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Waddeson Wine Inaugural Collection Tasting

Showcasing wines from the extensive Waddesdon Wine portfolio, including The Rothschild Collection, Penfolds, Frescobaldi, Joseph Phelps and Hundred Acre.

This tasting event will also see the unveiling of Roseblood, the grand rosé from Château d’Estoublon.

For more information contact Hannah Armitage: hannah@cubecom.co.uk.

Get on your bike for Wines of Chile on July 5

Bordeaux Day

Bordeaux Day returns to both Manchester and London this summer.

Producers and distributors will be on hand to present their latest wines.

Winning producers within the Bordeaux Hot 50 Selection 2022 will be showcasing other wines from their portfolio, while 35 Bordeaux producers seeking UK representation will have their wines on show in Bordeaux Undiscovered.

There is also the chance to taste the newest releases from leading agents.

For more information, contact teambordeaux@cubecom.co.uk.

Tuesday, June 28 Spencer House 27 St James’s Place London SW1A 1NR

Imbibe Live

The one event in the calendar that focuses on the entire world of drinks, from wines, beers and spirits to soft drinks, RTDs, mixers, tea, coffee, no and low-ABV drinks, waters and associated products.

To register, contact marketing@imbibe. com.

Monday, July 4 and Tuesday, July 5 Olympia London Hammersmith Road London W14 8UX

Wines of Chile 2022 Special Report

A masterclass and tasting of wines featured in Tim Atkin MW’s Chile 2022 Special Report.

Atkin will be joined via Zoom by each of the winemakers for the masterclass, after which a free-pour tasting will showcase a selection of the highest scoring wines. Contact Anita Jackson: email info@ winesofchile.org.uk.

Tuesday, July 5 Asia House 63 New Cavendish Street London W1G 7LP

Côtes du Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages & Crus Tasting

A self-pour tasting with a Crus masterclass presented by wine writer Matt Walls. There will also be a wine talk focused on Côtes du Rhône and sustainability.

Contact Solenn Guillermin: email sguillermin@sopexa.com.

Wednesday July 6 Glaziers Hall 9 Montague Close London SE1 9DD Monday, July 11 The Stoller Hall Hunts Bank Manchester M3 1DA

Wednesday, July 13 Arlettie 13-14 Margaret Street London W1W 8RN

Real Italian Wine & Food

Around 80 producers of Italian food and wine will be showcasing their goods at this 11th edition of RIWF.

The aim is to present a comprehensive range of products from different Italian regions. It’s an opportunity to make contact with selected producers as well as attend a number of seminars.

For more information contact, Antonietta Kelly: a.kelly@ice.it.

Thursday July 14 The Royal Horticultural Halls The Lindley Hall 80 Vincent Square London SW1P 2PB

Ioften get letters from my fans asking me whether my Amazing Lunches are true. “Yes”, I write back from the stretch Hummer that is my mobile office, tucking into my current favourite Amazing Lunch of prawn Marie Rose served in a perfectly ripe avocadopear using a rasher of stiff precooked yellow label Co-op bacon as a spork. “For I have the sad affliction of a complete lack of imagination.”

One of the most endearing qualities of my colleague Ann is her insistence, despite all evidence to the contrary, that she has a friend. Let’s call her Hilary, because that’s what Ann calls her; she has a friend that is – and there’s no nice way of putting this because this is a rather nice way of putting this: Imaginary.

They “run” together, they occasionally “share a Negroni” in the lane behind Ann’s house, but no one has ever met “Hilary”. “Hilary was in,” Ann says. “You just missed her.” Aye, right.

There was a time when Ann paid some woman who was having lunch outside the Overly Bright Italian Restaurant a fiver to say that she was Hilary, but we quickly saw through this ruse, and we also saw Ann give her a fiver and wink. Ann is very

19. CHIP SHOP KITTEN

Some members of the Valhalla’s Goat team in Glasgow may have imaginary friends, but Phoebe Weller now has an actual reallife cat

popular so no one is sure as to why she has felt the need to invent a running partner, and one with such a ludicrous name, but it keeps Ann happy, and a happy Ann makes for a happy shop, apart from Meadlords because Ann has it in for them. Usually mellow Ann can’t abide Meadlords and cats, which is fine because they tend to hang out together.

I have neither the time nor inclination (given that most of my social juice is greedily soaked up by Surprisingly Boring Adam, an oft-forgotten Saturday afternoon treat) to invent a peppy pal for “running”. I do however now have a Real Kitten that Pepe from the chip shop gave me. Pepe, as you will remember, is the inventor of Battered Curried Fish, also the deliverer of Golden Chanterelles, the permanent Fag-Breaker peering in windows, the “Hi Babe” womaniser who used to stand next to the Italian section telling any customer who picked up a bottle that it was “shit”; legendary Pepino, who occasionally grooves into a hip-swinging shuffle accompanied with a very direct look that makes you wonder what’s going on in his imagination.

He brought Pepina into the shop on Sunday night just when we had started doing some Actual Work, ie shutting down the shop – the most efficient part of the shift. I wonder if you have tried to do Actual Work with a tiny recently-plucked-from-your-mother’sembrace kitten gripping your shoulder in terror? Actual Work is difficult at the best of times, but this took Imaginary Work to a whole new level.

Ann was thrilled! Customer reaction was mixed. Big tattoed Jock in for his alcfree carry-out croaked onimously, Pepina, it’s your uncle Jockie, whilst anysparechangehaveanicedaygodblessya stopped his rhythmic dirge to coo and make other noises that weren’t anysparechangehaveanicedaygodblessya. Dr Robert’s complete disregard for the cat made me wonder if indeed she did exist, but then he showed me a photo without explanation of his wife being overwhelmed by Adler, his Norwegian Forest cat.

Pepina is doing very well now, before you write in. She has shown herself to be a talented Timelord (stealing rather than surfing) with a remarkable imagination. I just watched her playing with an imaginary something for 37 minutes.

There is much less time for nothing when surrounded by people and cats and their imaginary doings.