Kiwi Victory - in black & white...

Well, you can’t say it wasn’t widely predicted but a one point margin was a lot closer than any realist could have imagined. With the, “in the bag” victory for the Kiwis I thought it might make sense to offer a post toast with two wines that New Zealand are most world renowned – Sauvignon-Blanc and Pinot Noir. So from black-and-white to red and white:

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon-Blanc 2011 Marlborough, New Zealand at £ 17.50 per Bottle

(Majestic £ 24.00 each, £ 19.00 on offer)

&

Felton Road “Bannockburn” Pinot Noir 2010 Central Otago, New Zealand at £ 28.50 per Bottle

(Berry Brothers £ 37.50 each, £ 33.75 on offer)

Weekly indulgence:

Château Trottevieille 2001 St-Émilion

Premier Grand Cru Classé B

at £ 36.00 per Bottle

Silly season:

It is amazing what the internet has given us today but also what changes it can throw up some sixty or more years ago. In 1953 my father with his first wife, pregnant and their first daughter, were flying from Sydney to San Francisco and stopped off at Honolulu for a scheduled re-fuelling stop. At first sight they both liked the look of Honolulu so much that my father telephoned through to his travel agent (no mean feat in itself in the 1950’s) and asked if they could get off that plane and take the next one. Luckily his travel agent answered and arranged it so they duly stayed in the Pacific sun. Twenty four hours later the news filtered through that their plane, A British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines DC-6, named “Resolution” crashed near Half Moon Bay on its approach to San Francisco Airport. No crew or passengers survived that day. On board was a reasonably famous pianist called William Kappel. Otherwise little more than a footnote in aviation history as America’s first forensic investigation team. That ordinarily would be that. A few yellowing newspaper cuttings and the fading memory of an 82 year old man. Nothing more tangible than that this side of the pond. However, with the advent of the internet and the briefest of on-line searches and personal contact is made with relatives of some who died in that very crash. Only in December 2008 was a memorial plaque posted at the site. When my brother searched this for my father, within minutes we had contact from America, and my father dug-up the original card breakfast menu from that flight into Honolulu and within seconds it was scanned and winged across to San Francisco. Nearly 60 years on, people still desperate to know, did you sit next to / speak to / see my father…on the earlier leg? Quite sobering but to some degree brought back to life by the internet. Three wives and families and grandchildren later, what one, whimsical little decision can effect hundreds of people… What a thin thread we are attached by.

Many will know Bletchley Park and their success in cracking the German Enigma codes. Earlier in the week Aunty Beeb posted a significant little documentary on what was a far tougher task and that was to crack Hitler’s personal decipher code named Lorenz. Creating “Colossus” two unassuming, geeky characters called Bill Tutte and Tommy Flowers firstly broke this “unbreakable” code and then set about creating what was the first ever electronic computer. The Americans put “claim” to this achievement after the war but due to the stringent Official Secrets Act these two extraordinary gifted brains died, barely ten years ago, without the full recognition that they had conquered another level of Enigma and as a result built the first electronic computer. The Documentary itself was strongly marred by a ludicrous overplaying of every conceivable music, from classical to Massive Attack, and unforgivably, in parts where the narrative is being held by one of the original men from “Station X”. A brilliant story, atrocious direction. In reality “we” gave about 5% of the battle casualties that Russia by comparison endured. We were not in a position to give much in the way of arms or Divisions to Uncle Joe as he continually urged and when we fed them military information it was invariably mistrusted and ignored. They did however absorb the critical intelligence for the Kursk offensive, which was pivotal, and to think that this came from a few nerdish science boffins like (Professor) Bill Tutte et al. Hardly household names but I struggle to think of two more worthy names to stand upon Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth than Bill Tutte and Tommy Flowers. The violence of the Borgia’s etc gave us the most creatively gifted period, the Renaissance. Worth remembering that WWII threw up some equally gifted inventions, much in use today. Tough times at least bring creativity.

One that the Beeb got spot on was the remarkable David Attenborough, late last night. He must be older than some of the extraordinary creatures that he thrusts our way. Surely he’s nearly a hundred himself?! The photography for this North and South Pole extravaganza was quite breathtaking. Some of the best photography yet seen on television or certainly to my eye. This goes a long way to letting us forgive the Beeb for some of their dire prime time drivel.