Humility - or the lack thereof!

Few of us are always humble in our approach to life, probably for various reasons. Speaking for myself I have now learned and achieved an inconsistent level of humility, so am always in awe of people for whom humility is natural and inherent. We rarely see them because their modesty prevents them from promoting their abilities, knowledge and success, so they become practically invisible to most; this is as natural as it is incredibly unfortunate.

One of the characteristics of the younger generations in most western societies today is the total lack of humility, the absolute - and often irrational - belief in themselves and their abilities, most often despite the complete absence of any proof of such. Legions of limited, talentless - and often brain-dead - specimens push themselves forward as gifted, uniquely capable, well-equipped and ready to lead; this would be some kind of cruel joke if it were not so monumentally stupid.

So it is with surprise and great pleasure that one encounters young, hugely talented individuals who are not full of themselves or self-promoters but quietly get on with their chosen work, leaving judgement of their working life to others. And one night last month I met just such a young man - head chef at Spondi, one of the best restaurants in Greece (if not the best) for many years and rewarded with two Michelin stars - who not only produced a stunning meal full of skill, subtlety and flavour, but was reluctant to personally accept credit and was gracious in praising his assistants. There was no artifice to this, no fakery, just an extraordinarily talented young man who was also humble, genuine, nice; sad to say, he is to a large extent an exception in any profession, walk of life, country.

If you wander down to any fashionable eatery in Athens you'll find plenty of other chefs, perfectly ordinary, in reality mere cooks, touting themselves as important but having little of the skill we witnessed yet devoting scant effort to improving within their chosen profession. Seems like perhaps today all you need to do is to proclaim yourself to be great for others to take it on board, be convinced with little evidence and support you blindly, with the multiplier effect of the social media making this an even more powerful statement. Almost overnight a nonentity with inflated self-belief becomes a feted star who believes in his own publicity or, even worse, that most dreaded of all things, a celebrity! And you and I get to see them in their droves promoting products and themselves on television, a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. After that it's an easy step to become big-headed, arrogant and obnoxious, and most oblige.

Of course not everyone is like that, of course there are extremely capable but humble people active in many spheres of life, of course they are the ones I will always support, leaving the insufferables to others, sorry!

And of course the other humble ones, the ones who have so much to be modest about, tend to resemble the vast majority of us average Joes and Joannas. We should not forget that most of us have modest abilities and should be humble, but that should not stop us from admiring the extraordinary ones who, nevertheless, are also modest and humble.

Conspiracies and Cock-ups

I am always intrigued by people who believe the world is controlled by a never-ending stream of conspiracies, some simple, others extremely intricate. The ability to see a hidden hand everywhere is something that fascinates and annoys me in equal measure; it is also something that my Greek compatriots have in abundance, always seeing someone's plan in everything. If we espouse that way of thinking, the world becomes a frightening place.

What truly terrifies me, however, is the cock-up, something I believe to be far more common and, indeed, far more dangerous than any conspiracy. The polite description of a cock-up is 'mistake', and we are all familiar with the sentiment that mistakes are only human, thus creating the illusion that they are harmless. Not so. Cock-ups are not only encountered more commonly than we think in every level and every corner of society, they often have devastating effects. None of us would feel kindly disposed, for example, to the pilot of the jumbo jet we were flying in saying something like 'oops, well folks we're about to run out of fuel because we forgot to fill her up properly, so we're all going to die...'. Cock-ups can - and have been - that serious, resulting often in death and destruction.

My impetus for writing about cock-ups came from one of my own in my last piece, where I mentioned the name of a young winemaker and praised him as a potential star of the future on the strength of the quality and style of his first ever wine. Which would have been fine if I hadn't given him the wrong first name, even though it appeared clearly on the label, luckily noticed and pointed out to me by an eagle-eyed friend so that I was able to correct this speedily. Imagine the catastrophe otherwise: the young man would have become famous under the wrong name, with my myriads of readers referring to him thus! He may even have had to change his name officially to the one my carelessness assigned to him in order to match his new-found fame, a cruel fate averted, thankfully, at the last minute.

