Report from the lunatic asylum (now a 5-star establishment...)

Perhaps I should apologise if my posts are starting to include elements of politics but if your country (UK - if you hadn't already guessed) has decided to commit collective suicide it is almost impossible to ignore the current lunacy.

There is now apparently a serious possibility of a No Deal Brexit with the UK crashing out of the European Union without any agreement on 29th March 2019 at 23.00. If there is no agreement chaos is widely expected with complete blockage at the UK ports and almost immediately food and medicine shortages.
We have been told that from next month we will have regular advice bulletins from the UK Government to individuals and businesses on what to do in the event of 'No Deal – Crash Out'. Panic buying emptying supermarket shelves looks a certainty along with miles and miles of lorries parked on the approach to the Channel ports as well as no planes flying. Presumably there will be advice to stockpile food. Perhaps with food rationing in place for the first time since the early 1950s.

There have already been calls to recreate the resilience and togetherness of the wartime spirit. However, the current situation is very different from 1939 - 1945 with the UK very divided. Staying with the 1940s one might see a revival of the 'famous' or 'infamous' wartime Woolton Pie:

'The recipe involved dicing and cooking potatoes (or parsnips), cauliflower, swede, carrots and, possibly, turnip. Rolled oats and chopped spring onions were added to the thickened vegetable water which was poured over the vegetables themselves. The dish was topped with potato pastry and grated cheese and served with vegetable gravy. The recipe could be adapted to reflect the availability and seasonality of ingredients.'

With stockpiling of dried and tinned food it could be time to revive 'delicacies' like spam fritters or corn beef hash. Although tempted I am not going to attempt to suggest wine matches for these two recipes.

However, stockpiling some wine for a 'Chaotic Exit' is a different matter! Here is my small survival, reasonably priced selection – by the time we crash out sterling will doubtless have tanked completely...... No vintages given due to uncertainty...... and mainly from the Loire.

3 bottles of Sainsbury's own label Fino (1 litre)
Although not the best fino available this is very decent in a crisis. 

6 bottles of Crémant de Loire Brut Zéro, Château de l'Aulée
 One of my favourite Loire sparklers and good value. Will have to celebrate having got through another week, month etc..... In less straitened times I might well have opted for Jacky Blot's Triple Zéro, Montlouis. 100% Chenin Blanc   

6 bottles of Touraine Gamay, Domaine de la Chapinière
Very good domaine in 41110 Châteauvieux in the eastern end of Touraine close to Saint-Aignan. The Gamay is delicious – vins des amis.  

6 bottles: Touraine Sauvignon either Domaine de la Chapinière/ Vincent Roussely
Either remaining with Chapinière or moving a few kilometres west along the Cher Valley to Angé to Vincent Roussely's domaine. Both crisp but ripe Sauvignon Blancs.

6 bottles of Saumur-Champigny Tradition, Domaine de la Bonnelière 
Consistently good Saumur and Saumur-Champigny domaine in Varrains run by Anthony and Cédric Bonneau – remarkably reasonably priced.  

6 bottles: En Chenin, Anjou Blanc, Domaine Ogereau
The Ogereau family in Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay has long made excellent wines but the arrival of son Emmanuel after working in South-West France, Oregon and elsewhere has lifted the wines to a new level. A supply of dry Chenin Blanc will be essential to survive the privations of a crash-out Brexit.  

3 bottles: Les Varennes, Coteaux du Layon, Saint-Aubin, Domaine Cady. 
From a well exposed single vineyard on a south-facing slope close to the family winery.  Some sweetness in this grim time will be essential. 

People's March – see you in central London today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ueqe54ak3GI

 

I'll be on the People's March today demanding a chance to vote on the Final Deal. Brexit will be catastrophic for the UK – two years on from the referendum there are no tangible examples of why we would be better out than in the EU with the favourable deal that we had. 

Parliament could have stopped this lunacy but jobsworth politicians have failed us, so we need a chance to vote on the Final Deal.

