THE JUDGMENT of PARIS Also Inside

Home , David Bruce Winery, Jermain Jackman, Joya de Nicaragua, Loadsamoney, Natasha Hamilton, Nick Ferrari

boisdaleAUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13

THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS The wine tasting that scandalised France

THE TRIALS OF ELON MUSK Ben Oliver on Tesla's controversial genius

Also inside INTO THE NICK FERRARI: WHY BULL RING! AIR TRAVEL IS HELL The Englishman BRUCE ANDERSON ON who became CHARLES DE GAULLE a matador ROGER BOOTLE'S INTEREST WWW.BOISDALE.CO.UK RATE PREDICTIONS £4.95 $7.40 STANLEY JOHNSON SEARCHES €6.70 FOR SNOW LEOPARDS ¥880 Experience the power of extraordinary. The new Continental GT. From the first 1919 prototype to the new Continental GT – Bentley has been perfecting performance to deliver the ultimate grand The new Continental GT fuel consumption – EU Drive Cycle in mpg (l/100 km): Urban 16.0 (17.7); touring experience. To experience it for yourself on a test drive call 0845 689 1624 or visit BentleyMotors.com/Continental Extra Urban 31.7 (8.9); Combined 23.2 (12.2). CO2 Emissions 278 g/km.

Bentley_Boisdale_Life_2109_280x420.indd All Pages 24/08/2018 11:14 Experience the power of extraordinary. The new Continental GT. From the first 1919 prototype to the new Continental GT – Bentley has been perfecting performance to deliver the ultimate grand The new Continental GT fuel consumption – EU Drive Cycle in mpg (l/100 km): Urban 16.0 (17.7); touring experience. To experience it for yourself on a test drive call 0845 689 1624 or visit BentleyMotors.com/Continental Extra Urban 31.7 (8.9); Combined 23.2 (12.2). CO2 Emissions 278 g/km.

Bentley_Boisdale_Life_2109_280x420.indd All Pages 24/08/2018 11:14

MADE IN ENGLAND | SINCE 1879

BY APPOINTMENT TO HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES MANUFACTURER AND SUPPLIER OF FOOTWEAR CROCKETT & JONES LIMITED, NORTHAMPTON Chiltern

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Editor’s letter I don’t think any French man or woman Karam interviews Stephen Spurrier, could be included in a list of the global the Englishman who instigated the top ten most important people of the famous blind tasting which resulted in 20th Century – and possibly not even the astonishing victory of Californian the top thousand (only joking, French wines over the best of Bordeaux and readers!). But if there was to be one, Burgundy – and nine of the 12 judges it must be Charles de Gaulle, who for were French! But I do like to think those of us who grew up with Asterix that de Gaulle would have approved of and Obelix, is rather aptly named for Boisdale’s new ambition to become the a champion of France. pre-eminent wild mushroom restaurant In this issue of Boisdale Life, Bruce of London. Every day this autumn, at Anderson vividly reminds us of this each Boisdale restaurant, the rarest grand man’s achievements in light of and most extraordinary fungi will be France’s militarily-humiliating 150 available in a variety of dishes for the years, from Napoleon to the Vichy delectation of our customers. Unlike

JAMIE LAU government. Without de Gaulle’s France, our high street chemists are not logic-defying, egotistical and fanatical equipped to test the toxicity of foraged nationalistic vision, France – the mushrooms, but please rest assured boisdale country we love to hate and secretly our chefs and I will have tasted them envy – might have lost its self-respect all beforehand. This makes Bill Knott's and cultural integrity. God forbid we charming and illuminating examination might not have had either the EU or of the joys of eating and foraging wild Editor & Chief even the TGV! mushrooms essential reading. Ranald Macdonald And while we‘re on the subject, why OMG I’ve run out of space! I trust can’t the British produce incredibly you will find this fabulously eclectic Publishing director Andrew Davies civilised, magnificently fast, reliable issue of Boisdale Life stimulating, and Managing editor Timothy Barber and sensibly-priced double-decker train hope you enjoy wild and scarce foraged Creative director Scott Bentley travel? Especially since air travel has mushrooms in one of our beautiful Marketing director Barbara Widera completely lost its allure unless you pay restaurants very soon. Sub-editors Jenni Moore, Emma Hughes through, and are seated in, the nose. Picture editor Leanne Bracey Nick Ferrari remembers, with glowing Cover illustration Rui Ricardo at Folio Art nostalgia, the glory days of being treated as a customer by the airlines and not Editors-at-large Paddy Renouf, Michael Karam like an inmate of a dystopian asylum. It was fortunate however that de Contributing editors William Sitwell, Gaulle did not live to see France’s RANALD MACDONALD Jonathan Wingate, Bruce Anderson greatest defeat in recent times, at the Editor & Chief and founder of Boisdale Ben Oliver, Bill Knott ‘Judgment of Paris’ in 1976. Michael Restaurants and Bars

WELCOME TO BOISDALE LONDON’S ORIGINAL RESTAURANTS & BARS

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7 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 DISCOVER THE NEW AUTUMN WINTER COLLECTION

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FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS

ALEXANDER ELLA WHELAN FISKE-HARRISON Ella Whelan is a journalist and author of the book An award-winning author, What Women Want: Fun, Freedom and an End to journalist and broadcaster, Feminism, whose writing has appeared in The Sun, Alexander Fiske-Harrison is also The Spectator, The Sunday Times and Spiked Online. one of the UK’s only trained In this issue, she rails against the myth of the bullfighters – a world he takes modern millennial (page 31) us into on page 48. Alexander is the editor of new book The Bulls of Pamplona, and author of Into the Arena: the World of the Spanish Bullfight

ALYN SHIPTON One of the UK’s pre-eminent authorities on jazz, Alyn Shipton presents Jazz Record Requests on BBC Radio 3, is the author of several books on the subject, and a jazz bassist. In our new column on classic jazz albums (page 82), he looks at the 1961 live recordings of piano legend Bill Evans

NICK HAMMOND Nick Hammond is an award- BILL KNOTT winning writer on subjects Food writer Bill Knott pens How To Spend It’s including cigars, luxury, travel ‘The Gannet’ restaurant review column, is the and the countryside. Nick wine writer for the Oldie, recipe columnist for traveled to Nicaragua to tell the BEN OLIVER Restaurant Magazine and an ambassador for story of the country’s thriving One of the UK’s leading car journalists, Ben Oliver specialises in Action against Hunger. As Boisdale restaurants cigar industry for his new book long-form adventure travel stories for publications including Car, put their autumnal focus on wild mushrooms, Cinco Decadas: The Rise Of The The Mail on Sunday, The Irish Times and Automobile. Having known Bill delves into the delights of morels, giant Nicaraguan Cigar, something he Elon Musk for several years, Ben reflects on the mercurial Tesla puffballs, amethyst deceivers et al on page 74 chronicles on page 28 CEO’s talents and controversies on page 44

Boisdale Life ISSN 2058-499 Any facts stated or opinions expressed anywhere in the magazine BPA Audited Circulation of 161,152 are the responsibility of the individual writers and contributors. All boisdale material omitted intentionally is the sole responsibility of the © 2018. Published four times individual contributors. Boisdale Life and the Editor are not Twitter @boisdalelife a year by Boisdale Limited, responsible for any injury or loss relative to such material. All Instagram @boisdalelife 15 Eccleston St, London, material is compiled by sources believed to be reliable, but Web boisdalelife.com SW1W 9LX published without responsibility for errors or omissions.

9 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 LONDON 71-72 JERMYN STREET | 4 DAVIES STREET | 23 BURY STREET | NEW YORK 50 EAST 57 TH STREET

TURNBULLANDASSER.COM CONTENTS

BOISDALE LIFE AUTUMN 2018

26 34 48 74

REGULARS TABLE TALK FEATURES PURSUITS 12 28 36 58 DIARY REPORT ARETHA FRANKLIN ADVENTURE The Boisdale Music Nick Hammond finds Jonathan Wingate looks Ranald Macdonald goes Awards, The Residencies, Nicaragua’s cigar industry back on the extraordinary hunting capercaillie in Boisdale Got Vibes, Editor’s is rising to the top life of the Queen of Soul Bulgaria’s mountains Lunch, Highclere Castle, Vacheron Constantin 30 40 62 MONEY THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS STEINWAY & SONS 19 Roger Bootle considers the The true story of the wine Timothy Barber heads to BOISDALE LIFE & TIMES link between interest rates tasting that rocked the Hamburg, where the world’s Lulu (above) on six decades and the political landscape French, by Michael Karam greatest pianos are made of music, plus Horace Andy, The King’s Ginger 31 44 66 cocktails and more SOCIETY ELON MUSK JEAN-DAVID MALAT Ella Whelan reckons What’s next for the crisis- Andy Jones meets the 70 Generation Snowflake are hit Tesla CEO and his art dealer to the A-list CIGARS tougher than they seem world-changing company? Seasonal selections from Ben Oliver finds out 68 the Boisdale humidor 32 FINE WATCHES RANT 48 The Cartier Santos is a 24 Nick Ferrari deplores BULLFIGHTING long-standing signifier of STARTER’S ORDERS modern air travel Alexander Fiske-Harrison French luxury and cool Colin Cameron meets trainer takes to the bull-ring to get Andrew Balding ahead of 33 to the heart of toreo culture 70 a tilt at the Melbourne Cup SPORT DRINKING Julian Harris on football’s 52 Mark Palmer is a convert 80 fun crackdown CHARLES DE GAULLE to aged premium rum THE BOISDALE JUKEBOX Bruce Anderson assesses Alyn Shipton introduces 34 the career of the man 74 must-have jazz albums CONSERVATION who reshaped France EATING Stanley Johnson searches Bill Knott on the glories for snow leopards of wild mushrooms

11 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 a DIARY WHAT SUMMER 2018 LOOKED LIKE AT BOISDALE

Great Scot and 1960s legend Charlie Pyne, winner of the Donovan wows the crowd Best Jazz Singer award

Award winners Brian McFadden Best Band winners, The Jive Aces and Luciano “The Messenger”

Luciano “The Messenger” and band

BOISDALE MUSIC AWARDS 2018 Hosts Jools Holland and Ferne McCann took to the stage to present the third annual Boisdale Music Awards on 12 September, Hosts Jools Holland (l) and Ferne McCann (second along with some of the greatest entertainers right) with Natasha Hamilton, Boisdale’s Ranald Macdonald and Fleur East in the music world. On a sparkling night, winners – who all performed – included Brian McFadden (Best Male Singer), ex- Atomic Kitten star Natasha Hamilton (Best Female Singer), X Factor finalist Fleur East (Best Soul Singer) and Luciano “The Messenger” (Best Reggae Singer). Soul legend Alexander O’Neal was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award, while in a nod Singer, piannist and band leader to Boisdale’s Scottish heritage Donovan – the TJ Johnson was named Best Blues Singer Sunshine Superman himself – received the Great Scot Music Award. Lifetime Achievement Award winner and soul legend Alexander O’Neail raises the roof

Bill Martin won Legendary Songwriter for hits Saxophonist Yolanda Brown Best Newcomer, the London-based Twinnie, winner of Best Country Singer,

including Puppet on a String and Elvis’ My Boy won Best Instrumentalist singer-songwriter Emily Capell whose debut single is out now ALAN DAVIDSON ETIENNE GILFILLAN,

12 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 a

DIARY

Rita Coolidge

Former Spice Girl Melanie C; (left) on stage with her band

THE RESIDENCIES This summer saw a formidable line-up of artists perform a series of intimate sets at Boisdale of Canary Wharf. Gracing the stage were Melanie C, Rita Coolidge, and Marcella Detroit. runtur autruntur aut

BOISDALE GOT VIBES Back by popular demand, the legendary Saxon Sound DJs rocked the New Orleans Terrace throughout the summer at Boisdale of Canary Wharf with a pioneering set of soul, funk and reggae, while a spice and pepper- fuelled jerk barbecue kept the party going late into the night. Robbie Maddix, Owen Campbell and friends Noel McCoy, Junior Giscombe, Don-E and Anthony Carlyle

The Saxon Sound DJs

CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHY, CONCERT Natalie ‘The Floacist’ Stewart Ranald Macdonald and David Alexander

Nancy Dell'Olio Francis Fulford

Rt Hon Brian Wilson, the Cuban ambassador, Her BOISDALE LIFE Excellency Mrs Teresita Sotolongo, and her husband Rebecca Ferguson and John McEntee it’s no time EDITOR’S LUNCH On 6 June Boisdale Life Magazine hosted the annual Boisdale Life Editor’s Lunch and Awards in association with TCS World Travel to thank and celebrate all of the writers, interviewees and key partners that have supported and participated in the success of the magazine over the last three years. to think small.

Welcome to truly global asset management.

Stanley Johnson and Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo Find out more at aberdeenstandard.com

TCS World Travel's Lindsey Spagnol with flight crew

Ranald Macdonald, Mark Hix, Tom Parker-Bowles and Valanetine Warner Giles Hilton, Nick Ferrari and Frances Mollinghoff Roger Bootle ASKAROFF TOM Capital at risk.

Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited is registered in Scotland (SC108419) at 10 Queen’s Terrace, Aberdeen, Scotland, AB10 1YG, Standard Life Investments Limited is registered Aberdeen Standard Investments is a brand of the 14 in Scotland (SC123321) at 1 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2LL, and both companies investment businesses of Aberdeen Asset Management are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. and Standard Life Investments. BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13

Welcome to truly global asset management.

Find out more at aberdeenstandard.com

Capital at risk.

Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited is registered in Scotland (SC108419) at 10 Queen’s Terrace, Aberdeen, Scotland, AB10 1YG, Standard Life Investments Limited is registered Aberdeen Standard Investments is a brand of the in Scotland (SC123321) at 1 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2LL, and both companies investment businesses of Aberdeen Asset Management are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. and Standard Life Investments.

121034189_IT_ADVERT_BOISDALE_BRAND_210x280mm.indd 1 12/09/2018 10:29 DIARY

SMOKING HOT AT HIGHCLERE Highclere Castle, one of England’s greatest stately homes (and the setting for Downton Abbey), now has its own premium cigar brand, Guests enjoying cigars to a classic English backdrop Alan Graham of Tor Imports Sara McKinnon of Cgars launched in June. Lord Carnarvon hosted a grand unveiling of the Highclere Castle Cigar, crafted in Nicaragua by master blender Nick Melillo, and available at Boisdale venues now. The taste? Mild and creamy, with a hint of pepper!

The 8th Earl of Carnarvon

Master blender Nick Melillo Boisdale Life joined cigar specialists amid one of the grandest settings in England Jerry Mir of Tor Imports

VACHERON’S VINTAGE GLORY Swiss icon Vacheron Constantin brought a hoard of sublime vintage watches – all of them for sale – to Boisdale of Belgravia in June. Heritage director Christian Change direction. Selmoni talked Boisdale Watch Club members through the firm’s 250-year history, over cocktails You know where you are with tradition. In exactly the inspired by the 1950s heyday of mid-century watch design. Vacheron Constantin’s Heritage same place as before. But if you really want to get Director Christian Selmoni Vintage watches in Boisdale of Belgravia’s Auld Restaurant somewhere, you have to mix things up. Take King Edward VII. Not only did he call for The King’s Ginger (a revivifying and refreshing antidote to the ‘same old, same old’) but, he was also one of the first to own a horseless carriage. The rest, as they say, is history.

Each vintage watch

Trying out Vacheron’s new watch, the FiftySix was hand-restored Guests get up close with watch history Art Deco-style timepieces from the 1930s ADAM HILLIER AGENCY, KALORY Next time you fancy a ‘G&T’, why not add a more colourful drink to your tonic?

16 #KingsTonic BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 Change direction. You know where you are with tradition. In exactly the same place as before. But if you really want to get somewhere, you have to mix things up. Take King Edward VII. Not only did he call for The King’s Ginger (a revivifying and refreshing antidote to the ‘same old, same old’) but, he was also one of the first to own a horseless carriage. The rest, as they say, is history.

Next time you fancy a ‘G&T’, why not add a more colourful drink to your tonic? #KingsTonic A range of 100% naturally flavoured tonics and mixers designed to pair perfectly with your favourite spirit, or just enjoyed on their own.