As you can clearly see, even minor cock-ups can have devastating effects on people and their lives. Or, indeed, on their lack of life, as in hostile situations when one of the sides bombs the wrong target by mistake and, instead of the other side's arsenal they hit a suburban house, or instead of a weapons' convoy they bomb a wedding party. So a cock-up is not a teeny-weeny mistake, to be shrugged off after an apology; rather, it is bigger, a fuck-up (technical term, widely used, sorry!), something that could have been averted.

Do not think for a second that I am claiming there are no conspiracies, or attempts at conspiracies, happening the world over, only that in my opinion there are far fewer than we would like to imagine. Instead of dastardly plots we usually have bumbling incompetence or, as in my case previously mentioned, a momentary lapse of attention/judgement. My error involved a word - and no, they are not like weapons - so that the cock-up was easy to rectify even with an audience as vast as mine, but can you imagine if I had carelessly pressed the wrong button on a weapons control panel? Ooops, there goes Moscow/London/Athens or...

Human nature, it seems, compels us to complicate things and shift blame, to constantly see activity in the shadows, to look for puppet-masters and puppets. Fools and foolishness do not hold the same attraction.

Economou - The Wonderful Winemaker of Crete

Crete is, I'm sure, a beautiful place steeped in history. Its proud inhabitants (Cretans, not Cretins thank you!) are well-known for their independent nature, their zest for life and their fierce resistance to conquerors of any shape or size. What they have not been known for until recently is for their world-class wines.

Let's be clear here, Crete used to produce decent wines for glugging and excellent - and famous - grape alcohol (raki or tsikoudia). In days gone by Cretan wine was mainly sold in bulk or as relatively inexpensive bottled stuff, ripe and juicy but undistinguished. A new generation of wine producers has set about to change that, introduce modern methods in field and winery, and generally change the profile of their beloved island's wine; by and large they are succeeding, with some decent, even very good, stuff hitting both the domestic and export markets relatively recently. A number of domaines are now making and bottling individual, well-made modern wines largely from local varieties, and they're impressing the marketplace.

The curious thing is that there is a grower in Crete really making waves and producing staggeringly good, hugely individual wines that are interesting on any scale, anywhere. His wines are not 'modern' in style yet are faultless and true show stoppers through subtlety rather than brutishness, full of class, personality and character. He is a natural and organic wine producer, utilises mainly local, unfashionable grape varieties (his main Sitia red wine is made mainly from the obscure Liatiko variety and very old vines), low yields and traditional methods to produce his nectars. To top it all, this curious specimen is not a self-promoter, not a social media wizard, not interested in being a star - he just wants to make the best wine he can using the tools and ingredients available to him. And while his training has been in modern winemaking, the wine that he produces is closer to an idealised, fictional past. The late Haridimos Hatzidakis, the tortured genius of Santorini winemaking, even provided Economou with some of his Assyrtiko vines so that he could experiment with this and apply his and the local terroir's magic to this stellar variety.

With limited production and well-deserved acclaim his wines are not easy to find and may appear expensive. Don't be fooled, for any true wine lover they're worth seeking out and merit every penny for their multi-layered complexity, their unique flavours and highly individual character. Often wines like these can be what we call in the wine trade 'interesting' i.e. wines that you drink out of curiosity but rarely for pleasure - these are an exception!

Last night we were served a white 2009 and a red Sitia 1998 by my friend YT who knows Yiannis Economou, has visited him and loves what is happening there - and what's not to love? The wines on the night were both stunning:

1. The white had a light orange colour but was youthful and fresh with a hint of rosewater and nuts on nose and palate. I would like to taste it again in a few years time, but love it now; it is unlike any other Greek white wine, made from local grapes Thrapsathiri and Vilana.
2. The red, not perhaps from a top vintage, was relatively light in colour with little sign of ageing, with delicate cherry and sun-dried tomato hints, soft tannins and a long finish. And plenty of sediment, as befits its unfiltered status. In order to qualify for the Sitia appellation it will now have to include 20% of Mandilaria, which may or may not happen according to each vintage and Yianni Economou's judgement.