Details here: 

A dispatch from the lunatic asylum.....I'd rather be @Le Salon des Vin de Loire

But for a slip on black ice on 2nd January I would be at the Salon des Vins de Loire in Angers. Unfortunately when I fell my left leg went underneath me and ruptured my quads from my knee cap. This necessitated having on operation on 4th January to reattach the tendons. (See ambulance and knee photos below). 

Fortunately my recovery seems to be going well. I can now go out for long walks relying on just one crutch rather than the two I started out with after the operation. Despite this progress it is still impossible for me to travel, so very sadly no Millésime Bio and no Salon des Vins de Loire this year. 

However, I gather from Chris Kissack, the estimable Wine Doctor, that the catering in Press Office has gone down very sharply in my absence. In the past the Press were offered a very considerable spread for lunch. Clearly austerity has arrived in Angers! Chris reports that the Salon, which for the first time runs for only two days, was busy on Monday and that La Levée de la Loire has expanded considerably. Doubtless this is a reflection of the continued growth of organic viticulture in the Loire. 

But to return to the lunatic asylum – the lamentable state to which the madness of Brexit has reduced in the UK. The latest piece of lunacy is Teresa May ruling out staying in the Customs Union after we leave (if we leave) the EU at the end of March 2019. How May and her government are going to square this with the agreement at the end of Phase One that there would be no hard borders between Northern and Southern Ireland? 

May parrots the aim of achieving 'frictionless' trade ignoring the fact that the Customs Union provides frictionless trade. So why attempt to create a new system, which the EU may well not accept anyway? It is amazing that 18 months after the referendum vote on 23rd June 2016 the UK government has still not agreed on what they are seeking as a trading arrangement following Brexit. 

At least being in Scotland I'm in the antechamber of the lunatic asylum and there have been some compensations being in Scotland. As already posted we ordered a selection of wines from The Wine Society – a selection of whites from South West France, a selection of reds from Spain and some Sherries. 

In addition Château de Tracy and Couly-Dutheil have kindly sent me a selection of samples, so that I can continue to work during my convalescence.        

    

 

5.2.18: the scar healing up 

Escaping the Brexit lunacy

The most famous lie of the Leave campaign

Ever since the narrow result just over a year ago to leave the EU of our ‘advisory’ referendum held on 23rd June 2016 being a U.K. citizen who voted to remain it has been like living through a never-ending nightmare.

Initially it was shock that after more than 40 years in the EU we should have voted to come out in a referendum foolishly held by David Cameron. Foolish that it was held at all but even more foolish that it was held on the basis of a simple majority.

Gradually the implications of leaving the EU have become clearer to more and more people. At the same time the lies and false promises of the leave campaign have been exposed.

Unfortunately on becoming Prime Minister Theresa May, nominally a remainder, opted for a ‘hard brexit’ or even no deal. She appointed three leavers - Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox - to key positions in her Government. Over the past year it has become clear that none of them are properly suited or equipped for their roles.

Fortunately May’s gamble of holding a snap election to increase her majority backfired badly even though she got the most votes and has the most seats in the House of Commons. Instead of a narrow majority, May ended up with a hung parliament far from the thumping majority she had hoped for when she sprung the election.

The extended campaign exposed May as robotic, without empathy and keen to avoid contact with the electorate while demanding a big majority to carry out her hard Brexit or no deal. Her refusal to take part in the broadcast debates being the most obvious example.

At the same time the election campaign engergised Jeremy Corbyn allowing him as an experienced campaigner to connect with the youth vote. This was combined with a big vote registration drive. He attracted enormous and enthusiastic crowds in many parts of the country.

May's government has run out of luck – events have started to show her government in a very unflattering light. As Harold Macmillan is quoted 'Events, dear boy, events' on what blows a government off-course.  

The awful terrorist attacks in Manchester and London in the latter part of the campaign put the spotlight on Government cuts to the emergency services. 20,000 fewer police officers since 2012 involving the drastic shrinking of neighbourhood policing that brings in crucial local intelligence.