Now available at all Boisdale restaurants. CREDIT To email [email protected], book, Wharf. Canary of Boisdale November, 6-9 well. as hit Westlife odd the expect Floyd, Eddie and Charles Ray Redding, Otis including this November. Featuring songs by greats by songs Featuring November. this Wharf Canary to Jam, Soul show, live new his 12), brings he page (see Awards Music Boisdale the at Singer Male Best won recently Having career. solo his pursue to leaving before Westlife, boyband Irish all-conquering the of part as albums of millions sold Awards) Music Boisdale the at (pictured McFadden Brian November this Wharf Canary hits to McFadden brings the soul former Westlife singer Brian Solo artist, songwriter and LIVE RESIDENCY RESIDENCY LIVE GOT SOUL GOT BRIAN’S COMING UP AT BOISDALE THIS AUTUMN VENUES

LIFE

& BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 ISSUE 2018 AUTUMN

19 TIMES FOR ALL LIVE RESIDENCIES RESIDENCIES LIVE ALL FOR THIS AUTUMN, SEE P23 SEE AUTUMN, THIS

SPOTLIGHT HOR ACE S'S in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1951, and JUKEBOX recorded his first single in 1967. But it HORACE ANDY was 1972’s lilting song about youthful BOB MARLEY high jinks, ‘Skylarking’, that catapulted The reggae legend and Massive Attack BABYLON BY BUS him to stardom in Jamaica. The album collaborator comes to Canary Wharf for “I have to select a Bob Marley of the same name is still rated as one of a five-night residency, 12-16 November record, as he is an iconic figure the greatest reggae albums of all time. not just to us artists but to all In 1990 Andy, by then an established Horace Andy’s voice isn’t just one lovers of reggae.” reggae icon, hooked up with the upstart of the greatest in reggae; it’s one of Bristolian group Massive Attack, the most beautiful in all pop music. THE ABYSSINIANS lending his vocals to three cuts on their Bewitchingly sweet and pure, and SATTAMASSAGANA scene-setting debut Blue Lines, bringing drenched in Jamaican soul, it’s lost “This song and rhythm track him to the attention of a new generation. none of its angelic richness – and Andy is the foundation of our music. Andy has remained the group’s most none of his performing power – even as And I admire the Abyssinians’ regular collaborator, singing on trip hop he approaches his seventh decade. harmonies, they’re faultless.” classics such as ‘Angel’ (from the album Whether you know him for his Mezzanine), ‘One Love’ (from Blue regular collaborations with trip hop SIZZLA Lines) and ‘Splitting the Atom’ (from pioneers Massive Attack (Andy has BLACK WOMAN most recent album Heligoland). performed on every one of their albums, AND CHILD Boisdale is proud to host one the only artist to have done so), or for “Me love the Sizzla album of Jamaica’s greatest sons for this reggae landmarks such as ‘Skylarking’, because I love my children incredibly special residency, as he ‘Money Is The Root Of All Evil’ and his and respect all the mothers of brings hit after hit of reggae classics all-too-haunting version of ‘Ain’t No children worldwide.” to Canary Wharf. Sunshine’, Andy remains a true original. Given the rarity of his solo concerts, his Boisdale residency is an amazing BOISDALE OF CANARY WHARF 12-16 NOVEMBER opportunity to catch a living legend. Horace Andy will be performing a five-night residency, with tickets including a Known by the nickname ‘Sleepy’ – delicious three-course menu. Tickets from £69.50 (or £39.50 without dinner), though his performances are anything with VIP options available. To book tickets for this or other performances (see page but – he was born Horace Hinds 23), email [email protected] or call 020 7715 5818 or visit boisdale.co.uk

20 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 LIFE & TIMES

BOISDALE RESIDENCIES

ALEXANDER O’NEAL 16-18 OCTOBER The man behind 1980s hits such as ‘Fake’, ‘Criticize’ and ‘Never Knew Love Like This’ still holds the record as the only performer to sell out for six consecutive nights at London’s Wembley Arena.

JERMAIN JACKMAN 22-26 OCTOBER Twenty-three-year-old Jermain Jackman won The Voice UK in 2014. Four years into his brilliant career he comes to the Boisdale stage for a residency, paying tribute to Luther Vandross.

Alexander O’Neal Jermain Jackman THE JAY RAYNER QUARTET 29 OCTOBER A repertoire of two halves. In keeping with his international renown as a restaurant critic, Jay Rayner tackles songs that deal with food and drink interspersed with brilliant anecdotes and funny stories. He also reminisces about growing up with his mother Claire Rayner, the famous journalist and broadcaster.

THE BRITISH COLLECTIVE 19-23 NOVEMBER Four icons of British soul under one roof! The British Collective is the supergroup, featuring some of the most influential British R&B artists to have hailed from these shores: Omar, Grammy winner Junior Giscombe, Don-E and Noel McKoy, the lead singer of the James Taylor Quartet.

FRANK & DEAN’S VEGAS SHOW Jay Rayner The British Collective THROUGHOUT DECEMBER Back for its eighth fabulous year, Frank and Dean’s Vegas Show is the best party in town. In the first half singers Iain Mackenzie and Steve Pert swing their way through Rat Pack classics, before returning with their tribute to Andy Williams, Tom Jones and Elvis.

REBECCA FERGUSON 7-11 & 14-18 JANUARY Rebecca Ferguson has had an astonishing career securing her position as one of the world’s most successful vocalists and songwriters. Her four albums include a stunning tribute to Billie Holiday’s ‘Lady Sings the Blues’, which was met with rapturous critical acclaim. After an incredible sell-out two week performance with us in January 2018, we are delighted to welcome Rebecca back to Boisdale of Canary Wharf.

Frank & Dean Rebecca Ferguson For tickets call 020 7715 5818 or visit boisdale.co.uk

21 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 Crafting your financial future with skill, care and attention to detail

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Sanlam - Boisdale 210x280 v4.indd 1 12/09/2018 17:20 Sanlam -Boisdale 210x280 v4.indd1 can fall and you may getback less thanyou invested. registered office: 16South Park, Sevenoaks, Kent,TN131AN). The valueof investments andtheincome from them Sanlam isatrading nameofSanlamPrivate Investments (UK)Limited (registered inEngland andWales 2041819; www.sanlam.co.uk whatever theinvestment landscape. your money withskill,care andattention to detail We’re Wealthsmiths, meaningthat we’ll manage stage oflife’s financialjourney. things properly, we’ll supportyou through every services andanunwavering commitment to doing your money. Through ourinnovative products and helps you achieve themby makingthemost of Whatever your dreams andambitions,Sanlam and attention to detail future withskill,care Crafting your financial 12/09/2018 17:20

IMAGE CREDIT affected mymemory. pleased withmyselfthatthe excitement a sticky-outfrockandIthink Iwasso six. WhatIdorememberisthat Ihad – thoughIwasprobablyonly about worst thingI’ddoneinmywholelife it afterwards!Ithoughtwasthe I wantedtodie,butnobodymentioned words. Ijustrepeatedthefirstverseand Gets InYour Eyes’,butIforgotthe very, veryyoung,andIsang‘Smoke It wasatheatreorsmallhallandI performance… Take usbacktoyourearliest is togetpeopleupontheirfeet. to haveagoodnightout,sothegoal happy, butultimatelyyouwantthem through memories,poignant,sad, on ajourney. You wanttotakethem artist youwanttotakeyouraudience new self-pennedsongs.Ifyouarean It’s acollectionofmyhits,plusfew Tell usaboutyournewliveshow. We keepitfreshandnew. there’s ayoungenergy, whichIlove. up. They’reallyoungerthanme,so years andthat’s helpedshakethings with mycurrentbandforaroundfour for –music.And,infact,I’veonlybeen even blinkingbecausethisiswhatIlive Glasgow. Butit’s happenedwithoutme be asinginghairdresserwhoneverleft having alaugh!Ithoughtwasgoingto I’d havethislife,said,areyou If someonehadtoldmeasakidthat landmark. Howdoesitfeel? the musicindustry–anincredible You’re celebratingmore50yearsin expect from her latest shows six-decade career –and what to of Glasgow about talks her biggest voice ever come to out Here, the performer with the Wharf onCanary 11-12 October. performingbe live at Boisdale of The Scottish singing legend will IN CONVERSATION IN LULU

There wasdebrisandalotof poverty. there werebulletmarksonbuildings. It wascold,theplacerundownand I waswithTheHolliesanditscary. What wasthatlike? in 1966,whenyouwereateenager. artists toplayanEasternbloccountry You wereoneofthefirsteverfemale rest ishistory. the recordbyTheIsleyBrothers. it andIwentoutthenextday, bought ‘Shout’. ItwasthefirsttimeIeverheard leather withjet-blackhair, andhesang Alex camebackstagedressedinblack boys inthebandhadtolookafterme. sing inabandattheweekends,so mother wangleditsoIcould.usedto places becauseIwassoyoung,butmy wasn't allowedtogothosekindsof know ifthatwasmyfirstshow, but I Harvey whenIwasabout13.don’t I wenttoareallydirtyclubseeAlex What wasthefirstconcertyouwentto? around watchingtheaudience, sothey did theconcertstherewereguards all It wasalsomemorablebecause whenwe BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 ISSUE 2018 AUTUMN LIFE LIFE 23 &

TIMES

And then,ofcourse,Iwentoff and followed itupbecauseIwastooshy. Frank offeredtoteachme,butInever I wastherewithMaurice(Gibb),and before ashow, whichIdidn’tbackthen. my voice,andifIdidvocalexercises asked ifImadeitahabittowarmup I metFrankSinatrainLasVegas. He Who hasgivenyouthebestadvice? – he'stherealdeal,abluessinger. artist hasdone.IalsolovePaoloNutini something thatnootherblackfemale Sigma, andIthinkBeyoncéhasdone Rihanna, EdSheeran,BrunoMars, is great,IloveZaynMalik,Adele, and new. ThenewLadyGagarecord what Ido.listentolotsofstuff,old and listentooldmusic,butthat’s not I knowalotofpeoplemyagesitaround Who’s onyourcurrentplaylist? they startedto,they'dgetslappeddown. didn’t standuporgetexcited.When I eventuallytookyouradvice. about lookingafterit.So,yes, Frank, hurt myvoice,sonowI'mreligious

Yamaha Music London Advert, September 2018 - Disklavier Enspire.pdf 1 14/09/2018 11:58

LIFE & TIMES

VENUES SUPERB DINING, MUSIC & COCKTAILS Boisdale’s four London venues give you the finest in gourmet food and live music

CANARY WHARF BELGR AVIA MAYFAIR BISHOPSGATE boisdale.co.uk/canary-wharf boisdale.co.uk/belgravia boisdale.co.uk/mayfair boisdale.co.uk/bishopsgate With its terrace, oyster bar, cigar Opened in 1989, our original Occupying a converted Victorian This candle-lit ‘speakeasy’ in a library, and whisky bar with over a venue and a London institution. stables off Park Lane, Boisdale of panelled 17th-century cellar is thousand glowing bottles of rare, Enjoy the large cigar terrace, Mayfair offers fantastic shellfish, home to the best jazz and blues in liquid gold, our largest venue hosts private dining rooms, and dry-aged steak, great British tapas, the City. Start in the Champagne C some of London’s finest live music. London’s finest live jazz, blues and and live music, as well as the & Oyster Bar on the ground floor M Recent highlights include Jools soul, from 9pm every night. House downstairs Vinyl Bar where you before descending downstairs for Y Holland, Melanie C, Rebecca favourite is Reuben Richards and can hear your selection from our a sumptuous dinner accompanied Ferguson and Alexander O’Neal. The Soul Train on Friday nights. world-class vintage LP collection. by great live music. CM

MY Velvet Lounge tickets from Two course supper and live Two course supper and live Two course supper and live £9.50; dinner and live music music: £29.50; three-course music: £29.50; three-course music: £29.50; three-course CY from £29.50 dinner and live music £59.50 dinner and live music £59.50 dinner and live music £59.50 CMY

THE BOISDALE AUTUMN SOUR HAIL TO THE KING

25ml The King’s Ginger The King’s Ginger has been a 25ml Calvados long-standing favourite of bon 20ml fresh lime juice viveurs in-the-know – since 1903, in 15ml vanilla syrup fact, when it was created by Berry 2 dashes orange bitters Bros. & Rudd at the behest of Half an egg white Edward VII’s physician, to help “warm and revify” the King. The Shake all the ingredients over ice and result was this zesty liqueur, which pour into an Old Fashioned glass. weighs in at a full-bodied 41%, and Garnish with an orange twist. is made by macerating root ginger in alcohol, then adding a dash of lemon oil and the necessary sugar.

Seasonally-minded Boisdale of Belgravia bar manager Paul Hogg has devised our Autumn Sour cocktail (left), to be enjoyed at Boisdale venues right now. thekingsginger.com

24 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 Yamaha Music London Advert, September 2018 - Disklavier Enspire.pdf 1 14/09/2018 11:58

CMY

K LIFE & TIMES

BOISDALE E V E N T S For further details and more events see [email protected]

King’s Ginger Cocktail Tasting BOISDALE OF CANARY WHARF 29 OCTOBER AT 6PM £10 including three cocktails

Dinner with Bob Skinstad BOISDALE OF CANARY WHARF 30 OCTOBER AT 6.30PM £125 including three course dinner and matching wines

Boisdale’s grass-fed sides of Buccleuch Beef sirloins Whisky Club with on day 37 of their 50 days Murray McDavid of ageing, en route to a BOISDALE OF MAYFAIR state of total perfection when served to our 6 NOVEMBER AT 7PM customers £25 including seven rare whiskies

Halloween Party BOISDALE OF BISHOPSGATE THE GREATEST STEAK IN THE 31 OCTOBER AT 6PM £35 including scary cocktails and WORLD COMES TO BOISDALE terrifying canapes

Boisdale is now serving what we His Grace Sir Richard Scott, 10th Wild Mushroom Dinner believe to be the finest steak in Duke of Buccleuch, who has BOISDALE OF MAYFAIR the world. Launched this October, gone to extraordinary lengths to 14 NOVEMBER AT 7PM our 10oz, 50-day aged Buccleuch guarantee the provenance of this £55 including four course dinner with Sirloin Steak on the bone (£38.50) exceptional Scottish beef. matching wines is available now at all four Both his and neighbouring Boisdale restaurants. selected estates now provide Champagne Dinner Boisdale executive head grass-fed, fully traceable BOISDALE OF CANARY WHARF chef Andy Rose asked Matty PGI (Protected Geographical 19 NOVEMBER AT 7PM O’Brien, master butcher at our Indication) beef to Campbell £75 including three course dinner and Royal Warrant-holding butchers Brothers, who supply both six champagnes Campbell Brothers, to create a Boisdale and the Royal steak cut that would be unique Household. PGI is the legal Thanksgiving Dinner to Boisdale and very, very protection system to guarantee an BOISDALE OF BISHOPSGATE special. The remarkable 10oz authentic and superb product - in 22 NOVEMBER AT 7PM sirloin we are now proud to this case indicating the best dry- £75 including traditional three-course serve comes from the estate of aged beef in the world. dinner and matching wines from the USA

B OISDA L E NE WS Boisdale announces the very best claret Friend of Boisdale and Celtic Team deals in the UK skipper Jock Wishart sails to victory Vintage vinyl nights at Boisdale of Mayfair An astounding opportunity to drink exceptional Congratulations to adventurer and stalwart of Every night your host Mauro will take requests claret at close to auction prices in our the Boisdale Jazz & Cigar Club Jock Wishart, from our collection of classic ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and restaurants. Highlights will include Château who claimed victory on the high seas this ‘80s vinyl and will match the chosen music with Léoville Barton 2009 at £99.50 a bottle summer in the prestigious Commodores’ Cup. cocktails from the relevant era. Expect vintage and £8.75 for a 50ml glass, Château Lafite Contested biennially on the Solent over eight Sinatra with an Old Fashioned, iconic Bowie Rothschild 2009 (RPP 99+) at £795 a bottle days, this challenging sailing competition sees with Martinis and funky Barry White with and £59.50 for a 50ml glass, Château Gruaud a mixture of inshore and offshore yacht races. Grasshoppers. Customers are welcome to bring Larose 2009 at £109 a bottle and £9.50 for As skipper of the Celtic Team, Jock ensured a their own vinyl and as long as Mauro approves, a 50ml glass, and Château Lynch-Bages 2010 Scottish win for the first time since the Cup’s it will be played! at £159 a bottle and £13.75 for a 50ml glass. inception in 1992.

