Adrian Edmondson in 1986:

What a shame – I do love this opera. I’ve watched the 2009 Benini/Brownlee/Garanča version on DVD a dozen times – it’s an absolute delight. Glad you found some positives in your review, though.

Thank you, Niall. I enjoyed that. Content aside, the gag about ‘military mettle’ made me smile. And I was delighted to see the adjective ‘adamantine’ correctly deployed – so many writers use the noun, adamant, and it riles up my inner pedant a treat.

From your posts I guess you’re in Spain - so much great wine, right? I’ve looked out for bottles of the Mencía grape ever since tasting that Lalama, but my standard go-to is a rather lovely PV from Finca Antigua (La Mancha) at just €7, which as you can see from pic…. I like a lot

From the British satirical comic, Viz....

Great article by Moira Donegan @moiradonegan.bsky.social
on Cormac McCarthy. Really good on the ugly power dynamic and its context in current events.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

V. glad to find you here, Dr Scott... I followed you on the other place but your posts were often lost in the dross. I’ve loved your work ever since you made me re-evaluate Jamie Oliver. Your writing challenges my positionality (standard white middle class minor public school male). I value that.

Indeed it is

Visiting family - found this bottle I dimly recall buying many years ago at auction, stored in far too warm place the last few years (rest of family not wine obsessives, so they don’t get the memos) – but gosh it’s good – complete, mature, long, warm, full, spicy – what a pleasant surprise. Ooh.