David Round MW

Good. But probably the tip of the iceberg.

Well, that was disappointing!

Please can someone just pay Andrew to write all the headlines?

It is in Brixton. So yes, wherever there’s a South Asian community. Probably quite large packs but it sounds like that’s what you need.

Could you just buy cardamom pods and grind the seeds with a pestle and mortar or a rolling pin.

An 'epidemic' of violence: The women and girls killed by men last year We tracked reports and contacted police and prosecutors for a deeper look at the situation across UK.

‘It is an "uncomfortable truth" that "the greatest threat to women is not from strangers in dark alleys, but from those they know, trust and often live with", says Gemma Sherrington, CEO of women's charity Refuge.’
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

How the 'red v blue school wars' exposed the social media gap between children and parents Parents were frightened by social posts that seemed to encourage violence at schools. But it was more complicated than it looked

Yep, the kids are alright. It’s the parents in WhatsApp groups that we need to educate,
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

How the 'red v blue school wars' exposed the social media gap between children and parents Parents were frightened by social posts that seemed to encourage violence at schools. But it was more complicated than it looked

Yep, the kids are alright. It’s the parents in WhatsApp groups that we need to educate,
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

MPs reject call for under-16s social media ban, backing more flexible powers The House of Lords had backed a move to ban under-16s in the UK from social media platforms in January.

Good news. Just regulate social media by upholding existing laws. If you were going to ban any age group, pensioners would be the first - it’s their brains that seem to get fried by X and Facebook!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Yes, exactly. They seem plausible to many people who believe the savings. I used to be astonished by their Trustpilot reviews but just checked now and they have been suspended for offering incentives for good reviews. But mainly I hate their implication that the wine trade is making huge margins!

Yes, their ads really annoy me with their "we cut out the middlemen so we can sell wines at a fraction of the price" nonsense. They are not buying these wines direct and frequently claimed savings are made up. But their approach seems to work well with a lot of people.

I have tried Opus One as well. But my Californian education is rather lacking.

Armand de Brignac and 4 of the Californians have passed me by.

Liverpool and Manchester United complain to X about 'sickening' Grok posts The UK government says it is

The UK government says that the posts "go against British values and decency".

Well of course they do. Because X reflects US values in 2026. The UK government shouldn't be anywhere near it. No reasonable person should.
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

I just came here to answer Mike’s question.

Yes, there’s is a lot of grand cru swill out there. Just really mediocre stuff that wouldn’t hold a candle to a good grower’s village wine.

Yes, I was responding to your assumption that if someone can't discern quality in a 10 or 17 year-old grand cru, then they just haven't given it enough air or time in bottle. If you corrected in a subthread, then I'm glad.

30 years of trade buying in the region for four merchants leads me to the latter explanations. And if a 2009, of all vintages, isn’t showing any hints of its grand cru quality by now, it never will.

So do I, hence using the two words in the same sentence. Mike doesn’t detect any quality cues in a 17 year old wine, but somehow without tasting it, you reckon they are there. Either Mike can’t discern quality or, Occam’s Razor, it’s just a mediocre wine or a faulty bottle (or both).

It was Tryon Foothills in North Carolina. I think California has hit saturation, AVAs don't solve any of their current problems and if anything, producers are stepping back from more specific (e.g. Atlas Peak) to less specific (e.g. Napa Valley).

If wines don't show any quality or charm in their first decade, I don't think I'm going to like how they end up. Yes, there are loads of really top wines that you taste very young and think "this will be amazing in x years" but I think "it's too young to see the quality" is an over-deployed excuse.

Yes, I don't think there is much appetite for new appellations, denominations and designations any more. In the US, there was only one new AVA in the whole of last year.

There’s a clear majority for progressive parties here, which is a great cause for optimism. But we need proportional representation to make sure this is reflected in the government we elect.

Modern feminism increasingly seems to be not very modern.

No, exactly. About as well as James Watt and common decency. Or punk and equity.

Yes, as soon as I saw that, I just got on with my day.

Reform would be a national catastrophe of Trump / MAGA proportions. Maybe focus on not suggesting they might not be worse. That would help.

Phew. Expect a self-indulgent thread in about three to four weeks.

It may take a while. I’m a slow reader in the best of languages.

My advice would be: if you now have to compromise by working for another absolute arse in order to pay your bills, don’t wait three and a half years before starting to look around again. (Yeah, don’t ask)