26 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 The Authentic Coastal Spirit

\FishersGin Handcrafted in Suffolk and inspired by the ocean, \FishersGin Fishers Gin is a natural expression of the English Coast. \Fishers_Gin www.FishersGin.com Please enjoy Fishers responsibly. Table COMMENT t al EXPERIENCEk

P30 P31 P32 P33 P34 RATE OF SMALL THE MILLENNIAL NO-FLY ZONE SAFE SEATING RARE BEASTS RETURNS BUG Air travel used to be Julian Harris laments Stanley Johnson travels to Roger Bootle considers Ella Wheelan goes myth- glamorous and fun. the dampener that heavy- the remote mountains of the waxing and waning busting on behalf of No more. Nick Ferrari handed regulation has Kyrgzstan in search of the of interest rates Generation Snowflake wonders what happened put on football fandom severely-at-risk snow

ALL ILLUSTRATIONS: MARTIN KINGDOM tarantulas scuttle in the undergrowth and giant Caiman glide through chocolate waters amid mighty mahogany trees. Yet perhaps the thing it does best, and the thing that’s drawn me here, is the tobacco. From a standing start in the early 1960s, Nicaragua’s tobacco industry has reached its summit: in 2017 it exported more premium, long-filler, hand-rolled cigars – the good stuff, in other words, as found on Boisdale’s terraces – than Cuba. That’s a quite extraordinary turn of events. Cuba, for centuries the world leader in the art of making the ultimate in cigars; Cuba, home to perhaps the finest geographical plots of earth to grow fine tobacco; Cuba, whose very name you cannot mention without summoning images of rum, pretty girls, old cars, Fidel Castro – and cigars. “It’s a remarkable achievement,” says Juan Martinez, executive president of Joya de Nicaragua, the country’s oldest cigarmaker - and ’ve never stood on atop a live the reason for my research trips to Cigars volcano before. The lava down Estelí, the cigar capital of the below, raw and seething red, north. “Ultimately, that is is like a wound gouged deep testament to these people – they SMOKE RISING Iin the earth. Turning away, if have faced unimaginable odds.” I wanted to I could surf a body It’s an understatement. When Nicaragua has overtaken Cuba as the board back down the black, I began researching my book on world’s biggest exporter of premium volcanic sands of Masaya to reach Nicaragua’s cigar industry I found cigars. It’s a remarkable achievement for the bottom. Anything is possible myself shaking my head in wonder Central America’s poorest country in Nicaragua. at history’s treatment of Central Bridging the Caribbean Sea America’s poorest country. From on one coast and the Pacific on war to revolution, earthquake to NICK HAMMOND the other, the country is an volcano, the country has been Author and journalist. Nick’s book extraordinary landscape of repeatedly brought to its knees. Cinco Decadas: The Rise of the smouldering mountain tops, But its people never, ever give up. Nicaraguan Cigar, is available in all dripping rainforest, powder- Cuban exiles Simon Camacho good cigar retailers now white beaches and seething cities. and Juan Francisco Bermejo were Monkeys screech in the canopy; the first to build a cigar factory in

28 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 Nicaragua. Using Cuban seed despite having nowhere to sell them. smuggled from the island after At one time, those workers Castro’s revolution, they conducted existed for six months without pay. R.I.P. trials at several regions in the They relied on handouts and country, determining that the credit terms from a local friendly OSCAR WILDE valleys of Estelí, Condega and grocer, surviving on what they Jalapa presented the best conditions could grow themselves or borrow OF THE BRONX to grow the fine leaves necessary to from their neighbours. make hand-rolled cigars. Joya’s remarkable story of The legendary playwright and They were assisted in their perseverance and redemption screenwriter Neil Simon died in early efforts by a government gathered pace with its eventual August. Boisdale Life presents a initiative led by the 1970s despot purchase by Dr Alejandro Martinez compendium of his greatest lines General Somoza, who himself was Cuenca, a former Sandinista anxious to profit from the new himself and government minister trade in tobacco. Before the first tasked with finding trade From an interview in The Washington Post, 1997 president’s overthrow and outlets for the company’s cigars. “There’s no more money anyone can pay me that eventual assassination, he would Persuaded by a cadre of senior I need. There are no awards they can give me that hive off an estimated 70 per cent of workers – who, incidentally, are I haven’t won. I have no reason to write another the country’s wealth for his family. still at the factory – he bought the play except that I am alive and I like to do it.”

From Barefoot in the Park, 1963 In 2017 Nicaragua exported more premium, “Take care of him. And make him feel important. long-filler, hand-rolled cigars – the good And if you can do that, you’ll have a happy and wonderful marriage… Like two out of stuff, in other words – than Cuba. That’s every 10 couples.” a quite extraordinary turn of events From an interview in Newsweek, 1970 “Money brings some happiness. But after a certain He, ironically, first learned of company in 1994 and began point, it just brings more money.” the existence of a factory in Estelí the formidable job of making making extraordinary cigars, it profitable. Today, Joya de From The Odd Couple, 1965 however, on a trip to the US. Nicaragua remains the only “Don’t point that finger at me unless you intend

Fellow West Point alumnus Nicaraguan-owned premium cigar to use it.” Richard Nixon invited him to company in the country, and is run dinner at the White House in June by Dr Cuenca’s son, Juan Martinez. “I’m never home, I gamble, burn cigar holes in the 1971, after which they retired to While huge US investment and furniture, drink like a fish, lie to her every chance the Green Room for cognac and government-sponsored tax breaks I get. Then on our tenth wedding anniversary, cigars. Somoza was startled to be have led to the resurrection of the I took her to the New York Rangers-Detroit Red offered a cigar bearing the label of nation’s once-proud tobacco trade, Wings hockey game where she got hit by a puck! Joya de Nicaragua. It was already Joya has remained fiercely loyal to I still can’t figure out why she left me, that’s how by then the official cigar of the its workers and their families. impossible I am.” White House (Cuban cigars being Nicaraguan brands are now a banned, of course). staple of any well-curated On writing his first stage hit,Come Blow Your Horn On returning to Nicaragua, collection, with an impressive “If no one ever took risks, Michelangelo would he hauled Camacho and Bermejo array of high-quality marques to have painted the Sistine floor.” in front of him and ‘persuaded’ choose from. Besides Joya, some of them to offload their shares in the the frequently world-beating From Brighton Beach Memoirs, 1983 company they had founded. Under marques to look out for include “The tension was so thick you could cut it with a the president’s eye, however, Joya Padron, Padermo, Drew Estate and knife... which is more than I can say for the liver.” forged ahead and survived the Oliva (see page 76). The country toppling of his regime by the remains desperately poor and From Sweet Charity, 1966 Sandinistas, although not without daily struggle is a way of life. “Wow, this place is sure full of celebrities. problems. It was bombed by Yet resurrection remains the I’m the only one in here I’ve never heard of.” planes, set alight by freedom watchword. fighters. The workers made their The tobacco industry has Interview with Playboy, 1994 way through shattered streets to climbed Everest to nudge Cuba from “When it’s 100 in New York, it’s 72 in Los Angeles. work for no wages and, as Ronald its cigar throne. Nicaraguans will When it’s 30 degrees in New York, in Los Angeles Reagan’s trade embargo hit during do no less to bring prosperity and it’s still 72. However, there are two million interesting the Contra affair, continued to harmony back to their beloved people in New York – and 72 in Los Angeles.” make sublime cigars, at times nation of volcanoes.

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rate of 15pc. That focused the mind – and other parts. In my case, it forced me into an economy Money drive. In those days, I couldn’t economise on visits to Boisdale, RATE OF SMALL RETURNS so I did the next best thing; I stopped buying the Evening After only the second rise in a decade, Roger Bootle muses on what Standard. (Fat lot of good it interest rate movements – or lack thereof – mean for the regimes did me, too!) that enact them, and for his own chances of being bought a drink Nowadays, I can use my free bus pass to get to Boisdale, peruse my free Evening Standard and enjoy n most things to do still operating on the assumption my drink on the terrace, hopefully with the economy, that the previous regime will paid for by someone else. Who I try to be optimistic, persist, then you can easily be says things are getting worse? including when I write caught napping. So what sort of monetary regime O for this magazine. (Life is difficult In the 1950s and 1960s, interest are we in now? The essential enough without having to endure rates moved between 4 and 8pc, nature of today’s regime is dictated the gloom and doom of some and virtually no one imagined they by the consequences of the 2007-9 crusty old economist or other. ROGER BOOTLE would ever get to the extraordinary financial crisis, and the recession I should know.) heights reached in the 1970s and that followed. The effect has been Sometimes an appreciative Chairman of 1980s. That was a regime change to depress bank lending and reader likes to reward my optimism Capital Economics, with a vengeance. I well remember constrain the desire to spend, by with a glass of something or other and a columnist the two budgets delivered by the both individuals and companies. on the Boisdale terrace. Can I hope for The Daily then-Chancellor, Sir Geoffrey Hence, the apparent need for Telegraph for this reward for an article on the Howe, in 1979. The first increased sustained ultra-low interest rates. outlook for interest rates? Well, interest rates from 12pc to 14pc; Nevertheless, I think that the whether interest rate changes are the second from 14pc to 17pc. urge to return rates to some more good or bad news depends on who That level of 17pc is the highest normal level means that they will you are. So on this occasion I’ll not UK official interest rate ever continue to rise for the next two be able to please all. reached, though we came close to years. But while this regime lasts, In the 324 years since the it again in 1981 and 1992 (on Black they are unlikely to go higher than Bank of England’s founding, Wednesday). Throughout that 2pc or, at most, 3pc. its Bank Rate has averaged about period, double digit interest rates What lies beyond this depends 5per cent. Until recently, variations were thought to be the norm and upon what the new monetary around this average were not no one even imagined the near- regime will be, but I suspect that it spectacular. But in recent decades zero rates of recent years. will not be dominated by the they have been, thanks to a series This period was murder for supposedly overriding need to of random fluctuations. borrowers, but obviously bliss for keep inflation so low. Moreover, at What happens to interest rates savers. A 15-16pc rate on deposits some point we will have recovered depends critically on what sort or fixed interest investments like from the financial crisis of a of monetary regime we are in. Even gilts makes for a really attractive decade ago. In such a world, if interest rates tend to nestle close alternative to putting your money I’d expect rates to be higher. to the average for one particular into equities or property. Don’t worry, all you people who regime, that can be radically Many individuals, as well as are heavily indebted. I’m not different from the average under a companies, were caught out by suggesting a return to anything like different one. And every so often that regime shift, including yours the dark days of 1979. Something the regime changes. If you are truly. I remember facing a mortgage like the Bank of England’s long term average of 5pc may be closer to the mark. Mind you, after recent years, even that would demand a major adjustment. How does that leave you feeling? It leaves me thirsty. If you ever wished to reward my good cheer at Boisdale, my interest rate is currently being stimulated by Kendall-Jackson from California. The Chardonnay is good, but the Cabernet is even better.

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few student zealots, we’ve been characterised as big babies. Over the past 10 years, young activists with little else to organise around have taken the notion of offence and weaponised it. It’s unsurprising that mental health has become a top priority for universities across the UK, with therapy petting zoos and Safe Spaces encouraging students to assume they really do need to be cosseted – or they’ll fall apart. This inevitably breeds the kind of whining politics where speakers are blocked and so-called opponents are accused of endangering the student body’s wellbeing. Groups are formed and S ociety protected on the basis of skin colour, gender or religion because society is deemed too riddled with THE MILLENNIAL BUG prejudice to allow for people to intermingle with each other. Supposedly bereft of both backbone and opportunity, ‘Generation Believe me when I say, most Snowflake’ have more going for them than we’re led to believe young people are as embarrassed by these characterisations as I am. Not many students actually get illennials get a bad destroying the opportunities for involved in this kind of divisive rap. Not only are they houses and jobs for their children. student politics; far fewer turn up mocked for their But has life really stopped to things like therapeutic colouring tiresome penchants improving? In some ways, we have book classes (Ed. - that’s a thing!?). Mfor brunch, selfies and being it better than they did. In the 1960s, I should know, having spent a ‘woke’, they’re also apparently the 5 per cent of 18-year-olds went to brief period as a lonely student world’s whiniest generation to uni; now it’s almost 50 per cent. We activist with a clipboard and a ELLA WHELAN date. The Spectator has an entire have access to possibilities that the cause. Despite the cries of “protect section devoted to ‘Generation baby-boomers hardly dreamed of. us” from the privileged few, most Journalist, Snowflake’, the term given to Truth be told, this apparent young people are perfectly robust columnist for softer-than-Mr-Whippy youngsters millennial strop over not being enough to handle the normal Spiked Online, ready to ‘take offence at anything’. able to own a house or walk into struggles of daily life. and author of At 26, I’m bang in the middle a well-paying job straight after Not all millennials deserve What Women of the millennial time frame leaving university is really an to be saddled with the label, if Want : Fun, Freedom and an (generally anyone born between elitist complaint: for Britain’s ‘millennial’ really means posh, End to Feminism the early 1980s and late 1990s). We working class population, we stroppy, overgrown kids who’ve came of age when boybands could never expected those things to nothing better to do than whinge. still hold a tune, phones were still happen easily. This caricature of my generation as attached to the wall and pints were And yet, today, more young a whole is ugly and unjust, and it under a fiver. But as we reached people are educated up until the is time for those of us who are sick adulthood, everything changed. age of 18 and more are going to of millennial myth-making to set Technology reshaped the world, uni; more young people eat out the record straight. and soon we were all Facetiming and go to the cinema; more young If we want to argue for better each other in craft breweries. people travel the world. There housing and more jobs, we have to And with change came the first really are more opportunities, and recognise that young people today millennial myth: that our lives millennials, by all accounts, are are as capable and independent as today have been thwarted by the having a pretty good time. So why their elders were, maybe more so. greed and complacency of our the morose attitude to life? If we want to move on from this baby-boomer parents – that This is the second millennial negative label, we must reject the shameless generation who myth – the supposed emotional victim complex perpetuated by the supposedly sucked the world dry plight of youngsters today. Thanks miserablists. It’s like The Who said in the loadsamoney 1980s, to the political misadventures of a – the kids are alright.

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Rant NO-FLY ZONE If hell is other people, air travel has become a descent into the seventh circle

alling all frequent flyers: have emerged from a cave into a I glanced at the increasingly surly please assure me I am unknown world. line of passengers waiting to board not the only one who Just as they say we get the the economy cabin. yearns to go back to the politicians we deserve, so the same That was when I saw her. Cdays when flying was glamorous; can be said of airlines. We’ve sold She had rings on all her fingers and when striding to the aircraft made our collective souls so we can get a in her ears and nose (Lord knows you feel like a mix between James flight to Milan for less than the taxi where else), but it was the slogan Bond and a captain of industry; NICK FERRARI fare to get 20 miles to the airport. on her T-shirt that stood out. when airline staff treated you as Unless, that is, you’re happy to It read: “Last night, I f ***ed the a valued customer rather than a Journalist and park in a different time zone or drummer.” Wonder what Sartre number; when you were boarded broadcaster, give your car to a shady character would have made of her? with civility instead of being and host of the offering a valet service (which, in LBC weekday herded together and jabbed with a actuality, means it will be parked ... breakfast show cattle prod; when you could push and The Pledge in a very muddy field). Can we get one thing straight: a blinking yellow light above your on Sky News We’ve paid good money to sit in banking is a damned serious head and a gracious young uncomfortable conditions and all business. We entrust banks with attendant would ask how they food has been withdrawn – unless our hard-earned and expect them could help, rather than try to flog you fancy paying through the nose to take extreme care with it. In you everything from sandwiches for a limp sandwich, or a bacon and most instances, we turn to the to scratch cards? cheese toastie that’s hotter than the banks when we take on the biggest, It was John-Paul Sartre who sun. All that, and when we troop most stomach-churning decisions wrote: “Hell is other people”. Who off we still politely say thank you of our lives and buy a home. They knew he had experienced Gatwick to the staff for the experience. help us raise – and possibly airport at the height of the holiday Mind you, judging by one of educate – our children and can season? His oh-so-wise words my most recent experiences at an even handle our estates when we are never far from my heart as I airport, many of us deserve no go the great cashpoint in the sky. navigate all the feuding parents, better. As I glided effortlessly into So what makes banks think the screaming kids and baffled elderly the business class queue (calm way to get our business is to portray folk, who are wandering as if they down, there was a deal on Avios), themselves as complete idiots? The

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ad campaign stoking my rage on this occasion is for Halifax, which has form in this area (remember Sport Howard, the dancing customer service adviser?). Its latest wheeze SAFE SEATING is to have someone acting as a Halifax manager, but dropping him Don't let the fervour of an exciting World Cup fool you: into memorable scenes from films. the fun of footie fandom is being sucked unpleasantly dry It started with The Wizard of Oz and has now moved on to show him racing around New York with n a midsummer evening, I took a sip of my pint and the Ghostbusters. Do they really considered the epic sporting clash that was about imagine I’m going to give my loot to unfold. Well, these things are relative: Dartford FC, to a bloke who craves friendship non-league heroes of the east London suburbs, were from the Tin Man or pretends to Otaking to the pitch for a pre-season friendly against an Arsenal have been “slimed”? eleven made up mainly of teenagers and reserves. At which point, This latest series replaced the the bartender unwound the blinds over the clubhouse windows previous one that featured The JULIAN in front of me, and said: “Sorry mate, no drinking in view of the Flintstones. As I said, banking is a HARRIS match. Drink up, please.” serious business. When it comes to My companions and I wearily downed our drinks and trudged these insufferable campaigns, Deputy editor back to the terraces. Football fans like me have become used to of City A.M. please – just “Yabba Dabba Don’t!” such constraints on the fun of actually being a fan. From the Champions League down to non-league friendlies, holding a pint ... of lager while watching a game is forbidden. And it’s not just that. There is a gathering storm among Carrying booze into a ground is a criminal offence. At gigs – in our noble thespians. It seems a football’s same stadiums – fans get gleefully tanked. Return to the week cannot go by without the same venue for match day and you face risking arrest. casting of a film, theatre production This silliness extends to whether you wish to stand during the or opera being accused of a heinous gig or have your own seat – for most footie fans there’s no choice. act of discrimination. The ‘wrong’ Standing areas are considered safe enough for music events, other person has been cast in West Side sporting events, and even football from League One downwards. Story (if you missed it, the role of But in the top two tiers of the game, standing is deemed dangerous. Maria in a BBC Proms production Top clubs in Germany and elsewhere have demonstrated for was recast when the role originally years that well-organised ‘safe standing’ areas improve the went to a non-Latina actress); a atmosphere without compromising on safety. But here, there are straight man has got the lead part other legacies to contend with, most notably the Hillsborough in the first ever Disney movie with tragedy of 1989. Up to that point, vast terraces – poorly-managed a gay man as its central character, a and inadequately policed – were a disaster waiting to happen, woman (Scarlett Johansson) has following two decades of violent hooliganism. been cast as a transgender male… Something had to be done. But, as ever, that something – a It all reminds me of the great range of legislation including the Sporting Events (Control of story concerning the making of the Alcohol) Act in 1985 and the Football Spectators Act in 1989 1976 filmMarathon Man. In one – took a broad-brush approach, which looks more and more scene, after a particularly tiring heavy-handed and illogical with each passing decade. jogging session, Dustin Hoffman Today, football is a far more diverse and civilised experience, needed to speak with Lord Olivier. awash with money. Hooligans were marginalised, but fans are still To get ‘in the mood’, Hoffman – a being treated like children; the unspoken suggestion being that Lee Strasberg-trained disciple of should restrictions be lifted, the old ugliness will restart. the Method Acting technique – ran There are signs, though, that the ties are being loosened. This at full pelt in the blazing New York summer, Uefa relaxed its ban on the sale of alcohol at Champions sun for over an hour. League and Europa League matches. Meanwhile, Shrewsbury The result? He could barely utter Town has added a safe standing area, predicting that the law will a word as he staggered for breath. follow suit – a belief backed up by both Labour and the Lib Dems, The director yelled “Cut!” and which support safe standing, while free-market think tank, the Olivier raised a quizzical eyebrow Adam Smith Institute, has long been making the case. towards Hoffman. “I wanted to With the new season underway and football basking in the make the experience believable,” afterglow of a brilliantly entertaining World Cup, it’s surely time wheezed Hoffman. A bemused to demand that the game now raises the blinds and welcomes fun Olivier’s response: “Have you back into the fold. Treat people like responsible adults – and you considered acting, dear boy?” may just find they’ll behave like them, too.

