Festive fare

We thought it proper to accompany our Christmas Eve viewing with the 2014 Gewürztraminer from Hugel noticed at reference 1. Or put another way, to upgrade from our economy class, everyday fare, the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc from Villa Maria. As sold in Wetherspoons and just one of the many wines that come from Marlborough in New Zealand. How many gallons to the acre do they manage?

Digressing at this point to Marlborough, I finally learn that it is a region in the north of south island, of about 5,000 square miles and 50,000 people. Lots of mountains, but with the Sauvignon Blanc coming from the flood plain of the Wairau River, to the west of the regional town of Blenheim, named for the famous victory of the famous general, unlike the TB, named for a famous horse which won a famous race at Epsom. See reference 2.

Back with Christmas Eve viewing, we selected the second half of an elderly Poirot and the first half of a dreary Vera. ITV3, naturally. Elderly Poirot both for it being one of the last Poirot stories to be adapted for television, with the core actors showing their age rather badly. I don't mind Maigret getting old through his twenty five volumes, but I do mind television versions of other detectives getting old; I like them to be timeless. Odd, but that seems to be the way it is. While Vera is known here as dreary Vera, as while well made, the series does seem to be dreary. Lots of dreary people, with all kinds of dreary problems, living in mostly dreary conditions on some far-up-north housing estate. No flashy, international jewel thieves pulling off engaging (if sometimes macabre) stunts in the very best hotels. Very southist of me, no doubt.

Television apart, we both liked, were both very taken with the Gewürztraminer, taken with a little chocolate. Worth buying again, should occasion arise.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2018/12/trolley-hunt-2.html.

Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blenheim_(horse). From which I learn: 'Blenheim (1927–1958), also known as Blenheim II, was a British Thoroughbred race horse who won The Derby in 1930. As sire, he had a major influence on pedigrees around the world. Blenheim was highly tried, by European standards, as a two-year-old in 1929, winning four of his seven races. In the following season he was beaten in his first two races before recording an upset 18/1 win in the Derby. His racing career was ended by injury soon afterwards, and he was retired to stud, where he became an extremely successful and influential breeding stallion, both in Europe and North America'. So TB might well have been built in his glory days, say around 1930. One more thing to be check up on.

Reference 3: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/search?q=TB. For a selection of tales from and about TB, otherwise the Blenheim of Manor Green Road.

Reference 4: The Big Four - Agatha Christie - 1927. One of the early Poirot stories, told in the first person by Captain Hastings. A quick look at the text, suggests that ITV3 took considerable liberties with it in yesterday's adaptation, from 2013.