Economou wines are individual, inspiring, alluring bottle of wine to excite and delight any real wine lover. To me they are also exciting because they show that you can be guided by your passion and need not tow the line in order to make good wine, success being all about the product and its quality and characteristics - the Economou 'brand', such as it is, is a by-product of this.

Finally, I would like to close by introducing a young winemaker and his first wine, tried as an aperitif before the aforementioned gems. His name is Foivos Papastratis and for his first attempt he has produced a very respectable, well-made white wine from the much in fashion Assyrtiko variety in a blend with Muscat. Not only was the wine impeccably faultless, clean and distinctive, it was also very pleasant to drink, seemingly the product of a seasoned professional. My personal taste is against combinations like this, where a highly aromatic variety is matched with a more subtle, complex one, but that is by the by. There young winemaker has produced a wine of style and quality and is, most definitely, someone to watch for the future as he develops his individual style. A star is born?

The food we had was entirely secondary to the wine, so doesn't get a mention, but the wines were a meal in themselves. Every time I taste Economou's wines I am more and more impressed and, while I cannot afford to buy his creations in my present impecunious state, I will continue to drink them whenever and wherever offered them. And, if you know what's good for you, you should too.

Autumn in London

Personal reasons have forced me to be away from London for a while and, indeed, may keep may away further soon. But I so love being in this vibrant, yet in places so tranquil, city that last night seemed like a homecoming.

London Transport made sure I'd feel welcome, with hilariously inadequate service on the Piccadilly line due to a lack of trains; dozens of passengers waiting for trains were amused to hear from the loudspeakers that there was a good service on all lines! Did it put me off, though? No, not entirely, but if I had been a first-time visitor I may not have been altogether thrilled!

And, of course, I have arrived just in time for a perfect Brexit chaos, as the Prime Minister tries vainly to keep her show on the road while being pummeled from all sides. She has put forward something to try and satisfy as many of the combatants as possible, while at the same time giving Britain a chance to keep trading ties with the European Union (Britain's biggest trading partner) alive. By doing so she seems to have angered everyone. Interestingly, keen supporters of Democracy like Jacob Rees-Mogg think it is acceptable to get rid of an elected Prime Minister because they are not doing what he expects; this from people who publicly said that having a second referendum on the issue of Brexit would 'betray the democratic process'.

In the midst of all this Nature cares not a bit for politics and the trees are shedding their leaves like mad. The lushness of summer is giving was, colourfully, to the barrenness of winter, and it is absolutely enchanting to see even if the fallen leaves are a bit of a nuisance. The photographs were taken this afternoon in Brockwell Park, South London, and form a sharp contrast to the same Park in high summer - yes, loyal reader, just go back a few months and it's all there!Happy Autumn everyone, even Brexit supporters, though I personally hope it withers and dies, just as nature is doing now but with no Spring rebirth.

My Ode to Joy!

Many people find joy in different things, some in music, others in nature; some, like me, find happiness in food and drink. This doesn't mean exactly that 'we live to eat' but food is an important part of our life in all its manifestations.

Interest in food, like interest in wine, does not mean only focussing on expensive stuff in sophisticated restaurants but in seeking to extract maximum pleasure out of even the simplest, most basic ingredients. One becomes a critic, often severe, of everything in the pursuit of something better, more satisfying, with quantity not necessarily relevant. We look, scrutinise and select more carefully than the average person at every level, be it buying bread, butter or caviar (for those who like it and can afford it), then proceed to derive great pleasure from their consumption.

While taste and preference are individual things, there is such a thing as absolute quality in ingredients and we food enthusiasts seek it out, embrace and support it. The organic produce movement is benefitting from this, as is animal welfare to a large extent, with well-informed and concerned foodies putting pressure to improve standards, not solely from altruistic motives. Nevertheless, informed criticism and pressure is helping to improve human interaction with nature and all that dwells within.