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ost people believe that the government is bogged down in Conservation Brexit. On the whole, Mthat’s my view too. So I was RARE BEASTS agreeably surprised this summer to receive an invitation to attend The snow leopard is at risk of becoming extinct – and high up October’s Illegal Wildlife Trade in the mountains of Kyrgystan, the fight is on to save it Conference (IWT) in London. Organised by the government, the event is aimed at toughening poaching of snow leopards, but the we whipped out our binoculars to international rules against illegal raising of fines for illegally killing scour the landscape. poaching and trade in endangered them has led to positive results. At the end of the first week, we or threatened species, as well as to However, things were more had covered 34 cells, some of them promote national and international complicated than that. Challenges multiple times. Of these, 23 had action to conserve those species. now include excessive grazing in snow leopard prey species living And it’s not just the charismatic the high-altitude pastures, and in them, including ibex, argali, mega-fauna I’m talking about, possible conflict between wildlife STA N L EY marmot and snowcock. We also such as elephants. Take the snow and local herdsmen. “But the JOHNSON collected records for three bird and leopard, for example. Globally, the biggest problem,” he added, “is two butterfly species that were total population could be as low the poaching of the snow leopards’ Environmentalist, completely new to the area. author and as 4,000 individuals. The snow prey: particularly the ibex and the Most importantly, we collected former jungle leopard range is about 1.8 million argali [mountain sheep].” resident two distinct records of snow km2, with the largest share being Early the next day, I met the leopard. The first was the dead in the Tibetan plateau of China, team of conservation volunteers, body of a cub that we heard about followed by Mongolia and India. who had been organised by from a shepherd. Up near a glacier, China’s massive Belt and Road Biosphere Expeditions, and we meanwhile, we came across two Initiative (BRI) in Central Asia headed off in a convoy to the sets of prints, likely belonging to a could pose a major threat, so can Kyrgyz Ala-Too, a range of mother snow leopard and her cub. anything be done to prevent the mountains in the northern Tien This suggested not only a strong snow leopard slipping over the Shan – an eight-hour drive away. indication of snow leopard edge towards extinction? We each had a one-man tent, presence – but also the likelihood I pinged off an email saying I’d and met for meals in a traditional of a breeding population. be happy to attend, but meanwhile yurt, which also served as the This was great news. And it got I was heading for the Himalayas to focal point for the scientific work. better. Soon after I returned to the gain some practical insights. We were taught how to use the UK, I learned that a camera trap we That afternoon, after a long GPS equipment, and how to record had set up showed a snow leopard flight, I landed in Bishkek, the sightings, working across a grid in the field of vision – an amazing capital of Kyrgyzstan. An hour pattern of 2km cells. reward for NABU/Biosphere later, I was talking to Tolkunbek And so we set off, walking up Expeditions five years’ of effort. Asykulov, director of NABU’s side valleys in the designated Kyrgyzstan is now leading an Kyrgyzstan office (NABU is a research area, sometimes in bright international effort to save the German nature conservation sunshine, at other times battling snow leopard, and I’m hoping it NGO). According to Asykulov, through rain, hail or snow. When will send representatives to the the biggest problem used to be the we reached the ‘observation point’, IWT conference to tell their story. For there are indeed – or so it seems – snow leopards to be found in these high mountains. Those animals will need to be protected through initiatives, which fully involve local herdsmen and which, if necessary, transcend national frontiers. And for that to happen, IWT needs international support and encouragement.

Biosphere Expeditions is a non-profit wildlife conservation organisation. For information, visit biosphere-expeditions.org

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REMEMBERING Like (ANaturalWoman), asongCarole the openinglinesofYou MakeMeFeel few gospelchordsbeforeslipping into down atthepianoandpunched outa she placedherhandbagonthe lid,sat coat overapinkandgoldbrocade dress, to sing.Wearing anankle-lengthmink before shehadevenopenedhermouth 2015, theairwasfizzingwithexcitement W RE Center HonorsinDecember onstage attheKennedy hen ArethaFranklinwalked A TH A stood upfromthepiano,raised her finale, theaudiencewentwild asshe her emotionalperformancereached its undimmed bythepassageof time. As then toKing,whoisovercome withjoy. eyes, in hishands,wipingtearsfrom to PresidentObama,holdinghishead show-stopping tribute,thecamerapans for herin1967.Inthevideoofthis then-partner, GerryGoffin,hadwritten King, theevening’s honoree,andher By & rhythm blues and gospel. between boundaries the blurring effortlessly form, purest its in soul music epitomised Franklin Aretha singer, any than other More Franklin’s powerandpassionseemed Jonathan Wingate Jonathan BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 ISSUE 2018 AUTUMN ICON 36 the blues,R&B,rock between theAfrican-Americanspiritual, embodies morefullytheconnection Aretha sings,”saidObama.“Nobody at theendofastirringspiritual. she hadoftenseenemployedbysoloists her coattothefloor–anoldgospeltrick hands towardstheheavensanddropped grandmother, Rachel–‘BigMama’ comfortable homebytheirpaternal were supervisedintheReverend’s their motherpassedaway, thegirls Cooke andMahaliaJackson.When Luther KingJr, DukeEllington,Sam illustrious friendsthatincludedMartin overcome bythespirit. hand toreviveworshipperswhowere smelling saltswerealwayskepton Bethel BaptistChurchinDetroit,where father becameministeroftheNew and Carolyn,wereinfantswhentheir church. Arethaandhersisters,Erma and choirmistressinherhusband’s whilst hermother, Barbara,wasasinger and hisowntravellingrevivalshow, his messageviarecords,radiobroadcasts America forhisfierysermons,spreading who becausefamousthroughoutblack was acharismaticBaptistpreacher, A and A&Rman,JohnHammond Jr–who Columbia Records’legendary producer cut herfirstdemoinNew York. her tomoveintosecularmusic whenshe both CookeandGordy, whoencouraged Faith, whichattractedtheattentionof released herdebutalbum,SongsOf after thebirthofhersecondchild,she up schooleducationattheageof16 learned toplaybyear. Havinggiven Rejecting formalpianolessons,she Franklin fellinlovewithR&Bmusic. Smokey RobinsonandMarvinGaye, neighbours includingBerryGordyJr, and asuccessionofhousekeepers. Armstrong. Butit’s ashortlist.” Stevie, RayCharles.Thejazzgiantslike had thatkindofimpact?Dylan.Maybe can movemetotears.Whatotherartist piano andsingsANaturalWoman, she and hope.Whenshesitsdownata into somethingfullofbeautyandvitality hardship andsorrowweretransformed “American historywellsupwhen C. L.Franklinattractedanarrayof She wasimmediatelysigned by As ateenager, withfriendsand Rev ClarenceLaVaughn Franklin, Memphis in1942.Herfather, retha Franklinwasbornin ’n’ roll – the way that that roll –theway

GETTYIMAGES Aretha Franklin performing at Madison Square Gardens , New York, in 1971

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helped launch the careers of everyone from Billie Holiday to Bob Dylan – yet the label never seemed to know what to do with Franklin, whose early albums are a hotchpotch of pop, jazz standards and show tunes. At the end of 1966, six years after signing with Columbia, Franklin jumped ship to Atlantic Records, a company which was much more in tune with what black audiences wanted to hear. The company’s head honcho was producer Jerry Wexler, who had been keeping an eye on her career from the start. Clockwise from top: His plan was simply to take Franklin Aretha promotes her 1987 back to her gospel roots by booking gospel album One Lord, One her into Rick Hall’s tiny Fame Studios, Faith, One Baptism; recording at the piano at New York's in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. She was Columbia Studios in 1962; looking for what she described as a performing to a crowd that included President Obama “greasy sound”, although she was at the Kennedy Center somewhat taken aback when she Honors in 2015 discovered that Hall had hired a bunch of local white musicians. The whole session ended in disaster, when Ted White, Franklin’s husband and manager, got into a drunken row with one of the horn players, who he thought had been flirting with his wife. Wexler told Hall that he would destroy his career and make sure no major artist ever worked with him again. Eventually, Franklin and the original Muscle Shoals musicians reconvened to Atlantic Recording Studios in New York and finishedI Never Loved A piano player as well as a brilliant Man (The Way I Loved You), the first in producer and arranger, who could an astonishing run of timeless singles take an iconic song like Otis Redding’s that included Respect, Chain Of Fools, Respect or Dionne Warwick’s I Say A and I Say A Little Prayer, unforgettable Little Prayer and make it her own. After songs that left an indelible mark on the Franklin recorded her version of Respect musical landscape. At the peak of her in 1967, Redding immediately dropped powers, between 1967 and 1972, nobody it from his repertoire. could touch Aretha Franklin. the space of a single three-minute song. On a purely musical level, Franklin’s At the 1998 Grammy Awards, she four-octave range marked her out from he won 18 Grammys and sold 75 stepped in at the last minute for her most of her peers, yet ultimately, it was million records over the course of friend Luciano Pavarotti, who was too her extraordinary ability to convey pure Sher illustrious career, yet whatever ill to perform. He had been scheduled emotion when she sang that made her a style she was singing, gospel remained to sing Nessun Dorma, an aria from star and earned her the title ‘The Queen the main ingredient in her musical Puccini’s Turendot that was written Of Soul.’ Her voice is so pure and so melting pot. Where Mahalia Jackson specifically for an operatic tenor, not a true, it can reduce you to tears or send sang to the converted, Franklin took her mezzo-soprano like Franklin, yet she a shiver down your spine. own unmistakable brand of gospel into pulled the whole thing off perfectly after “If I can wrap myself up in that song the charts for everyone to hear. hearing a rehearsal recording 20 minutes – and when that song gets to be a part

She could sing with raw power or before she went on stage. of me and affects me emotionally – then o p e . c m 0 1 8 6 5 4 7 gentle vulnerability, whether she was “Aretha could sing anything from the emotions that I go through, chances addressing her God or an unfaithful lover. opera to blues and everything in are I’ll be able to communicate to you,” With her versatile voice, Franklin could between,” explains Smokey Robinson. she once explained. “Make the people turn on a dime, seamlessly switching “Jazz, rock, whatever it was, Aretha out there become a part of the life of this between uplifting gospel, raucous R&B could sing the phone book.” song that you’re singing about. That’s e s p o n i b l y

and soothing soul, sometimes all within She was also a criminally underrated soul when you can do that.” IMAGESTOCK GETTY IMAGES,

38 y a l c o h r o @ s a n t r i e u BOISDALELIFE.COM E n j o AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 i n f KV Final_210x280:Layout117/09/201810:22Page [email protected] 01865 404700 Enjoy alcohol responsibly

COURTESY OF BELLA SPURRIER / LARA TABER O

courtesy ofaTime magazineheadline,‘TheJudgment’. ofParis define hiscareerwasthatday in 1976,whichcametobecalled, memoirs, Wine –AWay of Life. Buttheeventthatwilljustifiably Valley, from avineyardinDorset,andhasjustreleasedhis editor andwriterforDecanter,hemakeshisownfizz,Bride mutters. “That’s 14aweek.She’llbesacked,you’llsee.” scolded byoneofhisministersfordrinkingtwoglassesaday,” he to drinkingalitreofthestuffday. “PresidentMacronisbeing lunch. Would youcareforaglassofwine?”Hehappilyadmits answering thedoortohisWest Kensingtonflat.“I’mjustfinishing that winemerchant.“Comethroughtothekitchen,”hesays, ended andthelandscapeofwineworldchangedforever. friendships rolled, unchallenged authorityofFrenchwine.Heads swept theboard,andinonefellswoop decimated the hitherto an A-teamofwinesfromBordeauxandBurgundy. TheAmericans the bestCalifornianCabernetSauvignonsandChardonnaysversus 1976, when a British wine merchantheldhisownblindtastingof not really. Thatblowhadbeenstruck40yearsearlieronMay24, preferred ittochampagne.” country,” gushedTheDailyTelegraph, “andinmostcasesthey convinced thatsomeoftheUK-producedfizzwasfromtheirown Spurrier’s intakehasn’tdonehimanyharm.Heisaconsultant Steven Spurrier, nowayouthfulandtrim77-year-old, was daggerintheheartofFrenchwineestablishment? Nah, A discord categories anddrewthethird.“Many[judges]were than champagne.TheEnglishwineswonintwo a panelofFrenchjudges,whodeemedthembetter a flightofEnglishsparklingwineswereshownto n April20,2016,inthefirstblindtastingofitskind, man man behind the 'Judgment legendary of Paris’ Michael Karam by a Brit. organised of the New World – and naturally, the event was terms, wine in arrival, announced the and France 1976 in tasting Parisian scandalised unheralded An Paris Paris The The BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 ISSUE 2018 AUTUMN WINE meets the the meets 41 centre, duringthetasting the winestasted; Spurrier, Montelena 1973, oneof Below, fromtop: Chateau his Paris shop inthe1970s. Facing page:Spurrier in with its access to the sea and close ties to England, were famous with itsaccesstotheseaandclosetiesEngland,werefamous perfection, ornear-perfection, wasreached.ThewinesofBordeaux, once youhadtraditiongenerationsoftrialanderroruntil family owned,andonceyouhadatradition, come fromFrance”. Alexis Lichinedeclaredin1951that“thegreatestwinesonearth in establishingitsreputation.ThegreatRussianwineauthority wine gamerelativelylate,around400BC,butitwastednotime France wasanunabashedcolossus.Itmayhavecometothe American DeclarationofIndependence.Sowhynot? changing Napawinery. Itwasalsothe200thanniversaryof influence ofRobertMondavi,whoin1966foundedhisgame- Californian wine.Theregionhadbeengivenaboostbythe they believedwasthemarkedimprovementinqualityof American businesspartner, PatriciaGallagher, topromotewhat time ownedawineshopandschoolinParis,his This wasn’tjustdowntotheterroir:vineyardstendedbe Well, forastart,thewineworldwasverydifferentbackin1976. It beganasasimpleexercisebySpurrier, whoatthe admits thetradewasstillparochial. and say, ‘fillitup’.” would comein,plonkabottleonthetable four differentwinesintankandpeople pump attendant.Iinheritedasupplierof nothing morethanapompiste,orpetrol- [cellarman], andthatmeantIwasseenas When Iopenedmyshop,wasacaviste wine theyareinthenowandfuture. called goldenagesareinthepast,but sipping hiscoffee.“Peoplebelieveso- “The 1970sweren’tgolden,”hesays, and thePortuguesemadeport. had somedecentstuff;Spainmadesherry considered tobe‘2ndXI’regions.Germany bits oftheRhône.LoireandAlsacewere Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagneand was nothingmorethanquainttrivia. Levant havebeenmakingwineformillennia That thepeopleofCaucusesand wines werelaiddownbyPhiliptheBold. only grapesusedinmakingBurgundian Pinot NoirandChardonnayshouldbethe that in the14thcentury, rulesdetermining as farbackthelate12thcentury, while Spurrier gotridofthetank-winebut A goldenage?NotaccordingtoSpurrier. In 1976,winewasFrance–inreality, WINE

