the people doing this, whether they are greek citizens or immigrants, do not feel that they are doing anything wrong as so many of their fellow users are doing the same.

Yet what they are doing is not only wrong, it is outright theft! They are defrauding the Greek state of the small fare that it has determined should be charged, a cost far below most other European capitals, and are doing so cheerfully and without any scruples. It doesn't matter if they are using the buses for one stop or many; if they cannot afford the fare they should walk instead of the current underhand practice.

Some people I have heard blame the immigrants, but in my experience that is generally not the case, though some are copying indigenous behaviour and benefiting illegally. More often than not we Greeks are our own worst enemies, cheating ourselves to feel clever. Bliah!

We need to grow up! We need to understand that this is not a victimless crime, that the thousands of law-abiding, ticket-paying citizens are not fools subsidising our immature, illicit behaviour. We need to learn that inline you need to pay your way, properly and fairly, in order to live in a decent society.

And in order to reinforce it we need to reintroduce regular, strict checks, however unpopular they may be in the short term, so that the burden is shared by all users, with those who cannot conform being forced to walk. It may even help with the obesity crisis...

Dionysos you rascal, you've done it again!

Dionysos was up to his old tricks again, with his friends putting on an exceedingly good show in a suburb north of Athens on a February evening, a Tuesday. Being one of them, a philos no less, I had to be present, both to participate and to help with the show. Dionysos himself was absent, you understand, leaving his friends to get on with festivities and, obviously, busying himself with his godly duties.

A pleasant evening following a lovely, bright, almost summery day was a good prelude to this dinner which not only featured some achingly superb wines from Greece and beyond, but matched them with food of a high order indeed. Menoo restaurant is situated in a small shopping precinct next to a bookstore, doubles as a cafe during the day and, at the same time, has an ambitious kitchen; this should not come as a surprise, as its late founder was for many years one of Athenian society's foremost caterers, Mr. Platis.

But tonight was truly about the wine, which was as splendid as it was unusual, at least some of it. Three Greek wines, ranging from rather special to wonderful, and a rare French masterpiece were served for our delectation, and we lapped it up with great grunts of pleasure, at least I did. Unusually the food played second fiddle, serving as a teaser and able supporter, even a palate refresher.

The first wine was a full-bodied rose from the Negoska grape and the northern appellation of Goumenissa. Somewhat reminiscent of full-bodied Provence roses of the past, this had a certain chunky elegance and weight to match our starter, a small cup of 'bouillabaisse' that kept us wanting more.

The white wine was from the Argyros Estate on Santorini, one of that unique, volcanic island's biggest but still top rated producers. With a rich history of over 100 years, care and attention, their wines, from old vines with low yields, have a distinct, characterful, style, managing to balance the ingredients to perfection while bursting with flavours that show terroir and grape variety in perfect harmony. This Assyrtiko 2006 was a textbook example, metallic notes blending with white fruit and citrus, rich yet dry, intense yet restrained, long and seductive. It matched the seafood starter perfectly, but then it was so good it could match-up well with almost anything.

My observant reader - was it you? - will remember that a few months ago I wrote a piece on Economou and called him the wonderful winemaker of Crete. If anything I understated his place in the Greek wine firmament, for he is unique, ingenious, dedicated and wildly eccentric in a way that ensures his wines speak to the heart of any true wine lover. His 1999 Sitia red wine largely from the Liatiko grape served from magnums was just stunning - delicate red colour starting to brown, multi-layered ripe red fruit and spices on nose and even more so on the palate, complex, entrancing, long, long long. I strongly urge anyone who comes across Economou wines to taste them (guzzle them???), as they are unique and quite wonderful but, beware, they are not easy drinking but highly individual. The braised Black Angus brisket was an ideal accompaniment (of course, not the other way around with a wine like that!), though some pieces were excessively glutinous while others were perfect.

Sweet wine is not fashionable at the moment, and I pity the poor fools who spurn it because they can never appreciate a wine as fine as Philippe Foreau's stupendous Vouvray moelleux 2005 from Clos Naudin.  Top sweet wine is luscious but not cloying, intensely sweet but delicate, a balance of flavours that showcase terroir, grapes and winemaking, something this wine demonstrated in abundance. Rich exotic aromas and flavours (mango, papaya, pineapple and ripe melon) with perfect acidity and exquisite balance in this masterpiece of finesse that is a tribute to Foreau's complete understanding of his art in every way. The mango tart tatin with a passion fruit coulis and vanilla ice cream was a successful match, though quite honestly I couldn't care less - the wine was enough perfection for me.

Nearby I could feel Dionysos sighing with pleasure and Pan contentedly playing his pipes and no, it was not because I was totally inebriated. In fact, I was not inebriated enough to accept gracefully the disappointment of once again not winning the prize in our traditional annual New Year's Pitta!