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.

Geneva heatwave - thousands of words!

They say a picture paints a thousand words, something which may or may not be true. You, dear reader, will be able to decide as I will show you a number of photographs taken in Geneva over the last few days, trying to capture the feeling of intense summer heat and, alas, humidity. There will be few words, unusual perhaps for this scribbler who likes to go on and on, so I hope that you will enjoy the display and will let me know your point of view, good or bad.

My life in wine, Geneva chapter!

Geneva may never be the same for me again after the death of PGT, my beloved relative who recently passed away at the amazing age of 101 years and ten months; for the best part of the last forty years I don't think I ever came to Geneva without visiting PGT and availing myself of his kindness, hospitality and wisdom. Now he's gone, will live only in my mind, and however natural his demise has been he leaves a gap far larger than his diminutive size could ever account for. Still, life does go on, perhaps uncaringly, with all that entails.

Ah, dear reader, you must realise where this is leading; after all, you've now known me for a while and should be used to my little foibles. Of course I'm going to talk to you about wine, that most healing, civilising and enriching of substances, that liquid that, with its aromas, tastes and textures can transform an ordinary meal into an enchanting experience. Wine is a living, evolving thing, showing different faces at different times, inviting us to play with it as it plays with our emotions before, at its best, it delivers its punch of flavours that enslave us for life.

Through the generosity and kindness of my friend NDI I was able to taste several interesting wines, starting with a fairly run-of-the-mill Sancerre, graduating to three 2014 Margaux beauties and finishing with a stunning Visanto (or Vinsanto) from the Argyros estate in Santorini. Before you start panicking about the state of my liver, these were not all consumed at the same time, though I dare say it may have been an interesting experience! My final vinous adventure came courtesy of my Swiss friends the As, when they took me to lunch. Naturally we had a Swiss wine more or less from the region - actually from across the lake at the neighbouring Canton Vaud.

The Sancerre 2017 from Domaine des Tayaux had been open for a day or two when it fell into my hands, so it was lacking the zingy freshness now such a feature of good Sancerre, really the feature that has made it exciting when compared to most other Sauvignon Blanc wines. Perfectly drinkable, perfectly clean but a bit dull, then, if good value for money. I polished it off so no-one else would have to suffer...

On different nights we went after the 2014 Margaux wines, as follows:

Chateau Dauzac was, for me, textbook claret with deep colour, an agreeable balance and good structure, a hint of tannin and ripe red fruits, oak backdrop and decent length, an impeccable if unspectacular wine from an early-drinking year. Probably better in a year or two.
The Chateau Kirwan was more luscious, softer, what in pre-political correctness days we would have described as more feminine, an explosion of ripe red fruit flavour with hardly any tannins showing, juicy and more obviously attractive than the Dauzac, charming for the next year or so.
Chateau Cantenac-Brown was, not that long ago, a chateau punching far below its weight - not anymore! In style between the two others, still quite rich bearing in mind the vintage, it was full of all the right things and a touch of spice, with a short (1-3 year?) future ahead of it but extremely satisfying today.
These three show clearly why today it can be great fun for those able to afford them to buy great wines in lighter, but not problem, vintages, provided they do their research a little bit and avoid obvious duds. True, they will never compare to truly great wines from the best vintages, where the balance is truly astonishing, the complexity far greater and the length astounding, but they provide extremely satisfying drinking far earlier and, importantly for most, at a far more reasonable (ha!) price.

A journey of discovery for me was a glorious Swiss white wine, an Epesses Grand Cru Clos du Boux 2017 (I think). Made from Chasselas grapes in picture-perfect vineyards on the slopes by Lake Geneva (Lac Leman for the locals), it surprised me with its richness, balance, subtlety and length. A subdued nose of mirabelle plums led to a more luscious mouthful of the same subtly combined with lychees and somehow dry, happily long. Good both on its own and with food, it is an example of how far Swiss wines have come in the last thirty or forty years, from austere acidic curiosities to excellent wines in their own right. Alas they can never be inexpensive but are now well worth seeking out.

The Argyros Vinsanto 2009, aged for four years in oak casks before release, is a little bomb of sweetness and lusciousness, ripe raisiny aromas and flavours dominating, rich, sweet, balanced, satisfying, dessert in a glass, complex and long - and this is their 'junior' Visanto! Pure delight from a top producer on the island of Santorini, not only preserving a winemaking tradition lost in the mists of time but providing layers and layers of pleasure today. Most Santorini wines are truly special but their best sweet wines are spectacularly good, and worth every penny that I didn't have to pay. Were I to have a choice in the matter I would always have a bottle of Argyros Vinsanto around; alas, I don't.