“There were no non-French wines in France,” he explains. “There was a bit of port and sherry, and madeira was used for cooking.” Hence, the motivation to show the best tasters in France what the Californians could do. He invited nine of the most formidable palates in Paris, including Odette Kahn, the matriarch of Paris wine writers, Raymond Oliver, owner of Le Grand Véfour, the greatest restaurant in Paris, and the respected wine writer Michel Dovaz. But with a week to go, Spurrier feared they might draw unfair conclusions about the geography and climate of California and automatically compare the wines to the woeful examples from Portugal and Spurrier's wine shop in Spain, and “damn them with faint praise”. Paris. Below: at his Bride So he upped the stakes. “I decided to turn it Valley vineyard in Dorset into a blind tasting, pitting the Californians against the best white Burgundies and the finest Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated THE WINES wines from Bordeaux.” When the tasters arrived, they were told Californian Chardonnays of the change of plan. “‘Pas de problème’ Chalone Vineyard 1974 Chateau Montelena 1973 seemed to be the unanimous feeling,” David Bruce Winery 1973 recalls Spurrier. The wines were poured, Freemark Abbey 1972 and the judges swirled, sniffed, tasted and Spring Mountain 1973 spat, before giving their scores. Veedercrest Vineyards 1972 At the end of the first flight, the Cabernet Sauvignons Chardonnays, not a single judge voted for Clos du Val Winery 1972 a Grand Cru Burgundy over a wine from Freemark Abbey 1969 California, with Napa Valley’s Chateau Heitz Cellar Martha’s Montelena 1973 coming top. Time Vineyard 1970 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 magazine writer George Taber, the only Ridge Vineyards journalist present, described the reaction Monte Bello 1971 in the room as “shock and horror”. Surely Stag’s Leap Wine Bella, that helped the story make the papers. The implications the clarets would restore French honour? Cellars 1973 were considerable. “It was the first chink in the armour of French Scores were tighter, but it was a Californian wines,” says Spurrier. “There had been whispers, but no one had White Burgundy Cab, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973, that Bâtard Montrachet Domaine really questioned the dominant authority of France.” pipped the Bordeaux heavyweights. Ramonet-Prudhon 1973 The fallout was equally substantial. Spurrier was treated as Even then, the event might have passed Beaune Premier Cru Clos persona no grata, while the judges were, as he says, “given a unnoticed. After all, the French press des Mouches Domaine really hard going over”. Some were pressured to resign from their Joseph Drouhin 1973 stayed away, seeing no reason to give it any Meursault Premier Cru jobs, while Kahn, who asked for her notes when the results were importance. It was only the presence of Les Charmes Domaine announced, claimed the tasting had been rigged. She never spoke Taber, and photos taken by Spurrier’s wife, Roulot 1973 to Spurrier again. “Those who belonged to a wine producing Puligny-Montrachet Premier community got shat on tremendously,” recalls Spurrier. “But to Cru Les Pucelles Domaine their credit, they said nothing, because they knew it had been held Leflaive 1972 for the right reasons and in impeccable circumstances.” Red Bordeaux That said, he admits there was an element of providence. “If I’d “There were no Château Haut-Brion Premier held it on a different day, they would’ve said, ‘nice try but we’re Cru Classé Graves 1970 still top dog’. As it was, we fast-tracked Californian wine by about non-French wines Château Mouton-Rothschild Premier Cru Classé 1973 five years because, to be honest, it was just a matter of time before in France. There Médoc 1970 people’s minds were opened. But what it did do was to break Château Léoville-Las Cases down the barriers. All I wanted was recognition of the quality was a bit of port Deuxième Cru Classé St coming out of California – and I got it in spades.” Julien 1971 and sherry, and Château Montrose Deuxième Cru Classé St Wine – A Way of Life, by Steven Spurrier, is published by Adelphi. madeira was used Estèphe 1970 Michael Karam is a journalist and wine writer, and the author of for cooking” Wines of Lebanon, published by Saqi Books IMAGESTOCK GETTY IMAGES,

42 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 2017 AMERICAN WINERY OF THE YEAR

POINTS EDITORS’ CHOICE J.G., Wine Enthusiast, April 2018

© 2018 Kendall-Jackson Winery, Santa Rosa, CA GENIUS ON THE ROPES Amid reckless tweets, investor jitters and a fraud suit, Elon Musk had a crisis-strewn summer. Journalist Ben Oliver, who has known him since his early days at Tesla, assesses the impact of an entrepreneur like no other – and of the cars he still hopes will change the world WINE GETTYIMAGES

45 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 PROFILE

was talking to Elon Musk on the phone as he lay in bed in Bel Air on a Saturday morning. He told me that the clattering I could hear in the background was his girlfriend, the actress Talulah Riley, making breakfast. At the time, he was still married to the writer Justine I Musk, mother of his five boys, and nobody publicly knew that the marriage was set to end. I was on deadline for the Mail on Sunday and had to get his response to my piece on the battle he’d had with Tesla’s founders. I couldn’t afford to use the time he’d allotted me to pursue the details of his love life, but when we hung up I called his then-PR guy (they never last long) to ask if he really was now seeing the 23-year-old Clockwise from above: St Trinian's actress, or if he was trying to Barack Obama tours Space lead me into printing something he could X; Elon Musk at the Tesla Factory in Fremont; Tesla 3; sue me for. “No,” explained the weary- Musk launching Tesla 3 sounding flack. “He really is. He’s chosen you to break the news.” That was 2008. I’ve been talking to Elon Musk for 12 years now, since long before he became the second- most controversial American, and a man whose every tweet can make headlines, shake stock markets and inspire controversy – not least a fraud charge from the Securities & Exchange Commission after Musk erroneously suggested he could take Tesla private. Musk’s public image is now an odd hybrid of Willy Wonka, Dr Strangelove and Austin Powers’ Dr Evil, but back in 2006 he was just like any other 35-year-

TESLA’S TRAILBLAZERS old billionaire. He’d cashed out of the Ben Oliver gives his verdict on the firm’s electric cars dotcom boom twice and was busy trying to get the human race to Mars on rockets he would design, while aiming to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels with electric cars. I don’t know what we found to talk about for all that time. When I wrote about Tesla in its early years, I had to explain to editors who Model S Model X Tesla 3 Coming soon... maybe Elon was. For a good decade we spoke Introduced in 2012, this is Arrived in 2015 and uses The world wanted the Tesla Elon’s future plans for Tesla Tesla’s first ‘mainstream’ car. the same chassis as the Model 3 before we knew go far beyond a timeline of twice a year or so. Our encounters It's been wildly successful Model S saloon but with how good it is to drive. new models: he envisages were never dull. He always provided a because – objectively and a much larger, seven-seat It’s smaller and lighter than an integrated green energy good, filter-free quote: “They’re just so ignoring the hype – it’s a SUV body and mad, its siblings, and offers sharper network. And there’s little fucking dumb,” he once told me of the sensational car, with supercar roof-hinged ‘gullwing’ doors. handling with the same point discussing on-sale acceleration and a 300-mile It’s huge inside, taking absurd turn of speed. dates because new Teslas car companies that persist in developing range. It beat others to advantage of the absence of The cabin is dominated by are always late. But a Model hydrogen fuel-cell rivals to his electric market by years, but it’s a large engine and fuel tank. a huge central touchscreen: Y SUV version of the cars. After a legal spat with Top Gear, he about to acquire some But the styling is unappealing there are very few physical Model 3, a new Roadster urged me to quote him saying that Jeremy and commercial vehicles – very competent rivals and one wonders if those switches. As with the other Clarkson is “a huge dick”. with appealing badges complex doors will still models, you can add Tesla’s including the Tesla Semi lorry, and big-company back-up. work in 10 years' time. self-driving Autopilot system. above – are all on the slate. Those conversations provided some PESCE MAURIZIO NASA, IMAGESTOCK, GETTY IMAGES,

46 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 Privately, the leaders of the global carmakers admit that Tesla’s success has informed and accelerated their electrification. The other key influence on that share price has been the cult of Elon. Car companies are often best when run as benign dictatorships, with one man providing a single, clear and consistent vision. Think Henry Ford, Jean Bugatti, or Gordon Murray at McLaren. Musk is probably the greatest example. But his recent behaviour – the “pedo guy” Twitter outburst at a Thai cave rescuer, the concern over his use of the sleeping drug Ambien, the podcast toke on a spliff, and the calamitous tweet engendering the fraud charge – has led some investors to conclude that Tesla now needs a manager rather than a amusement, but they also now provide In 2006, the US car industry was mystic at the helm. Nevertheless, when a perspective that is often lacking in our already on life support, and by the Musk settled the fraud charge by stepping view of Elon and his car company. In time the financial crisis hit, two of the down as chairman and paying a fine, thus 2006, when we first started speaking, American Big Three carmakers looked ensuring his continuation as CEO, Tesla’s Tesla was still two years from putting done for. It was almost impossible to shares shot back up. its first car on sale. The Roadster was imagine someone establishing the first Over the years in which we spoke, a £92,000 electric version of a £30,000 successful new US carmaker since Jeep Musk’s messianic vision may have Lotus and it arrived two years late, but in 1941 (which itself had been notably tested staff to the limit, but it achieved it proved that Tesla’s tech worked and it aided by the Second World War). went fast, so all 2,000 were sold. Yet that is exactly what Elon has done. In 2008, Elon told me that the first Walking through Mayfair recently I saw His public image is Tesla saloon would arrive in 2010 and three non-charging Teslas parked in a cost $30,000. In fact, the Model S arrived row – they’re now as much a part of the now an odd hybrid in 2012 and in the UK the cheapest modern London cityscape as Deliveroo of Willy Wonka, version costs £67,000 (about $86,500). riders and Uber Priuses. It is a staggering That $30,000 Tesla finally sort-of arrived achievement, far harder to pull off than Dr Strangelove last year in the form of the new, smaller the rocket science of Space X. and Dr Evil Model 3 hatchback – except you can’t The rivals are catching up, though. buy the entry-level version yet (it’s Jaguar’s I-PACE electric car has been actually $35,000), possibly because Tesla launched and is sensational: better than would make a loss on it. The cheapest the Model S at its first attempt. By the what the old-world carmakers said was version you can buy is $49,000, and time you read this, the Mercedes EQ-C impossible. He didn’t get everything right that’s only in the US; it won’t reach the will have been revealed, and Porsche will though; he once told me that he expected UK until next year at the earliest. If you show its Taycan pure electric vehicle by Tesla to be bought by an established want one, join the back of a queue at least the end of the year. Suddenly Tesla will carmaker. None can now afford it, so it 400,000 customers long: a queue which have three competitors from experienced needs to become one itself. Fraud suit or will take a while to clear because, despite carmakers with huge production not, that might require a different CEO. building the first Model 3 a year ago, capacity, meaning you’ll actually be able I’d like to see Musk freed up to focus Tesla has only just ramped production up to buy them. More will follow. on his other ideas: boring congestion-free to its target of 5,000 each week. If these new cars rob Tesla of its road tunnels under our cities, linking the All this over-promise and under- lead and dent its market cap but mean world with his Hyperloop supersonic delivery doesn’t matter because that’s there are more EVs (Electric Vehicles) ground transport, and getting us to Mars. how Silicon Valley – as opposed to the on the road, Elon will still regard that He’s done what he said he would do car industry – operates. Tesla’s lack of as a victory. His shareholders won’t, at Tesla and needs the freedom to be a corporate caution has given it a huge lead though they should never have been in visionary again. When I joined him for a over the established carmakers, which in any doubt about his priorities. Elon has speech he gave at the Sheldonian a few turn is largely responsible for its colossal always told me that his motivation is years ago, Prof Ian Goldin introduced market capitalisation – at time of writing, “non-economic”. He wants to encourage him by saying that “he will benefit us in $52.9 bn, just bigger than General Motors, the adoption of mass-market EVs by both ways we cannot yet imagine”. a lot bigger than Ford. the public and other manufacturers. I think that still holds true.

47 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 FOR THE LOVE OF TOREO When Englishman, Old Etonian and Boisdale regular Alexander Fiske-Harrison travelled to Spain to write a book on bullfighting, he never imagined that he’d be stepping into the ring himself. But after he picked up the red muleta for the first time, everything changed

nyone who speaks of of war: there are far too many things to be their first time in the afraid of to have time to be scared. ring in terms of the By the time I was facing a big animal sweat or the heat, the – three years old and weighing a third overwhelming fatigue of a ton – I had learned how to control or the numbing fear, the that adrenal flow so that I could devote grittiness of the sand under foot, or the time to reading the animal. For example, Aparticular odour the Spanish fighting seeing which horn he preferred to bull brings with it from the corrals, lead with (like boxers, bulls are either is either lying, misremembering or southpaw or orthodox), and noticing deranged. For such detailed cognition whether he wanted to break into a canter is not how such massive levels of acute in a close-range charge or preferred stress work in the normal human mind. merely to extend his trot. When you are first faced with a bull Then there was the choice of pass I’d your world consists of two things: make with the muleta – the red cloth with the animal’s eyes and where they are a wooden stick for a spine – extended looking, and the animal’s horns and wider with the sword in its folds when where they are going. As the saying goes used for a derechazo on the more risky right, but more elegant when used on its own on the left for a pase natural. Contained within your first pass is the germ of your second, and your third and so on, for as many passes as the animal has in him before needing to pause and catch his breath. At which point, you expend his momentum by either getting him to break and throw his forehooves into the air with a reverse pass at chest height, a pase de pecho, or plunge his "Contained within your first pass is the germ of your horns downwards towards the sand second, and your third": in a sharp turn using a trincherazo pass. the dance between man and bull is centuries-old. And then you turn your back to the Facing page: Alexander bull and walk away until you feel he is Fiske-Harrison in the ring

48 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 GETTYGETTYIMAGES IMAGES, IMAGESTOCK ESSAY 49 ESSAY

ready for the next tanda, or ‘series’, For here is the first thing one has to of passes. And these are just the basics: learn about la corrida de toros – literally the entries in the centuries-old dance- ‘the coursing of bulls’ (which shows its book of passes run into the dozens. historic origins in the hunt) – it is not a And it is not just the bull you are sport. It is reviewed in the newspapers moving and shaping with the lure of between theatre and ballet, not football the muleta. You are also constantly and tennis, and is a three-act drama. adjusting yourself in contrast: back As such, it is not something in which straight, gestures as slow and elegant the concept of ‘fair play’ has the slightest – yet forcefully so – as possible. of roles: the killing of the bull is a ritual As Orson Welles put it: “What you sacrifice. “The bull is a Spanish god who are interested in is the art whereby a sacrifices himself,” noted Salvador Dalí. man using no tricks reduces a raging “Bullfighters are his priests.” bull to his dimensions, and this means Of course, sometimes the priests die that the relationship between the two too – 537 famous professionals since must always be maintained and even 1700 and countless amateurs and lesser highlighted. The only way this can be knowns. The most recent to suffer this achieved is with art. And what is the particular fate was the great matador essence of this art? That the man carry Iván Fandiño last year, whom I knew himself with grace and that he move the a little and miss far more. bull slowly and with a certain majesty. It is worth stating very clearly here That is, he must allow the inherent that when such a death occurs, the quality of the bull to manifest itself.” bull has not won, nor is he pardoned I fought bulls as an amateur, spending (although pardons do exist for bulls, time in private rings to experience some but for other reasons). The bull is simply of what the professionals do. Initially, killed by another matador. After all, this was for my book Into The Arena: his meat has been presold before he The World of the Spanish Bullfight; enters the ring, each of which are now it’s out of sheer love. EU-registered abattoirs.

The bull must not have seen a man on the ground before it enters the ring for the corrida to work

I was taught what little I know by professional matadors on the fly, including the newly retired Juan José Padilla, the most famous matador in Spain, who lost his eye to a bull in 2011 before returning triumphantly to become number one. Padilla attended a bullfighting school for years and has a whole team devoted to improving not just the technique of his toreo – bullfighting is not a good translation of this word; you dance with the bull, if you tried to ‘fight’ it you would die – but also the aesthetics. Movement advisers, dance coaches, thousands of hours in the salon training with a man “running” a pair of horns, and just as much time studying film footage of himself and other matadors, past and present.

