Month: June 2018

The Royal Cheshire Show

The Royal Cheshire show is held over two days in June each year and is organised by the Cheshire Agricultural Society which was first formed in 1838 although the first Cheshire Show was not held until 1893.

It has had a number of different venues over the years but is currently held in Tabley, just outside the Cheshire town of Knutsford, with good motorway links via the M6 and M56.

It has everything you would expect from a country show, plenty of animals, agricultural machinery, vintage vehicles, local produce, floral displays,country pursuits and numerous shopping opportunities to name but a few. Having never been to an agricultural show before I was pleasantly surprised at how much was going on and how easy it is to spend a whole day here.

There really is something for everyone and if the sun shines, as it did this year, it is a great day out.

The Food Live Theatre was popular with many visitors with numerous cookery demonstrations from chefs including Jean Christophe Novelli, Brian Mellor and former Great British Bake Off finalist Luis Troyano who decorated the most amazing cake. Sadly no tasting samples!

There were plenty of opportunites to get up close to some very fine animals including this European Eagle Owl which at 4 years old is still a youngster!

Some however were not quite so alert.

Dates for next year are the 18th and 19th June 2019.. Might have to put it in the diary.

Wine Round Up

Somehow missed posting this the other week. Here are some of the favourite wines tasted/drunk during the last few weeks. In no particular order.

Tio Pepe Fino En Rama. – this is so good I wrote a post about it at the time. Fresh, vibrant and everything a quality fino should be. If you don’t think you like dry sherry try this. Furthermore it will keep in fridge happily for up to a week .

Etabeta. Fattoria Kappa. Tuscany 2016. Italy – Vermentino made with minimum intervention and no filtration. This is rich and seductive with bags of tropical fruit, peach and limes. Great texture and depth and lovely, lovely fruit. A very fine wine indeed.

On Pète La Soif. Jean Paul Thévenet. 2016. Beaujolais. France. – Beaujolais but not as we know it, its sparkling! Whats not to like about this wine, its bursting with flavour, strawberry juice with a hint of bubblegum and rose petal and off dry. With only 7.5% alcohol it makes a great aperitif. Fun in the sun.

Tinpot Hut. Sauvignon Blanc. 2017. Marlborough. New Zealand – Aromas of lime, gooseberry and a touch of apricot. Palate is fresh and crisp with zingy acidity and a lovely finish.

Cognettera Gwenn, Cognettes. 2015. Muscadet. France. -fermented in amphora with 10% whole berries using wild yeasts. Aged for 12 months in amphora. Nose is stone fruit and herbs. The palate is peach and pear, its soft, round with a touch of sweetness and a long, lingering peachy finish. A very appealing wine with real character and finesse. Excellent.

Juliénas. Domaine David Chapel. 2016. Beaujolais. France. – had this at a restaurant in London and was very impressed. Lovely, lovely wine. light red fruits with real elegance and a nice savoury finish.

El Inquilino Crianza, Rioja. 2014. Spain. – Great depth of colour and rich dark fruits with a splash of vanilla> Palate is rich, smooth with lovely peppery spice. The finish is blackcurrant. Great value for money.

Clonale Chardonnay. Kooyong. 2016. Mornington Peninsula. Australia. – This is well made chardonnay with real character. Aromas of lemons, stone fruit followed by a hint of vanilla. The palate is medium bodied with pineapple, lemon, peach and a touch of baked bread. Nicely balanced and a lingering finish. Very nice.

Double Fantasy Exhibition

There can be few people that have had so much negative press over the years as Yoko Ono. There was a time when she was blamed for the break up of The Beatles, her art was derided as worthless and she was portrayed as having an unhealthy control over John Lennon. That was the late sixties/early seventies and thankfully times have changed. Despite living in New York Yoko has maintained her links with Liverpool, the city of Lennon’s birth, and much of the enmity towards her has passed since his untimely death in 1980. It is therefore fitting that she has brought the story of her relationship with Lennon here to the city of his birth in an exhibition at The Museum of Liverpool at the Pier Head, close to Andy Edwards statue of the Fab Four.

Located on the second floor, the exhibition is on until 22nd April 2019 and entry is free. You could easily get round in an hour but if you have more time to spare so much the better, you won’t regret it.

Double Fantasy tells the story of John and Yoko life together through a variety of different objects and media. These include hand written lyrics to some of Lennon’s well known songs, their wedding outfits and other iconic items of clothing, guitars, pieces of Yoko’s art work and Lennon’s hard won green card.

Video clips are used well to add context and give their own insights at the time. A while room is used to show a video recording of Lennon performing Imagine at a white piano. It starts in a darkened room and as the song develops Yoko opens shutters to bring light into the room. If you want a real insight into the couples love for each other watch it until the very end.

The walls outside the video space are given over to visitors to leave their own personal thoughts on post-it notes. Some are trivial but many are quite poignant and reveal much about how the couple are perceived today.

I found the exhibition quite moving, something I hadn’t really expected and was quite surprised by. I certainly came away with a much deeper understanding of the depth of their love for each other and how, despite all that was written about them, it endured.

The end of the exhibition deals with Lennon’s murder and its aftermath. There is a chilling statistic displayed near the exit. It speaks loud and clear that John and Yoko’s campaign messages of peace and understanding  need to be heard today as much as they were over 50 years ago.

You can get more details of the exhibition by visiting the museum’s website here