Our village runs a Cinema Club in the War Memorial Hall,
Peppard Common. It gets us all together on winter nights and raises cash for
the village school and such. Bring your own cushion.
When all is snowed up it’s particularly useful as most can
walk it. Our fierce doctors are very insistent we do lots of walking in these
parts. Pavement pounding seems their low-cost cure for most ailments.
And also we have our distinguished, Senior Retired GP
running these films dos. So if you know what’s good for you, you do not
bottle-out on account of a bit of snow.
This snowy week the hall was still almost full and it was
'Slumdog Millionaire' so of course the volunteer cooks had done a curry. Quite
a mild one, luckily, so we could still taste the wines. Which are our jobs, of
course.
I find the varied bunch of villagers we get very useful for
doing a bit of product testing. They are keen to help. With the first glass
free, thereafter £2 who wouldn't be? And tonight no-one's driving.
We set up when the ballet-school leave about 6.30; tables
and a hundred chairs, cutlery and serviettes. Cleverer chaps fix up the
sophisticated projection and sound we invested in. Steaming curry is stirred in
the kitchen, but it’s the bar that gets besieged first.
Tonight I'm offering El Campeador, Tomahawk, Willy Willy,
Don Cayetano Cab, Brigando and Patriots merlot on the red side. And Gooseberry Bush,
Cittadella, White River, Yarrunga Field, Campanula and Full Fifteen Chardy on
this freezing night's less-busy white side. The big ice bucket looks less tempting
when you just skated across a much bigger one.
Notice that cleverly, I only ever bring screwcap bottles. So
much easier and faster.
Tomahawk is clear winner on reds except for those who shy
away from its high alcohol; they prefer Lisbon's favourite: Brigando. The
sauvignons always do best on the whites, though I notice Chardonnay seems no
longer taboo in South Oxfordshire. What goes round, comes round. 44 years, now,
in this business, one begins to understand that tastes in wine change as much
as hem lines.
Great film. We all say, second time we noticed so much more.
Crams a lot in, that Danny Boyle.Every year the club is asked which films it wants to see.
Democratic like. So nothing extreme. Frustrates the real film buffs maybe but they're
all worth watching.
We love it. Even if, after, we have to wash up, put all the
furniture away, and lug home the heavy kit … and rather a lot of empty wine
bottles. But 'many hands, light work' and empty bottles are such a joy for a
wine merchant.
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