50 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 that is running with bulls, from the Clockwise from top: great encierros of Pamplona every July Jose Padilla, the author’s to sueltas de vacas, where a single cow is trainer, who lost an eye to released into a village street. a bull in 2011; a bull roams the dehesa; the end of the Those who are against bullfighting corrida; matadors enter the often point to the declining numbers of bull ring; going in for the kill; a poster advertising a corrida corridas, which have more than halved in Linares, 1947 in a decade. However, this is as much to do with expense than a perceived backlash: a matador such as Padilla can earn a couple of million Euros a year. What those who protest the spectacle do not talk about is that the number of bull-running events has more than tripled over the same period, to more than 17,000 last year. This year alone, more than a quarter of cities, towns and villages across Spain will have hosted such an event. My appreciation of bullfighting is not solely about my respect for the art form. The unique breed of bull is created in 1,300-odd legally registered ranches, consisting of meadow and forest that forms one-fifth of Spain’s dehesa, a natural landscape which is paid for by the box-offices of the rings. Ban bullfighting and these will become intensive meat-cattle farms. Bulls are ranched in this wilderness from horseback. The bull must not have seen a man on the ground before it enters the ring for the corrida to work at all. The bull charges the man because he does not know what he is, and for the same reason he also takes the lure of the cloth over the body of the torero. Although in Spain toreo is sometimes seen as a conservative hangover from the past, what aficionados like myself ask for is liberalism in its true, classical sense. The right to be ignored and be allowed to partake in an extraordinary spectacle Like all of the 1.3 billion-strong the anti-taurine camp. But what I saw, in which a man, through a statuesque global cattle herd, which weigh more the courage and the beauty, made me stillness and a piece of moving fabric than all the humans on Earth, each decide to research further. Now, having (bulls are colour-blind and charge the animal is killed and enters the food chain chronicled the subject and become movement of the cloth), invokes the – and all are killed for our entertainment. immersed in it, I work with the industry onslaught of the storm of nature. A stage We do not need to eat meat, we select body, the Fundación de Toro de Lidia, where a performance occurs where the it on a whim, to entertain our palates. (Foundation of the Fighting Bull). stakes are real, where life asks death to Spanish fighting bulls also entertain Just as in the equine world, where dance, outwits it, and then kills death palates, but first they entertain souls you have not only horse races but polo, itself, with nothing more than a sword. as well. For toreo is classed by dressage, eventing and pony club, so it aficionados and detractors alike in is with bulls. There are the corridas The Bulls of Pamplona, edited by Spain – and France, Mexico, Peru, and their novice variants, novilladas; Alexander Fiske-Harrison, is published Ecuador, Columbia and Venezuela – as there is toreo from horseback, known by Mephisto Press. The second edition an art form. Those who are against it as rejoneo, and the bloodless recortes, of Into The Arena: The World of the merely see it as an immoral one. where men leap over bulls to the Spanish Bullfight (Profile Books) Before I first saw a bullfight, in amazement of the crowd. will be launched at Boisdale of Belgravia

GETTY IMAGES, BRUNO BARBEY/MAGNUM GETTY IMAGES, Seville in June 2000, I was firmly in There is also the amateur interaction in November

51 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 HISTORY

not a scrupulous historian. In speeches and memoirs, he was happy to enhance helpful facts and suppress inconvenient ones. This time, however, he was telling the truth. On a later occasion, he actually declared: “La France, c’est moi.” To make sense of himself, he had to make sense of France. Ultimately, he failed in both endeavours, but it was a compelling vocation; the stuff of drama and grandeur. When one contemplates de Gaulle’s life, A CERTAIN one point is self-evident: how difficult he found it to be French. The reason? The Revolution. De Gaulle’s background was bourgeois, Catholic, conservative – and monarchist. This left him with a chasm to IDEA OF straddle. In 1943, de Gaulle told Harold Macmillan that French history had gone wrong in 1789; his task was to put it right. Macmillan, too, had a romantic streak, but even he was incredulous. It is claimed DE GAULLE that de Gaulle drove past a poster with the slogan, “mort aux cons!”, provoking the Bruce Anderson looks at the life of laconic response: “vaste entreprise”. This intellectual struggle was the titanic figure who reshaped France – intensified by the military context. France yet who found it difficult to be French had been defeated in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. Thirty years later, the army was plunged into crisis by the reat human beings are often Dreyfus affair. Given his background, de Gaulle might have been impossible. Ronnie Millar was an anti-Dreyfusard and an anti-Semite, and drawn to the anti- one of Margaret Thatcher’s Parliamentary extreme right. That he was never tempted to do so favourite speech-writers and is a testament to his good sense and decency. It might also have would have cheerfully lain been assumed that he would admire Napoleon. Not so. If you are G down his life for her. Yet I remember one a legitimist like de Gaulle, Bonaparte was a usurper. He was also a occasion when Ronnie said: “I love-hate failure, leaving France smaller than he had found it. that woman. I can’t tell you how intensely De Gaulle had no desire to emulate that. While he was trying Winston Churchill and I love-hate her.” At times, almost everyone Charles de Gaulle in to make sense of the past, his temperament was put under who worked for the Lady would have Marrakesh in 1944, during further strain during the First World War. A brave officer, he was known what he meant; the same would the planning of the Allied captured at Verdun. When he returned to France, he assumed invasion of France have been true of the men who served that his career was over. Once again, not so. A good officer needs Elizabeth I and Winston Churchill. courage, leadership and brains. However difficult de Gaulle could But those world-historical figures also sometimes be, he clearly possessed all three. had redeeming personal qualities. There were moments when the sun emerged from ncarceration had given him time to resolve his allegiance behind the clouds and all the difficulties problem. De Gaulle always read widely and deeply and was seemed worthwhile. That was less true of Idrawn to philosophy, particularly that of Charles Péguy, Charles de Gaulle. In an outstanding new who preached reconciliation. Monarchists and revolutionaries biography, A Certain Idea of France, Prof could come together in the service of France. This sounds more Julian Jackson cites one diplomat whose politically convenient than intellectually rigorous, but de Gaulle “admiration for de Gaulle was tinged subscribed to it. He also believed that as a soldier, he was serving by frustration at the asperities of [his] eternal France, not transient politicians. personality”, while another senior figure Especially during the 1930s, those politicians often aroused his commented that: “De Gaulle’s rigidity in contempt. Many of them seemed incapable of rising to the level the tiniest issues is part of his personality.” of events. De Gaulle was also certain that there would be another The title of the biography comes from war. France had avenged itself for 1870. The Germans were bound the first sentence of de Gaulle’sWar to find an opportunity to retaliate. De Gaulle even knew how that Memoirs: “Throughout my life, I have coming war should be fought: specialist tank formations. However, had a certain idea of France.” Unlike few in authority agreed with him.

his biographer, though, the General was His predictions and his forebodings were both realised. Under ALAMY GETTY IMAGES;

52 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 IMAGE CREDIT 53 founderRepublic; oftheFifth yetissues hestruggled with the 20thCentury: itshero France’s greatest figure of of World War IIandthe Charles de Gaulle was Charles deGaulle of nationalidentity HISTORY

German attack in 1940, France collapsed, regarded as part of France and had a But he was able to satisfy his appetite her political class quickest of all. Destiny million inhabitants of French origin. Most for dignity, in the constitution of the Fifth had come to de Gaulle, albeit as the of the other nine million had other ideas, Republic, established in 1958. It enabled handmaiden of adversity. He arrived in however, and in 1954 rose in revolt. De him to govern as he wished to, with London, a two-star general with a couple Gaulle projected himself as the leader who minimal concessions to lesser politicians. of suitcases and £1,000 pounds in French could keep Algeria French, but this was This satisfied his appetite for grandeur. francs. His first visit to England had been always a hopeless ambition. The necessary That said, as Presidents Giscard d’Estaing, only 10 days earlier and he spoke the scuttle required a figure of his prestige, so Sarkozy, Hollande and Macron have language badly. Admittedly, he had been a he performed a valuable service – though discovered, grandeur can easily turn into minister, but a junior one – and for just 12 hardly a dignified one. folie de grandeur. It could be argued that days. Yet he claimed to speak for France. something similar happened to de Gaulle. It sounds like the stuff of schoolboy His foreign policy was a mess. Obsessed fiction, but that is where fortune was on his by trying to prove himself the equal of the side. Churchill, who always had a penchant US and the USSR, he often succeeded in for romantic characters who wanted to making France look ridiculous. At times, fight, had met him and been impressed. his main aim appeared to be revenge, for So he bought into de Gaulle. the way he had felt slighted during the war. There followed five years of rows and It was clear that he never worked out what storms. Roosevelt could never see the he wanted to do about Europe. He seemed point of de Gaulle, and Churchill often to believe that the rest of the Common had to protect him. Even so, there were moments when he was driven to fury. The anecdote is not in this book, so it may be only ben trovato, but at one point, Churchill is reported to have said: “Si vous m’obstructerez, je vous obliterai.” I heard Harold Macmillan tell a similar story, of Prestige, bottled. Churchill emerging from a meeting with de Gaulle and asking: “Harold, tell me. What is the French for the opposite of Vive la France?” Needless to say, there was no Clockwise from top: De Gaulle hosts a visit from gratitude. The more vulnerable his position, the Kennedys, 1961; with the more defiant de Gaulle became. (from left) French General Henri Giraud, President Roosevelt and Churchill in Discover Harviestoun’s ne can understand why. France 1943; as President, 1959 had been comprehensively Odefeated, and the bulk of the Market would obey France’s instructions, range across the population were ready to embrace However difficult and that was never realistic. defeatism and support Pétain. One de Gaulle could be, De Gaulle had given much thought to perceptive observer caught his mood in economics, without coming to workable Boisdale estate. 1940. “He felt the dishonour of his country he clearly possessed conclusions. By the mid-1960s, discontent as few men can feel anything… he was like courage, leadership was growing, leading to the évenéments a man who had been skinned alive… the of 1968. De Gaulle did not know how to discomfort was due, I am certain, to the and brains cope and was effectively rescued by his boiling misery and hatred inside him.” But sometime Prime Minister and soon-to-be his defiance worked. At the end of the war, successor, Georges Pompidou. France was treated as one of the Big Four The last few months of de Gaulle’s life victors, with an occupied zone in Germany and a seat on the UN were unhappy. He increasingly seemed to Security Council. De Gaulle had established a dominant position be a great man overcome by littleness. in French politics, and seemed to have deserved it. No one will be surprised to learn that The rest of his career was much more problematic. Briefly de Gaulle was an extraordinary character President after the war, he found it impossible to work with – as Prof Jackson’s book makes crystal clear. other politicians. He was convinced that France needed a new At France’s darkest hour, de Gaulle stood constitution, which would give its President both monarchical firm and earns the tribute that Prof Jackson grandeur and extensive powers to rise above mere party politics. pays to him in the final sentence: “He saved Thwarted in these objectives, he retired to Colombey-les-Deux- the honour of France.” Églises. From there, he overshadowed French politics. It appeared that France could neither be governed with him, nor without him. A Certain Idea of France: The Life of Yet there was a route back to power: a crisis, followed by a Charles de Gaulle, by Julian Jackson, hypocritical solution. For more than a century, Algeria had been is published by Allen Lane IMAGESTOCK GETTY IMAGES; Scan Harvie to learn more about our story 54 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 Prestige, bottled.

Discover Harviestoun’s range across the Boisdale estate.

Scan Harvie to learn more about our story A perfect combination of coffee and cognac. Parisian café brought to life.

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PursuitsLUXURY / TRAVEL / CULTURE / FOOD & DRINK / CIGARS / HORSE RACING

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Stepping into the Jean-Davide Malat: gallerist, There's more to rum than Giant puffballs, wood mothership of piano art-world boulevardier cocktails and maritime blewitts, chicken of the making at the Hamburg and man with a superlative lore: it's a fine sipping woods... Celebrating factory of Steinway & Sons eye for the next big thing tipple in its own right autumn's exotic fungi

58 SHOOTING SEASON Hunting the mysterious capercaillie in the forests of Bulgaria, and a new masterpiece from historic gun-maker Purdey

57 BOISDALELIFE.COM WINTER 2017 ISSUE 10 Capercaillie, a painting by the artist Archibald Thorburn, sold by Sotheby's in 2011

Hunting

THE FORESTS OF THE CAPERCAILLIE Ranald Macdonald, hesitant hunter and Boisdale Life’s editor & chief, heads deep into Bulgaria’s mountains to track down a magnificent bird with a remarkable mating call

ining in Boisdale of Belgravia last year, supper of slow-cooked lamb stew, good local forest, the capercaillie cock becomes temporarily I stopped by the table of a good friend, wines and cheeses, I was ready for bed. It was stone deaf. So the final 100 yards is like a game DAlkhas Khametov, on my way to the then, and only then, that the capercaillie hunting of grandmother’s footsteps, with the added Cigar Terrace. He extended me an extraordinary plan was explained to me. To be fair, my host frustration of mosquitoes and varied insect life, invitation: to shoot Capercaillie in Bulgaria. assumed I knew the form. I was somewhat and can take well over an hour. My guide would Despite not being particularly into shooting, aghast and tremulous at what was proposed. squeeze my hand once to move forward a couple I immediately accepted – I was curious to visit We were to immediately change into of steps, and twice to stop as the bird took a Bulgaria, and fascinated by the thought of seeing camouflaged mountain kit, and then drive for little break from its amorous refrain. capercaillie in their natural habitat. a further two hours into the mountains, before I’d been told you had to raise your shotgun Capercaillie are magnificent birds belonging making the final ascent by foot to the primeval, slowly, to make the movement imperceptible. to the grouse family, rare but not endangered. pine-fringed mountain top: we’d thus be in After an arduous climb and the final snail-like The cocks grow to turkey-like proportions of place to shoot our prey well before dawn. It’s progress, I was in position 30 yards from a up to 16lb, with a wingspan of nearly five feet. exhausting just thinking about it. resplendent cock capercaillie on a fir tree branch, With dark feathers and a beautiful metallic The very strict rules of encounter and silhouetted against the brightening turquoise green breast, the males attract the far smaller, engagement were explained to me as we drove morning sky. I knew I didn’t have long before it rather dull brown hens with one of nature’s into the night. Disembarking, we began to walk left its nocturnal position to start its day foraging most remarkable mating sounds: a short series silently through the still black forest, listening out on the forest floor. I raised my gun a millimetre of powerful clicks, like a dolphin underwater, for that strange mating call, which we knew would a second – but while doing so, I found that I had followed by a loud popping noise like a begin just before sunrise from their nocturnal an uncontrollable tickle in my throat and an urge champagne cork being released after a good perching position in a tree. The guide heard it to cough. I did my best to muffle it, but the bird shake. After a short pause, this is repeated. first, and as we approached I too could just about reacted as if I had detonated dynamite and took In April this year we flew into Sofia, landing discern the absurd and unnatural click, click, click, off instantaneously like a majestic Lancaster in the early evening before driving into the night pop sound several hundred yards away. bomber. It was a marvellous sight. with a large quantity of guns, ammunition and kit, We had to move in deft silence, as these great Perhaps subconsciously I didn’t really want to like mafia hit-men. A few hours later we arrived birds scare easily and have exceptionally sensitive shoot this wonderful bird – because I’m ashamed at a charming village hostelry in the foothills of hearing . However to its mortal detriment – to say this actually happened twice. I came back the Rhodope mountains, about 50 miles from I can imagine Aesop writing a fable about this from my hunting weekend in Bulgaria completely

the Greek boarder. After a delicious and homely – during its attempts to attract the ladies of the empty-handed, but I can’t honestly say I minded. PURDEY SOTHEBY’S,

58 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 PURSUITS

TRIGGER Shooting HAPPY With the shooting season well underway, Purdey’s newly- developed, bespoke shotgun could just be a game changer

Should you be heading Guns out on a game shoot at this time of year, the chances are the shotgun in your hand will have either a boxlock or sidelock hammer mechanism – which one you go for may be a matter of taste. Historic Royal Warrant holder Purdey, however, is offering something more exotic, and potentially more TOP GUNS practical too, in its latest masterful demonstration of fine British gun- A trio of first class making: an over-and-under with the shooting schools to get much rarer trigger plate mechanism. in that game season The demands of modern game target practice shooting – higher birds, heavier cartridges – led Purdey to develop West London Shooting School what’s often seen as a third option Northolt, Middlesex to the sidelock and boxlock, but Over 100 traps for every type of which demonstrated its worth to sporting target, with a variety of Purdey’s gun-makers with over courses and capacity for large- 150,000 cartridges fired in testing. scale corporate shoots. Moreover, the trigger unit is Sporting Clay sessions from £51 removable, making it easier to clean shootingschool.co.uk and transport. Entirely and painstakingly Holland & Holland handmade in the firm’s London Northwood, Middlesex workshop, the Purdey Trigger Plate is The historic bespoke gun-maker a fully bespoke shotgun, with options converted its old testing ground for barrel length, chamber length, stock into a glorious shooting school dimensions, engraving, finish and with an atmosphere of appropri- more. Prices start from £55,000 + VAT. ately old school quality and style. purdey.com Individual lessons from £127 hollandandholland.com

The Royal Berkshire Shooting School Pangbourne, Berkshire Amid rolling farmland, the RBSS includes its own sporting agency for shoots in the UK and abroad, a superlative country store and gun room, and a variety of private and corporate shooting packages including simulated clay days at prestigious UK venues. 100-clay Driving Range shoot £60 rbss.co.uk