In the real world and thanks to the generosity of friends I have been eating and drinking lots, including some remarkable stuff, so that my clothes are now seriously complaining of the strain they are being put under... Still, some of the things I drank over the last few days are worth telling you about:

1. A couple of Santorini wines - not tasted together - from Sigalas, one of the top producers from a greek island where most of the wines are good, some are excellent and some are truly spectacular on any scale. Though the prices are rising, making them less affordable for the drinking public, they are also helping secure their future in the fightback against the unchecked growth in tourist accommodation. Their delicate, complex fruit is full of mineral notes on both nose and palate, is balanced with zinging acidity and makes them a perfect partner for fish, simply cooked. The straight Santorini 2016 I had was pretty damn good, subtle and typical, the Nychteri 2013 (so called because the grapes are harvested at night) bigger, richer, more of a blockbuster but still immensely elegant. White wine really rarely gets any better than wine made on Santorini and its worth every penny, so start saving now to be able to drink it.

2. Dom Perignon champagne 1993 - who says champagne doesn't age? Golden colour, little sparkle but an explosion of taste, liquid nuttiness, bit of fruit, long, long, long. Yep, it's nothing like a young champagne, explosive and acidic, but it is an incredible mouthful, a rare pleasure worth seeking out for any serious wine lover.

3. A yellow Chartreuse liqueur, herby, sweet and spicy, a bit like delicious alcoholic cough medication that I would be happy to take every day without prescription; it is still made by monks, it's a great digestif and I prefer the yellow to the green, but try them both and tell me what you think.

4. Chateau Suduiraut 1990 Sauternes is another ageing giant, the deep golden colour indicating it is past its best, though a wonderful experience nevertheless, bursting with ripe sweet apricot fruit which recedes faster than I would like but is still hugely enjoyable. A great sweet wine is unlike anything else in life, with few foods up to the rich intensity, and Sauternes from a good year is up at the summit. You will be surprised that anything that sweet can be so massive without being cloying, a real special treat...

I love these wines (and liqueur...) because they make my heart sing, out loud, though I'm not up to composing odes yet, so I'll just keep telling you about things. La la la la la la lala, lala la la la lala!

A proud yet failing state?

Yesterday was one of the two great Greek national holidays, celebrating the resounding 'NO!' (OHI!) given to the Italians early on in WW2 when they demanded Greece's surrender to their perceived superior power. The refusal and subsequent drubbing of the Italian forces is a source of great pride to the Greek people, even if Germany eventually succeeded where their allies had failed and a harsh period of occupation ensued.

A visitor to Greece today would be impressed by the expression of national pride but will also be very unimpressed to hear not only of the ongoing economic misadventures of the country, but also - if they consult me, that is -that it appears to be in many ways a failed - or failing - state. In most places away from Athens life may appear to chug along as normal, the sun rises and sets every day, businesses open and close at their allotted time, cafes and tavernas are busy. To the untrained eye there are few obvious signs of the underlying malaise, society having absorbed most of the shocks and, in small places at least, rallied to help its own where the state has failed.

Athens is a different story to a large extent, with increased homelessness, many beggars, scores of closed or boarded up shops and dilapidated buildings. Of course the picture is distorted somewhat by the large numbers of migrants, many desperate, flocking to the big city to try and secure either a safe place to stay or transport onwards into the heart of the European Union, where they imagine a better life awaiting them. Still, desperation exists in the local population as well, with the social fabric weaker as big city dynamics mean families drift further apart and common origin becomes almost meaningless. Yet surprisingly this is still a bustling city, now with a darker underbelly; wealth exists side-by-side with poverty, as always, but the contrast appears more pronounced.

So how can a modern state like Greece be considered as failed, or even failing, when it functions on a day-to-day basis, at least to some extent? Even if it looks little different to a few years ago, people still go about their lives, eat, drink, sleep, buy and sell, have sex, even think - where's the failure?