Geneva in the summer heat

As you know only too well, dear reader, central Europe is in the throes of a bit of a heatwave. This is not one of those deadly ones so far, but it can sure make life unpleasant, especially in cities not designed for extreme heat. Geneva is saved by being on  the shores of a lake and a river, benefitting from whatever cooling they can provide; nevertheless it is humid and hotter than strictly enjoyable.

This has not deterred intrepid old me from moving hither and thither in order to pursue my goals, such as they are - seeing my relatives and friends and enjoying my short stay as much as possible. Sticking my little hat on at a jaunty angle I hit the streets whatever the weather, eat my croissants al fresco - no, I'm not telling you where I get them, thank you - and even wander seemingly endlessly between obligations. It's no good for cooling down, though, as the sweltering heat follows me everywhere, even making sleeping unpleasant.

The heat is not all bad, though, as the people thronging the bathing hot spots will tell you in between swims, or the thriving outdoor life of a city that lives most of the time indoors will show you. The parks are full of young people sitting on the grass, talking and laughing, and outdoor seating in bars and restaurants is as full as can be, while lake or river-side places are suddenly in the highest demand. True, this would have been happening even with less extreme heat, but the effects are currently more exaggerated.

Geneva is a beautiful, expensive, relatively small and quiet city, not normally famed for its liveliness, but the street food festival in the English Garden turned that on its head, a throbbing crowd of mainly young people and families noisily wandering around the many food and drink stalls, some dancing - such a contrast to the buttoned-up Geneva of the colder months!

My lovely Swiss friends the As even took me for a short boat ride around a small part of the lake - we were short of time - on one of the more modern boats that ply their trade year round, and I was able to appreciate the summer life of Geneva even more. We saw beautiful lakeside houses, yachts sailing by, even had our route briefly blocked by an errant pedalo as we returned to harbour; I must say I gained a better appreciation of this lovely city and the surrounding areas.

Most importantly, I received the strong message that life goes on, whether it came from the scantily clad young ladies (much appreciated by this old dog) or the lushness of nature. Maybe these will all help mend my broken heart, allowing me not to forget those no longer here but to view their passing as another chapter, recapture some joy in the life they lived and what they gave me and the world, and go on.

To life!

Another visit to Zozef

If you love good food and happen to be visiting the island of Andros, inevitably your footsteps will lead you sooner or later to Zozef and Katerina Remoundou (Tata). There you will be in the domaine of a quirky, mercurial, highly able chef, you will eat in simple surroundings, served in a relaxed, casual way; this is a little hidden foodie paradise showcasing local ingredients with no fuss and no frills.
Dear reader, if you do not already know that I love food, restaurants and all that goes with them, you haven't been paying attention. From the simplest sandwich to the most complicated fine dining my heart belongs to food, all of which I judge and evaluate according to its ambitions. For me food has to be honest, good for what it is and represent value for money, given its position in life. Inexpensive should not mean cheap and nasty, simple can be excellent, elaborate does not necessarily mean good. Zozef fulfils its role and, at times, surpasses it, so is well a visit - I have made several over the last five years - but it is not perfect - it is what it is and deserves respect for that.

MG was a little bit reticent about the latest visit, as she is on a strict diet, impossible to adhere to at Zozef, but was persuaded to drive me there anyway and was an eager participant, taking this as one of her valued 'free meals'. Perhaps because of the driving she partook little of the local - as in actually made in the same village, Pitrofos - Androp tsipouro, a drink similar to grappa. So we had:

1. Cheese pie
Outstanding, different, not the usual feta-dominated pie found elsewhere, juicy and hinting sweetness,  yellow/orange filling with a green herb adding further taste.
So good we asked for more, including some to take home for breakfast!
2. Salad
Freshly made tomato, green pepper and onion salad with local cheese, crunchy in all the right places, full of taste and with an olive oil based dressing that was subtle yet tasty, adorning and not dominating the other ingredients. A proper salad, nothing like the many boring examples found in your average taverna and proof positive of why it's worth eating there.
3. Moussaka
Common examples of this dish contain potatoes as the bottom layer and filler, a thin layer of aubergine and a thick topping of béchamel sauce; they are not unpalatable but do not have the proper moussaka texture and taste in my book. This was just as it should be, thick with aubergine and mince meat, and a thinner layer of béchamel, all properly integrated in this much-maligned rich, heavy dish.
4. To drink : Androp Tsipouro
MG wanted no wine and I didn't fancy a bottle on my own, so we settled for the superb locally made tsipouro, served in small bottles of 200ml. Unlike some big brand offerings this is superbly clean and, even with healthy consumption, leaves no unpleasant trace, so has earned my seal of approval. If visiting the island ask for it - its mellow taste will please you and its not unreasonable price will make you even happier!

All in all we had a cracking time, filled our tummies and took advantage of Zozef's hospitality to the maximum, leaving sated and vowing to return sometime soon.
The cheese pie was every bit as good the next day, and the day after. You didn't seriously think I'd be satisfied with only one piece?