59 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 PURSUITS

Luxury BOISDALE APPROVES A foray into the finer things

BEST CASE SCENARIO When is a binoculars case not a binoculars case? When it’s a cocktail set in disguise, of course. Connolly’s handsome leather example comes stocked with a pair of glasses, a flagon and two bespoke jerry-can hip flasks – ideal for filling with your snifter of choice. Mix an Irish coffee on the move, or fix up a round of fuss-free, DIY negronis. Designed by Sebastian Conran, each piece is made by a single craftsman from beginning to end, and is finished BENTLEY GOES BACK TO THE FUTURE with details like tonneau clips, usually found on vintage cars. head of its centenary celebrations W. O. Bentley, and incorporates design £3,000, connollyengland.com next year, Bentley's bespoke cues from his 8 Litre – as well as an A division, Mulliner, has turned actual piece of motoring history: a its attention to an ultra-luxurious take section of the crankshaft from W. O.’s on the Mulsanne. The Mulsanne W.O. own vehicle set into the armrest. Edition (above) is a homage to founder Just 100 of the cars will be made, boasting beluga-black wheels and interiors that echo the splendour of 1930s golden-age car production (left). The centrepiece of each will be an illuminated, wood marquetry cocktail cabinet, including an opening showing the crankshaft section. The Mulsanne W.O. Edition can be requested on any of the three-model Mulsanne range. bentleymotors.com SAIL OF THE CENTURY TIME TO INVEST IN A LEICA To mark the 250th anniversary It's long been known as the maker of the world's most covetable of Captain Cook setting sail for cameras. Now, Leica is breaking into the luxury watch market. Tahiti in 1768, The Folio Society Created at its new campus in Wetzlar, Germany, the Leica L1 has released a special three-volume (right) and L2 were masterminded by Professor Achim Heine, set of his journals, along with a full- designer of many of the brand's best-known cameras. sized chart tracing his explorations. There are plenty of nods to Leica camera design, including Each book is dedicated to one of a cambered glass recalling the curve of a lens, a power reserve his three voyages, which also took inspired by a light metre gauge and an aperture that turns from in Antarctica, Alaska and Tonga, white to red when the crown is pressed in for setting. And this is and are presented in an elegant no mere branding exercise: inside is a German-made, manually- slipcase. Also included are colour wound haute horlogerie movement. Available later this year, pricing images of Cook's crew and their is expected to be around €10,000. uk.leica-camera.com destinations. £120, foliosociety.com

60 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13

H product itself product defines the broader a brandthat Rolex orApple – Today it’s like

to surviveasitspeersfloundered, nothing likeitintheworld.” Steinway isaandthere of all,ArthurRubinstein,putit:“A tapping awayataSteinway. Jamal, andthechancesarethey’llbe Martha Argerich,BillEvanstoAhmad any ofthegreats,fromGlennGouldto Look uponYouTube performancesby a Steinwaycanbegenuinesurprise. concert ofanymeritnotperformedon the broaderproductitself.To seeapiano Rolex orApple–abrandthatdefines Today it’s acategory toppredator, like its peerstrailinginthemostdistantdust. a one-horserace:Steinway&Sonsleft greatest pianistsandpatrons. each otherfortheattentionofworld’s instrument ofall,andwouldviewith the mostversatile,completemusical refined, improvedandproliferated is hardtooverstate165yearslater. They entrepreneurial Germanpiano-makers But thecontributionofthosethree significant historyforthatmatter. ( of significantmusiccameout1853 Ignaz Bosendorferin1828.)Notalot is older, establishedbytheAustrian the sameyear:1853.(OnlyBosendorfer them werefounded,byGermans,in Bluthner andBosendorfer–threeof La Traviata beinganexception),or One reasonthecompanywasable As the20thcentury’s greatestpianist Although itwasreally, inmanyways, – Steinway, Bechstein, Four’ ofpianomaking regarded asthe‘Big the companieshistorically ere’s aremarkablefact.Of

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being hand-finished the backbone of thepiano, the castironplate, seenas the felt-covered hammers; the process of fine-tuning rim; pre-voicing thepiano, assembly; hand-finishing the awaitingin different veneers intoshape;piano rim rims for bendingthewooden right: Clockwise fromtop metal bandsused

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hold thesound-boardinplace. resting onthewoodendowellsthat beneath, ortherimaroundit,instead no partofittouchesthesound-board an extraordinarilysmoothdegree–and a workofartinitself,hand-finishedto of tensionfromthestrings.Thisplateis backbone ofthepiano,sustaining20tons painted castironplatethatservesasthe over it.Abovethissitsthehuge,bronze- 1930s, withthewoodenbridgeglued strings, madetoadesignpatentedinthe the resonantflatsurfaceunderneath wooden elementisthesound-board: fuel thefactoryitself.Theothercrucial selected foruse–therestisburnedto PURSUITS

strings ofaSteinway strings threading felt underthe style; testingthekeyboard; for adecorative carving re made in-house; wood piano – Steinway strings a days;in earlier the stringing right: Clockwise frombottom the Hamburg factory factory the Hamburg BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 ISSUE 2018 AUTUMN 64 W piano, andin1938its300,000 rate ofproduction:in1903Steinway&Sonsmadeits100,000 world wars.Thechaosofthe20thcenturyisreflectedin reason: somanyofEurope’s weredestroyedduringthetwo New York siteseesrathermoreoftheseoldtimers,foraneerie turns outantiqueSteinwaysarealsoservicedhere,thoughthe the era‘&Sons’themselveswerestillrunningshow. It the corners:Inoticeapianoapparentlydatingfrom1878, finishes tovariousdegreesofoligarch-pleasingostentation,are that tookalmostfouryearstofinish. decorated inanelaborateveneerofspirallingebonymarquetry House. Butittookuntil2015forthe600,000 Such top-tierinstruments,withallmannerofbespoke waiting forassembly, whilehistoryitselflurksin lines ofupendedcasesformhoopedcorridors, alking aroundthefactoryisintoxicating.Great instruments aremade. have atallaffectedthewaythesegreat in 2013–notthatsuchchangeswould He acquired thecompany Steinways). billionaire (andownerofthree Paulson, theWall Streethedgefund now, withthecompanyownedbyJohn order tobattereachotherwiththem. the legsoftheirrespectivepianosin in gangsfromthetwofirmsunscrewing and rivalUScompanyWeber, resulting to a19th-centuryspatbetweenSteinway though: oneenjoyableanecdoterelates hasn’t alwaysbeensohigh-minded, designs backinthe1850s.Thebusiness collaborated withartistsondecorative part oftheSteinwaystory:Heinrichfirst theatrical flamboyancehasalwaysbeen and cancostintothemillions.Such known atSteinwayastheCrownJewels Things aremoreelegantlymanaged th . BothendedupintheWhite th tobemade, th

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MONTEGRAPPA.CO.UK Art THE ART OF SELLING Jean-Davide Malat, art-world boulevardier and adviser to the A-list, will go to any lengths to uncover the next big thing, finds Andy Jones

he art dealer Jean-David Malat is always McGregor bursting out of a rock prison. Part- their New Bond Street store for all the world to seen in the back of the most interesting fossil, part-Tussauds, the 100kg work has real hair, see. His first ever celebrity client was a besuited T parties. Always seen because he’s glass eyes and realistic silicone skin. Pierce Brosnan, who came splashing in from a rangy six-foot three (and a razor-tailored Even Malat’s artists are prime networkers: the rain, almost James Bond-like, one Saturday ex-Prada model), and always there because he McGregor himself will take delivery of the afternoon. (Brosnan, something of an artist is extravagantly well connected. Standing next £50,000 sculpture, given free to him as a 30th himself, just sold his own portrait of Bob Dylan at to him may make you wish you’d worn a better birthday present from Aspencrow. auction for £1m.) suit, but his Parisian sangfroid makes you feel it Malat’s business is selling work from people doesn’t matter. you haven’t heard of, to people you very much e’ll buy and sell works by major names His eponymous gallery opened around the have. A trawl through gossip columns shows – he sold a Francis Bacon at auction for corner from Claridge’s in June, and it’s a contrast ‘JD’ has bought and sold for Bono, Jude Law, H£9m, for instance – but such talk leaves from the usual Mayfair art whirl, where egos and Lily Allen, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gordon him almost gloomy. Like a Premier League talent chequebooks tend to compete for size. During Ramsay. Even when he’s absent he’s still celeb- scout, Malat’s rush comes from unearthing new his opening exhibition of Korean-Norwegian fixing – his son, Joshua, seven, was squiring singer talents, rather than trading established names, artist Henrik Uldalen, Malat was so taken by Natalie Imbruglia around on opening night, while and he’s made some remarkable discoveries. one enraptured fan who had visited more than his dad was occupied. Not that Malat is brazen Óli G Johannsson, an unknown 60-something a dozen times, that she was given a print as a about such things. Like a cat burglar, it is almost a fisherman, was chased down following a friend’s memento. In fact, some £15,000 worth of other matter of personal pride for him not to be caught tip-off and a seven-hour car ride across Iceland’s prints were given away to art professionals and in the act. A rare slip saw him papped leading TV rural moonscapes. Santiago Parra, a Colombian amateur attendees alike during opening week. personality Kelly Brook around town on a spree. artist who paints only in black, was spotted at an JD Malat, the gallery, comes at you swinging. Malat, 43, does reveal he sold a painting to art fair years ago, given time to germinate and Bang in the middle, like a raised fist, is a sculpture the designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano then signed up for the new gallery. by Lithuanian artist Aspencrow, showing the Gabbana (a punk reimagining of Kate and Wills And Malat invited Uldalen to show after controversial mixed martial arts fighter Conor by artist Zoobs), but only because it’s hanging in discovering him on Instagram three years ago. JD MALAT LYNCH/EYEVINE; DAVID GETTY IMAGES;

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From far left: Jean-David Malat with Will.i.am; the new gallery on Davies Street, with paintings ; a painting by Turkish artist Zumrutoglu; Malat with Natalie Imbruglia; Malat relaxes at home; a triptych by Zumrutoglu; Aspencrow's sculpture of fighter Conor McGregor; Malat with Lady Victoria Hervey, and with Nancy Dell'Olio

He didn’t even have a gallery space secured learned much more with the internet, books and alat’s wife, Iriane, who is looking at that point, but admits with a Gallic shrug: gallery visits than from art courses. You learn after their young son, Davi, must “You always need to take a risk, no?” mostly with your own eyes and life experience.” Monly see her husband fleetingly. It paid off. Malat showed 24 works by Uldalen, Indeed, ‘Fake it till you make it’ is essentially Thankfully for home life, the work regularly and almost sold the lot – with one going for Malat’s advice to budding collectors and art comes to him. His gallery manager, Victoria £35,000. “Sometimes you have a famous artist, world interlopers. “People say, ‘Oh Madonna, Aboucaya, says, “Some clients will say, ‘We a Banksy, and people come and look and nod, she has a great art collection,’ but of course she need five paintings for our new home in south but they aren’t moved by it,” he says. “But, during dated Jean-Michel Basquiat and that helps,” he of France, JD, please buy us something.’” Uldalen, I am not joking, people would cry. I have says. “I'm sure there is someone out there buying Malat almost blushes. never seen that, in 12 years of running galleries.” things for Taylor Swift right now. I was looking at Even mere mortals can invest their nest egg. Back in 1998, Malat’s first ever sale was in [the model] Emily Ratajkowski’s Instagram and The emotive, smoky Uldalens – which have a less glamorous milieu: it was the year France her house is full of really sharp prints – everyone, paint piled high, bursting off the canvas – have hosted and won the World Cup, and he made a everyone is collecting art.” an affordable £7,000 starting price for now. mint, dealing souvenirs and World Cup T-shirts And how does he begin his forays with Malat’s latest next big thing, meanwhile, is Turkish in Paris. Then came the inspiration: “I saw how celebrities? The job of an art dealer is not to be painter Erdogan Zumrutoglu, whose combative Americans were crazy about Limoges porcelain. in your art gallery, but to be everywhere else style falls somewhere between Francis Bacon, They bought suitcases full of it. I thought, why where buyers gather in droves: the south of Picasso and Soutine. can’t I buy it and take it over there?” France, Art Basel in Miami or the Formula The key trick, says Malat, is to keep an artist A one-way flight later, he was selling a crate One circuit (particularly Baku, Monaco and exclusive. “Some can make 100 paintings a year. of Limoges door-to-door to palatial homes in Dubai). When we speak, he’s on his way to Then you can just sell, sell, sell. But Zumrutoglu Beverly Hills. “My accent helps, obviously,” he St Tropez. “For the next two days I’m at a huge will only have 10 works. The most confident admits. But a sales technique was established. party hosted by a very important Lebanese collectors and buyers in Hong Kong and New “I was really just selling little porcelain boxes; it client of mine. The new Frieze fair in LA is also York are now getting excited.” was like selling a painting. You have to create a somewhere we need to be.” The Zumrutoglu prices are supposedly being history or story around it,” he explains. “When kept low for now, although one has been sold people buy art, they buy the artist’s story with it, for £75,000, and another snapped up by the to tell their friends, to daydream about.” Museum of Modern Art, Istanbul. “His art After a brief stint in the fashion world, he Malat’s business is is not pretty – he says that himself,” says Malat. arrived at Opera Gallery, the contemporary “But Zumrutoglu is a very safe investment.” art powerhouse with spaces in London, Paris, selling art by people New York and several other cities around the you’ve not heard of, Andy Jones is a freelance journalist and world, where he progressed to become director. broadcaster. Mirror of Darkness: Zumrutoglu Despite completing a course at Sotheby’s, Malat to people you very is at JD Malat gallery, 30 Davies Street, insists the way to succeed is to be self-taught. “I much have Mayfair, W1, until Tuesday, 13 November

67 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 A Dumont needed a watch he could 1904. in Dumont, Santos Alberto his the pioneering aviator friend, designedwatch for Louis Cartier be. could wristwatch a what out set first that less, no design, the was and times the for a mirror was history, its in points critical two at travel of direction a creation that definedCartier’s it’s watch; a nice just isn’t Santos enduring icon. The square-shaped maison’s the is that watch the simple expedient of bringing back the through show, the owned it, on point a fine too put to not had, Cartier that a consensus was there PURSUITS aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont to Gordon Gordon to Dumont Santos Alberto pioneer aviation DEFINED LUXURY THE WATCH THAT THAT WATCH THE Watches The original Santos was the the was Santos original The Gekko Gekko is back, bringing a legacy of glamour and The Cartier The timepiece Cartier worn by everyone from Horlogerie de laInternationale Haute t Geneva’s James Gurney James writes it, with invention earlier this year year this earlier Salon most most definition of luxury. In the the In luxury. of definition as a one-word rebirth the house’smarked 1978 revival its and century; 20th Cartier’s of half first the define car design. and aircraft to hand his turn Cartier saw even that reflected a pioneering spirit all bezel the on screws little andmachined the curves new machine age. The rectangles, Tower, the Métropolitaine and the the Eiffel boulevards, Haussmann of Paris the to a compliment designedpocket watch, Cartier a small to a strap add simply than Rather plane. 14-Bis Demoiselle his of controls the at while use The Santos helped BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 ISSUE 2018 AUTUMN

68 different products. Following a a Following products. different and selling ownership, entirely separate under branches American and British French, with fragmented, become had Cartier mid-century, reunification, Cartier’s next reunification, next Cartier’s step was to take on the the on take to was step luxury watchluxury market, with in Paris and then New York, York, New then and Paris in an emphasis on creativity glamorous parties. Held glamorous parties. that was both ambitious ambitious both was that of the decade’s most most decade’s the of and aspirational. So it it So aspirational. and Cartier staged two two staged Cartier was that the Santos Santos the that was Nuit Santos party inParis,Nuit Santos party the new Cartier Santosin the newCartier 1978; aninvitation tothe returned. New York in1979; party steel andyellow gold, T £8,900, cartier.com From TheLe top: o celebrate, o celebrate,

watch exhibition, Salon QP. Salon exhibition, watch November annual the of founder and watches, on awriter is Gurney James decade. next the into well widely copied, the setting agenda and successful phenomenally was It present. still all were hands baton dial, Roman and numerals blued white the screws, – bezel the Santos first the of details and form the combination,bi-metal but retained gold and a steel introduced It sharp. and sporty young, felt to, close stays Santos, which this year’s collection was reflected inthe design: the new Wall in Street wear Gekko Gordon would else what – status their to aspiring any did so and Cartier wore A-listers luxury. but the had business transformed of watch a new shown just hadn’t It that definedthe cultural landscape. a style and aspiration an captured Cartier that was it locations, attendance. in Nureyev Rudolf and Warhol Andy with high-profile, more even was that York New in Night Santos the with year next the followed was It Rabanne. Paco like Grand Prix and fashion designers Muti), and Ornella Andress Ursula (including stars film with aristocracy mixed that a crowd brought jets private of fleet A display. on still was aircraft Demoiselle Dumont’s Santos- where l’Espace de et l’Air de Musée 1978 Bourget’s Le at October in held was Santos, Nuit Le first, The jet-set. pure were these That more democratic stance stance democratic more That and lists guest just wasn’t It but a Santos? a Santos? but