I believe it is failing, as it is:

1.  A state where comprehensive laws exist but are largely ignored and not enforced  or enforced selectively/occasionally.
2.  A state where a limited number of wealthy and powerful people control most economic activity, run private armies of armed security personnel and refuse to be subject to the laws of the land much like medieval barons.
3.  A state where the burdens and liabilities are pushed on to the populace at large whilst most benefits are distributed to a relatively limited circle of privileged people, often connected to no.2 above, or for political gain.
4.  A state where the economy displays little productivity but mainly revolves around the government and the public sector, with most of the private sector under fire and struggling is today problematic.
5.  A state where the Labour Unions use their right to strike not to pursue and reverse unfairness but at will, to complain about life in general, or even just to hold meetings, and act as if they own the sector they work in.
6.  A state where small minorities of people can attack, assail, damage, even kill, in full public view yet are hardly ever rounded up, arrested and/or prosecuted.
7.  A state where the average citizen does not feel any obligation to respect society, others or the law in most daily activities.
8.  A state that disrespects its citizens sufficiently to apply laws differently to itself than to them even while declaring equality under the law as a cornerstone of its constitution.
9.  A state where tax evasion is rife, taxation is penal and services to said taxpayers limited.
10. A state where education, knowledge and experience are valued less than opinion. And I could go on...

This is not what any Greek wants, irrespective of political affiliation, other than perhaps the cretins who ostensibly espouse anarchy but expect their civil rights to be respected. It only takes a walk around the centre of Athens to fill one with despair as to where the country is headed and what the future holds. Magnificent buildings abound but those in the private sector are crumbling, while the public sector still somehow manages to maintain their jewels, albeit often covered in graffiti or vandalised by their very users, as is the case with some of the universities. But economic recovery, growth and a decent income only arise from people and as a result of productive human activity, very little found in Greece at the moment; external investment, often touted is reluctant to get involved in a country where the legal system doesn't work properly and the state punishes - or certainly doesn't in any way positively encourage - business activity.

This means that resounding failure could, once again, be around the corner, methinks, with all the pain that entails. And there should be little pride in that.

Opinions - are we all really entitled to have them?

You know the scenario: someone you know, let's say at a dinner party or something, comes up with an outrageous assertion such as 'the earth is flat' or 'the government is controlled by aliens, who replaced the politicians secretly some time ago'. You bristle and take them up on their statement and they come back and tell you that they are entitled to their own opinion on things, and so is everyone else.

'Everyone's entitled to their own opinion' the saying goes and it may be so, but this can only work under certain circumstances otherwise it's a little bit like 'the customer is always right', which we have seen - and, I believe clearly demonstrated -is a very stupid statement.

Let me explain: We are all entitled to hold a VALID opinion, one that we can support by facts and arguments; indeed we most certainly should all have opinions about most things happening around us. What we are most certainly not entitled to is opinions based on just our feelings, preferences or the way we would like things to be. Put bluntly, that we want things to be a certain way does not mean that they are or should be (sorry about that!), and the good folk of Greece apparently have an appropriate saying: 'if you don't know (about something) why are you talking (i.e. why are you expressing an opinion?)?

The internet has made it a lot easier for people to propagate unverified/unsupported opinions dressed up as facts for various reasons, not always well-intentioned, but repeating them over and over again does not make them true. And we as individuals owe it to ourselves and to others not to spout the first thing that comes to mind - often misrepresented and mislabeled as honesty - but to think, clearly and deeply (as much as realistically possible, anyway) before putting forward our point of view. Failure to do so results in generating lots of vapid statements - expelling hot air, in effect - and helps no-one, least of all ourselves, as we look like complete idiots.

The solution to this does not lie in not having opinions, which is often the piqued response of someone caught out talking nonsense; rather, it is to take a little bit of time to think before expounding on this that or the other - the old 'engage brain before mouth' dictum, valid more than ever today.

So do yourselves and the rest of the world a favour by ensuring all opinions you hold have some rational thought behind them. And no, this does not mean we all have to think alike and agree on everything, just that our debates must be based on reality, not fantasy.