May’s arrogant and condescending speech to the Police Federation in 2015 when she scolded her audience for ‘scare mongering’ was widely tweeted and rightly came back to bite her.

The election result left May severely weakened and increasingly a figure of derision. Her pathetic reaction to the terrible fire in the Grenfell Tower coupled with evidence that Ministers had ignored recommendations from previous reports into tower block fire tragedies. It also highlighted the culture of cutting corners which incredibly allowed Grenfell to be clad with flammable material.

The now long-running negotiation with DUP illustrates May’s poor negotiating skills just at the time when we are supposed to be negotiating the very complex process of leaving the EU. 

There is a sense that the tide is turning with more people being persuaded that the best option is to remain within the EU. If a so called soft Brexit means staying within the customs union and the single market along with acceptance of freedom of movement within the EU, then why on earth are we leaving? Staying in gives us a better deal as well as being involved in discussions.

As inflation moves up, people’s wages decline, the NHS faces an increasing shortage of nurses, farmers wake up to the implications of not finding enough EU workers to work on the land and bringing in the crops, and holiday makers find that sterling buys considerably less than it did when they go abroad the idea of leaving will surely increasingly look stupid and damaging. Not forgetting the UK becoming less attractive to investors and starting to lose EU agencies based in London with Euro passporting rights moving away to mainland Europe.

MPs know that the electorate will punish parties that make them poorer.  If opinion really does swing away from leaver, MPs who know that Brexit is insanity will one hopes start to speak up, especially as there appears to be no positive arguments for leaving. Will there be cross-party alliances.

Unfortunately the Labour position on Brexit makes no more sense than the Conservative position. Corbyn’s call of Brexit for the many is just as vacuous as May’s now infamous ‘Brexit means Brexit’. If Corbyn wants to safeguard jobs and people’s living standards then the obvious course is to reverse course and stay in. Furthermore the majority of his supporters aged from 45 and below want to stay in the EU.

As long as May remains Prime Minister she appears to be determined to pursue her hard Brexit but what if she is overthrown or is forced to resign. Let’s say that Philip Hammond takes over. Since the election Hammond has already made it clear, in contrast to May that the emphasis has to be on economics rather than immigration.

What, if once in No 10, Hammond decided that the Brexit farce had run its course and that we couldn’t afford to waste anymore time and resources on negotiating a worse deal than we already have. What if he revoked Article 50 and kept us in the EU. This would completely wrong foot Labour and presumably diminish Corbyn’s current popularity with younger voter. 

May's shoddy deal today with the DUP could prop up her government for a while at huge cost – a bribe of at least a £1 billion. Who will take comments that there is no 'money tree' seriously now. Clear that there is no money tree for essential services – nurses, fire and police officers – but there is plenty to enable her discredited government to limp on. This deal threatens peace in Northern Ireland and will surely not be popular in Scotland, Wales and Northern England who will want their slice of this generous and magical cake.   


Furthermore if the Conservatives are propped up by the DUP this is unlikely to increase their popularity with much of the electorate. Vote Conservative and get the DUP will be a powerful slogan in elections to come. 

Given what has happened over the past year - Brexit and the election of Trump and Macron - i’m loathe to try to predict what the next few months will bring but it is just possible that we could be nearing the end of the UK’s nightmare.

Brexit: the lunatics set sail for Brussels

Today the UK started its divorce process from the European Union – the lunatics led by David Davis sailed into Brussels with a leaky boat. It is barely two weeks since Theresa's cynical attempt to grab a substantial majority by holding a quite unnecessary election failed spectacularly. May has been humiliated as much by the unbeliveably dreadful 

Not only, following the election, does David Davis and the UK Government have no mandate for any kind of Brexit but Davis appears to be incapable of negotiating his way out of a paper bag even with the benefit of SatNav. 

May and her Government appear not or are deliberately ignoring that the popular mood in the UK looks to be moving away from Brexit as the economic and other disadvantages become increasingly apparent. 

