Author Archives: admin

Another image of a certain champagne brand in a cricket setting. Not sure where and when this photo was taken but I believe it is a National Club Cup match.

A message from my friend Vic Mills: “Hi Stuart, Before we get immersed in all things depressingly electoral, a little light reading to lift the spirits in the shape of the Project Front Foot May newsletter. Another bumper edition too … Continue reading

Here’s a picture of Tony Greig, fine all-rounder and England captain, that hangs inside the India Room of the OCS Stand at The Oval cricket ground. Not sure what match award he’s just won but a 3.5-litre Jeroboam or 4.5 … Continue reading

Herbert Warner Allen (1881-1968) is perhaps the great forgotten wine writer of the 20th century. I have been able to find very little information about him after being given a copy of his Through The Looking Glass by a friend … Continue reading

Please find attached my current fine and rare list. I do not own all this stock but broker most of it on behalf of suppliers. With the launch of Vins Extraordinaires, I am starting to utilise my own stocks to … Continue reading

Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (“The Song of the Earth”) is a six-song composition for two voices and orchestra written between 1908 and 1909. It is drenched in wine. The words are from Hans Bethge’s Die chinesische Flöte, his … Continue reading

Frank Martin was a Swiss composer. No, I hadn’t heard of him either. Le vin herbé (The Potion), composed 1938–1940, is Martin’s version of the Tristan and Iseult story, or at least the “love potion” part. It’s rarely staged but … Continue reading

A message from Vic Mills: “More tales from the far Pavilions with the Project Front Foot April newsletter. Another busy month in and around Mumbai with news of the Dharavi Cricket Academy plus more sterling work by our partners at … Continue reading

“Don Quichotte à Dulcinée” is a song cycle by Maurice Ravel based on the story of Don Quixote. One of the three songs is the “Chanson à boire”, which refers to “l’amour et le vin vieux”… Ah, what could be … Continue reading

A cartoon of Samuel Smiles by Edward Linley Sambourne, 1883, from “Punch”. Smiles was a Scottish author and government reformer whose most famous work is “Self-Help” (1859), which promoted thrift and asserted that poverty was caused largely by irresponsible habits. … Continue reading