Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Doods,

I'm not going to disagree that eating out in rural France can sometimes represent good value for money. But that's not what you originally said...

You said 'the quality of food they serve takes some beating'. You weren't making a comparison to British cuisine in that statement. It's a matter of personal opinion, of course, but I would say that I prefer Italian, Indian, Chinese and some others to French cuisine. Those nations have done more, imo, in terms of getting flavour out of their food than the French ever had.

As examples, I was fortunate enough to eat at elBulli a couple of times before it closed, so it's probably a dis-service to the Spanish to bemoan their food, and if you've ever had street food from the Dai Pai Dongs in Hong Kong, you'll know that the tastes and flavours can be sublime. Ditto, if you've ever been to New Orleans and sampled some of the creole food they serve there. Probably the nicest risotto I've ever had was in a hotel in the Italian Alps, and the fegato con burro e salvia they serve in a little place I know outside Milan really takes some beating.

So yeah, I've been around the world, and I've eaten in a few joints, and I have to say that French cuisine doesn't stand out for me in a global comparison.

chacun a son gout

and the wines?
or shall we by-pass that one? :-)

No, there's no need to pass the wines by, Cyners.

It's a matter of personal opinion and taste as to which wines are the very best and you quickly named a few that suited your palate. But you neglected to mention that some froggy vineyards produce real paint stripper, and the stuff from the co-operatives can be mediocre at best. The quality varies considerably (probably because they let old grannies with verukas tread the grapes) within each French wine producing region.

That variation in quality is much less common from new world wines.

The type of joint I would expect to see Manuel waiting on the hairy one at.

Certainly new world wines are more consistent. Many countries make better wine than the average french. The very best burgundies and Bordeaux, both red and white, can't be beaten anywhere. But you are talking silly money. I have had Latour, Rothschild, Margeaux and Mersault, Montrachet and others and they are nectar. An average French wine is pretty useless. It is interesting that many southern French wines are now made with new technology by Australians particularly in the Languedoc region.

I like good French wine and I like good wine from the New World.

My wife likes gin.

I like water diluted with Alcohol!

Skip the water.

Actually, having posted that Aldi advert up, I must say, that Lidl are selling some pretty good French wines these days, particularly from the very fine Bordeaux region:

http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/6415.htm

And the cheek of it! The latest brand new Lidl to open up in Northampton is actually nearer to Sainsbury's entrance doors than are their own Gent's and Lady's toilets.

Cough, cough.

Sorry to bring the tone down.

Looks like Wee-Eck's blown it.



1/4 no

7/1 yes


https://promotions.betfair.com/sports-politics-scottishref-enhanced?rfr=70004&sid=1791&gclid=CLr4tZL458ACFY_MtAodUC0Atg&rfr=70004&kw=+scottish%20+independence%20+betting&efid=VBhppwAABUSz9R8W:20140917092948:s&mpch=ads

You are not bringing the tone down at all. There is a lot of silly snobbery involved when some people start talking about fine wines! Some of the wine that snobs regard as cheap plonk is actually very palatable.

DB4,

I agree with you.

A lot of snobbery around drinking wine is affectation by the simple minded.

Mind everybody to their own taste and reasons for drinking.

Personally, I enjoy Rhone's some Burgundies and those using Gamay grapes.

But prices of Burgundies have shot up over the years.


But the taste of wine is improved by good company and enjoyable food and the weather.

Also some of the Bergerac wines are really good and not at silly prices.

Db4,

They are a little too dry for me, but I visited quite a few vineyards when I rested in that area.

I suppose they will go with Duck's gizzards which I never ate when I was there, but were being swallowed by tourists.

For french wine : you have to go abroad and bring it back preferably in bottles.....you can get plastic containers but the wine does go off unless you drink a lot......there is a huge choice for wine in France...of staggering variety.....the Languedoc rose is my favourite....I won't tip which wines because I fear there will be a rush.....now : trick question with the answer : which is the only wine which is heated to 60c before bottling during the distilling process...crushing...etc...answer : Listel Rose.....not many people know that even in France.....forget about buying decent reds in England...way overpriced....

Punishing 'green' taxes threatens Teesside's "proud industrial heritage"



Last updated 10:50 Friday 12 September 2014 .
The Northern Echo

Hannah Chapman, Assistant News Editor


TEESSIDE’S “proud industrial heritage” faces further decline because of punishing ‘green’ taxes, the Government was warned yesterday (Thursday, September 11).

A cross-party alliance of the region’s MPs used a Commons debate to urge ministers to ease the pain for energy intensive industries, including steel and chemicals.

The plea follows the introduction of a ‘carbon tax’ – a minimum price for the energy produced, to cover the cost of pollution and to stimulate new, renewable forms of energy.

Earlier this year, the Chancellor capped that price floor at £18 per tonne of CO2 from 2016, instead of allowing a rise to £30 by 2020 – saving industries around £4bn over three years.

But Alex Cunningham (Lab; Stockton North) argued the move did not go far enough, saying: “The Tees Valley has long been synonymous with heavy industry and the thirst for energy that it necessarily entails.

“The cooling towers and chimney stacks that still adorn, if not dominate, parts of the region’s skyline are testimony to Teesside’s proud industrial heritage.




“But the decline of those industries will be hastened if actions are not taken to lessen the burdens imposed by carbon taxes and levies.”

The Labour MP raised the “struggles” of GrowHow, a fertiliser company in his constituency, which had to pay three times as much for gas as its Russian competitors.

And he added: “Similarly, German electricity prices on a delivered basis for very large users in 2013 equated to €38 per MW, against £70 per MW in the UK.



More green economic madness here: http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/11469512.Punishing__green__taxes_threatens_Teesside_s__proud_industrial_heritage_/#comments