Both the French and Germany Governments have offered us a way out with the option for us to change our minds. I fear, however, for the moment our politicians – both Conservative and Labour – are too stupid and blinkered to grasp this gift horse with both hands. Jeremy Corbyn's – 'Brexit for the many' is as stupid as May's 'Brexit means Brexit'.

Hopefully in the time that remains between now and March 2019 when the divorce is due to be finalised, politicians will wake up and realise that the electorate is likely to severely punish fools and liars who set out to make them poorer long term. 

There is still time to own up and admit Brexit is a terrible idea and instead decide to stay within a thriving EU.       

2017 – not much to cheer I fear........!

Happy New Year but will it be?

There are many who will be very happy to see the back of 2016 – frost and mildew in the Loire and other northern French vineyards, Brexit lunacy in the UK and in the US the election of a spoilt child. 

Unfortunately the arrival of 2017 will not wave a magic wand to reverse the effects and after-shocks of 2016. 2017 will see us living with the consequences of 2016. 

Those Loire producers, who were severely hit by the frosts of 2016 April, will be feeling the consequences during the coming year with low wine stocks. There is no doubt that the Loire cannot afford another serious April frost. Fingers will be firmly crossed during Springtime.

It is increasingly clear that the UK cannot afford Brexit. Unfortunately May's incompetent and arrogant government appear to be all too likely to get the worst Brexit deal going. I just hope that the prospects of a hard Brexit will dawn on enough people to force a rethink.....

With a bit of luck we will see London's ridiculous Garden Bridge cancelled.

As for Trump .......

    

 

Finally potentially good news on EU – a chance to remain European

‘EU negotiators will offer British people the chance to individually opt-in and remain EU citizens as a proposal in Brexit negotiations, the European Parliament’s chief negotiator has confirmed.

The plan, first revealed in its early stages by The Independent last month, was being considered as a long-term aim by the European Parliament – but has now been fast-tracked to the negotiating table by Guy Verhofstadt, who is in charge of thrashing out a post-Brexit deal.’

The Independent 9.12.16 – read the rest here. 

Obviously need to see the details of what is proposed for 'associate citizenship' of the EU. If adopted would this just be for UK citizens living in one of the remaining 27 states or would it be an option for those living in the UK, assuming it remains one country, or its constituent parts. 

Noticeable that Guy Verhofstadt appears to have a much clearer vision than anyone in our government that continues to scrabble around to find a Brexit policy that makes any sense and stands up to reality. 

'Associate citizenship' would presumably have the great advantage of not appealing to people such as Davis, Farage, Gove, Johnson, Rees-Mogg and the like.   

Back in Mrs Brexit May's England

Leave voters were sold lies about NHS funding

Chief liar Johnson then promoted to UK Foreign Secretary

After five good weeks in the Loire we are now back in London. Back to Mrs May's Bedlam. Back to complete confusion over what Brexit might actually mean. After five weeks away we are no further forward in knowing what the UK government intends to do than we were back in the second week in September.

May's mantra that Brexit means Brexit is about as helpful as saying Weetabix means Weetabix or Pain au Chocolat means Pain au Chocolat. It is increasingly apparent that May is well out of her depth and her government has little nor no idea what it is doing. Little wonder that Nicola Sturgeon expressed very considerable frustration after her meeting with Brexit May yesterday.

Despite May and her government's continued inability to work out what Brexit actually means, its implications for the UK and what it will mean are increasingly evident:

• A plunging pound against both the dollar and the euro 
• Large banks considering moving HQs out of London in the next few months
• Nissan not committing to further investment in its car plant in Sunderland, whose voters opted to leave the EU.
• A marked increase in racial and homophobic attacks since the referendum of 23rd June 2016
• May looking increasingly out of her depth.
• Other EU leaders appear to have summed May up and got her number.
• Johnson, Davis and Fox appear to be ready to inflict maximum damage on the UK's economy on the Brexit altar.
• There are serious implications for Scotland and Ireland and can these be squared? May appears to think they can be fed a few talking bones and all will be OK. 

I could go on but it is too depressing.