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© 2018 Jefferies LLC. In the United Kingdom, Jefferies International Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Drinks BORN TO RUM The favoured spirit of sailors and hipster mixologists can also, it turns out, make for a fine premium tipple in its own right. Mark Palmer puts aside the single malt and switches over to something spicier

he barman saw me coming. Which is second-favourite cocktail) comprises white rum, to say that after observing my gluttony fresh lime juice, mint, sugar and soda water. T at the weekly barbecue held at Blue The figures are impressive. Annual sales of rum Waters resort on Antigua’s north coast, he knew in Britain have topped £1 billion for the first time, I was about to wobble over and order a single an increase of more than 7 per cent in the past malt to round off the evening. Even by day two, 12 months – and let’s not forget that making rum I had become a creature of habit. is considerably more arduous than producing gin. “Why not try this for a change?” he asked, That’s because distilling it in this country means holding up a bottle of El Dorado 15-year-old importing the required molasses from overseas, dark rum, much as Bobby Moore victoriously mainly from the Caribbean, which produces an held aloft the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966. estimated 80 per cent of the world’s rum. Then, “Make it a large one, Winston,” I said. “But balancing the molasses and yeast is a delicate how should I have it? Straight up or with ice?” operation, not least because molasses is sticky “Same rule as with your single malt whisky and acidic and so ferments reluctantly. – there are no rules.” But where rum is winning, according to Spiros “Then straight up, please.” Malandrakis, drinks analyst at Euromonitor, is “Coming your way, Mr Mark.” that “it doesn’t have the stuffiness of other drinks And that was it. It was a conversion of sorts like Scotch, and it’s got great stories that tap into – or, more to the point, a pleasing diversion provenance and cultural identity.” from my normal single malt post-prandial. And No one can deny that. In Jamaica and other it helps explain why a bottle of English Harbour Caribbean islands, when a baby is born he or she Reserve now has pride of place on my drinks is often anointed with a drop of rum, and when tray, hobnobbing with the cognacs, gins and building a new home, Jamaicans will sprinkle Navy began issuing a daily ration of rum (served whiskies. And making quite an impression. the foundations with the stuff. They also drizzle with lime juice) to every sailor on board as a What’s more, I feel on-message for a change some on the graves of the dear departed. means of staving off scurvy. because those who keep an eye on such matters As far as provenance goes, during the 18th- Indeed, this tradition continued unofficially tell me that rum is ready to rumble after century sugar trading wars with the French and until 1970, by which time rum had been given attracting all kinds of new admirers. Spanish, rum briefly was the chosen tipple of the its nautical nickname of ‘Nelson’s Blood’. Mind you, we’ve heard that in the past about British aristocracy. But it wasn’t long before its This was because it was reported that when posh vodkas, pricey bourbons and, of course, reputation changed, not least when the Royal Admiral Nelson died aboard HMS Victory after gin, which the whole world is making, bottling dispatching the French at Trafalgar, his body was in trendy bottles and applying fancy names placed in a barrel of rum to preserve it for the (Monkey 47, Bloom, Berkeley Square et al). voyage back home. Only after docking in Britain But hold on. Perusing the drinks menu at the was it discovered that sailors had drilled a hole in American Bar at The Savoy, I come across a full the barrel and siphoned off all the rum. page devoted to rums, including six whites and Today there’s a saying: “Drinking rum before no fewer than 18 aged dark rums – or 19 if you 10am doesn’t make you an alcoholic, it makes count the Savoy Collection Guyana 38-year-old you a pirate.” Demerara at £250 for 50ml. Dominic Whisson, the head bartender, is emphatic. “There’s um was invented almost by accident in definitely a renewal of interest in it,” he says, “and the West Indies when plantation owners it helps that there are so many ways to drink it.” R discovered that fermenting and distilling That’s for sure. Some famous rum-based their sugar cane produced alcohol. This was in cocktails have never gone out of fashion. The the colonial era of the 17th century, and it wasn’t daiquiri (Ernest Hemingway’s favourite), made long before it was being drunk around the world. of white rum, syrup and lime juice – and from President George Washington had a barrel my experience ideally drunk in a smoky bar in of Barbados rum at his inauguration in 1789, and Havana, while the famous Mojito (Hemingway’s Australia in 1808 witnessed the Rum Rebellion

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Clockwise from left: Tasting rums in Barbados; crushing sugar cane for rum production in Dominica; rum fermentation in Guadeloupe. Facing page: Old Salt Rum, made by the English Spirit Distillery

ginger and Indian vanilla, and St Piran’s White Rum using water from Treguddick Manor in Cornwall. I like the association with St Piran, the fifth-century abbot from Ireland who is one of Cornwall’s patron saints. Back in the day, the Irish King was suspicious of his powers and cast him off a cliff and into the sea tied to a millstone. which saw the governor of New South Wales this year,” says English Spirit Distillery’s master Piran survived and washed up in Perranporth, overthrown by a military junta following his distiller Dr John Walters. “I think people are Cornwall, where he built an oratory. Dudes attempts to regulate people’s rum consumption. going for something with warmer notes and rum in Newquay will tell you he surfed the last few Although producing rum is easiest in a is very accessible, perhaps more rounded than hundred yards to safety. warm climate (because the heat speeds up some other sipping spirits.” the interaction between spirit and oak), one Dr Walters and his colleagues produce three ll three English Spirit rums cost £36 a company making a good fist of it here – and the different rums: Old Salt (perfect in a mojito), bottle, and all are delicious. And they first to do so – is the English Spirit Distillery, which is distilled three times and aged in English Awill restore your faith in a rum punch based at sites in Essex and Cambridgeshire. oak for three years; Spiced English Rum, infused (the stuff you get given at a beach party in the “Our sales are up by as much as 500 per cent with red cherries, red hibiscus flowers, pressed Caribbean is deliberately sweet and fruity to disguise the indifferent quality of the rum). Dr Walters’ personal rum punch recipe is as follows: 1 measure fresh lime juice; 2 measures TOT OF grenadine syrup; 2 measures St Piran’s White THE CLASS Rum; 1 measure Old Salt Rum; 2 measures fresh Drinks author Neil pineapple juice; 2 measures fresh orange juice; Ridley makes his pick Black Tot Last Dictador 2 Masters English Harbour Reserve a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional) and of premium aged rums. Consignment The 2 Masters project 10-Year-Old orange slices for garnish. There is effort involved Marks the moment the final from Columbia’s Dictador From Antigua, a relative “For sipping rum”, he for all that, but you won’t be disappointed. daily rum ration – the ‘last sees its 40-year-old rum newcomer in the world says, “use a quality tot’ – was issued to Royal additionally aged in a cask of premium rum, a blend So, how long will the rum revolution nosing glass, and allow Navy sailors in 1970. Huge from one of six other of different ages matured continue? That’s anyone’s guess. the spirit to breathe. flavour with rich dark spices, famous distillers and in ex-bourbon casks. Soft But Dr Walters says, perhaps unsurprisingly, If it’s bottled at a high toasted walnuts and ripe winemakers. Deep and demerara sugar, followed that people immediately associate this lovely tipple banana, backdropped by resonant, with dry, oaky by delicate oaky smoke, proof, a few drops of with golden sunsets by the ocean – and there’s layers of blackberries, cocoa notes, sherry, vanilla pipe and fruity notes of raisins, water will open up the and wafts of cigar smoke. tobacco and dark chocolate. figs and mango, and fudge. no sign that any of us are tiring of those.

GETTY IMAGES; ALAMY GETTY IMAGES; flavours beautifully.” £650, thewhiskyexchange.com dictador.com £59.95, masterofmalt.com Mark Palmer is the Daily Mail’s travel editor

71 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 PROMOTED CONTENT

SHEPHERD'S DELIGHT On the Kentish coast, the intriguing character and charm of a special town have informed the creation of Shepherd Neame's Whitstable Bay beers, now also proudly stocked at all Boisdale restaurants and bars

he Old Neptune at Whitstable is There’s the citrus notes of Whitstable Bay one of very few pubs in the UK to Blonde Lager, or the balance of sweet malt and actually sit on, rather than beside, pine and citrus notes of Whitstable Bay Pale a beach. Its floors and walls warped by Ale, or even the nutty malt of the Whitstable T successive incursions by the sea, the ‘Neppy’, as Bay Organic, and much more besides. These are it is known locally, is worth visiting just to catch beers made with the modern drinker in mind. the stupendous sunsets that illuminate the sea The Faversham Steam Brewery was the horizon. In winter, it makes for the cosiest of name given to the nearby headquarters of shelters from the kind of coastal storms that Britain’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame, after it blew away the original Neptune beer house commissioned a steam engine from engineering (the current building was constructed in 1897), pioneer James Watt. The brewery sits on the while enjoying a pint of Whitstable Bay beer. banks of a saltwater creek that flows into Whitstable, once famous solely (and Whitstable Bay, and traces its official foundation justifiably) for its oysters, is a place that’s to 1698, although records indicate its existence developed a charm all of its own. Besides the as far back as 1573. superb seafood, shingle beaches, picturesque Shepherd Neame is not only Britain’s oldest buildings and fresh sea air you’d expect, there’s brewery, but also the only one to hold Protected a raffish, eccentric, yet laid-back character – you Geographical Indication status for its strong find it in the variety of independent shops, cafés Kentish ales, the same protection that is and pubs that for the weary Londoner make afforded to Champagne and Parma ham. Whitstable all the more satisfying an escape. As well as being renowned for brewing, As unique as it is hard to define, it’s a Shepherd Neame runs a collection of character embodied by the Old Neptune, and characterful pubs, bars and hotels in unique found too in the Whitstable Bay beers served at locations throughout London and the South East. its bar. Combining traditional brewing methods From the George Hotel in Cranbrook, and the finest natural ingredients, the Faversham a charming village on the Weald of Kent where Steam Brewery has created a range of delightful, Queen Elizabeth I once slept, to The Royal Hotel, intriguing beers that quench the thirst and Deal, favoured by Lord Nelson and overlooking please the palate in equal measure. the English Channel, each combines a wealth of history with a stylish, modern outlook. Its Kentish collection of pubs showcases the best of the county, from country to coast, and provides a perfect opportunity to explore and rediscover the Garden of England. And, of course, they all serve great beer.

shepherdneame.co.uk UNSPLASH

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BOISDALE GOES MAD ABOUT WILD MUSHROOMS!

Boisdale is now the numero uno in London for wild mushrooms. Every day a selection of rarely- seen, foraged mushrooms will be served at our restaurants in at usleast on five Instagram different ways. Follow (@boisdale_uk) for the latest news on wild mushroom availability, and exciting new wild mushroom recipes and dishes!

As a nation we think anything you can't buy in Sainsbury's is a toadstool

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they were. Sliced and fried gently in olive oil and butter, with just a scraping of garlic and a twist of salt and pepper, until fragrant and slippery, they were a joy. A few years later, mushroom expert Roger Phillips (his book Mushrooms is still the essential companion for would-be foragers) took me on a foray around the New Forest. Roger’s first Food experience of collecting mushrooms was on his grandparents’ farm at the end of the war. “One week, the countryside was covered AUTUMN'S FRUIT in field mushrooms: we picked 70lbs in one day. My grandmother warned me against even This season wild mushrooms are taking centre stage on Boisdale menus, touching any other mushrooms, though: ‘they’re with rarely-seen examples foraged fresh every day. Bill Knott sings the all poisonous’, she insisted.” praises of the magnificent fungi with names as exotic as their looks Our New Forest foray failed to yield any porcini, but we did find livid red beefsteak fungus, crinkly cauliflower fungus, oyster mushrooms, and or the gourmet, there are many RECIPE a clutch of the purple, jelly-like amethyst deceiver. consolations to the end of summer. Boisdale's wild mushrooms on toast Roger gave me a copy of his book but – apart Game, of course, both furred and from a magnificent, unmistakable giant puffball F Serves 4 feathered; apples, for cider or a buttery tarte in a Gloucestershire field – I have been too 25g dried cèpes Tatin; pears, for poaching in sweet white wine, 800g wild mushrooms timid to go on a foray without an expert in tow. or just for eating with a hunk of hard cheese 4 tbsp olive oil The markets of southern Europe have been (Berkswell is especially good). Chestnuts and 120g butter happier hunting grounds: morels, for example, cobnuts, toasted over the fire, and medlars, the 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped whose honeycombed caps need careful cleaning, strange fruit that needs to be left to split and Mixed handful of parsley, oregano and lovage, but are fabulous cooked in butter and served finely chopped rot until soft and brown. Shakespeare called the Toasted sourdough from St John Bakery with rabbit or chicken and a white wine sauce. medlar “open-arse”: with its gentle whiff of decay, Unsalted butter And pieds de moutons, with their shaggy spores: it's one of the great, forgotten flavours of autumn. perfect when quickly fried with a few cubes of But it is the magical plethora of mushrooms 1) Soak the cèpes in warm water for 30 smoked bacon and a minced shallot, then folded minutes, then drain, reserving the liquid. springing up that truly set the gastronome’s pulse Clean the wild mushrooms by brushing into an omelette with a little chopped parsley. racing. Giant puffballs, wood blewits, beefsteak away any mud and wiping the cap and stem fungus, chicken of the woods, trompettes de la with a damp cloth. Slice them, not too thin. nd, while the UK’s markets are often mort: for a nation that's almost mycophobic in 2) In a large frying pan, heat the oil and bereft of anything fascinating on the its distrust of mushrooms and thinks anything butter. Once the butter is foaming gently, fungus front, restaurants – not least add the garlic and fry for a minute or two. A you can’t buy in Sainsbury’s is a toadstool, we've 3) Add the soaked cèpes and cook for Boisdale – are taking an interest. Pieds de mouton come up with some thoroughly evocative names another minute to combine the flavours. – “hedgehogs”, in English – will be on many for them. All it takes is for sun, rain, soil and 4) Add the fresh mushrooms. Sprinkle modish menus, as will autumn chanterelles and temperature to conspire, and the mycelium (a with salt and pepper and cook, stirring the glorious penny buns. In recent years, foragers’ occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the kind of subterranean cobweb) will start to fruit, mushrooms have released their water and distribution networks have spread as quickly as a pushing its colourful fungi through the soil and are tender and glistening. rampant mycelium, so chefs all over the country into the warm autumn light. 5) Add a little of the cèpe liquid and let it all can now get their hands on wild mushrooms. My first experience of wild mushrooms, bubble for another minute, then throw in the Increasingly, they know exactly what to do however, was not amongst a forest’s fallen herbs. Serve on the toasted sourdough. with them, too; invariably, this means a) make beech trees and mossy undergrowth, but in sure they’re not poisonous, b) chop them into the thoroughly urban setting of Lina Stores, the bite-size chunks, and c) season and fry them over Italian delicatessen on Brewer Street, in Soho. As a medium heat in butter and/or oil (see left). a young chef in the late 1980s, I marvelled at the It was not always thus. Back in the days when basket of porcini (boletus edulis, otherwise known I was shopping at Lina Stores and running a as cèpes, or penny buns) that arrived every crisp, kitchen catering to media types, I interviewed sunny autumn morning. a young chef, who had the usual City & Guilds They had been foraged by Giovanni (Lina qualifications and a fat sheaf of references from Stores’ paterfamilias, invariably dressed in a various catering colleges. “But how many sorts of three-piece tweed suit and sturdy brown boots), mushroom can you name?” I asked him, cunningly. who would proudly show off his trug of porcini, “Field,” he replied. “And button.” He with their bulging stems, smooth caps and spongy, scratched his head. “Maybe just one more?” olive-green spores. He had several favourite I prompted, encouragingly. He thought for hunting grounds near his north London home, a few moments, then his face brightened.

UNSPLASH; JAMIE LAU UNSPLASH; but nobody – not even his wife – knew where “Oh yes,” he said, triumphantly. “Tinned!”

75 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 PURSUITS

DAVIDOFF YAMASA The luxury powerhouse’s latest addition combines Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos to create a full- bodied and spicy autumnal cigar. The name comes from a former swamp where the soil has been converted to a perfect growing region over the last 20 years. Best paired with: sherry cask-aged Speyside whiskies or dark rums

Cigars FROM THE BOISDALE HUMIDOR Boisdale's in-house cigar and whisky maestro Tobias Gorn selects the top picks to be found on the smoking terraces this autumn

OLIVA SERIE V ROBUSTO Oliva started in Cuba in 1886, left in 1959, and is now one of the most influential makers in Nicaragua. All the cigars are long-filled and hand-made, like the best Cuban examples. Oliva produce their own tobacco, creating a cigar from start to finish, with all aspects QUAI D'ORSAY 50 under control. This medium- Going with this issue’s bodied Robusto has a very theme, here’s a great old good draw of creamy smoke Cuban brand with a Parisian offering great consistency. name that’s nowadays trying The series V is more to get out of the ‘French complex, with a toastier market only’ stigma. This palate and a coffee-like new 50-gauge release was flavour from the beautiful recommended by my friend, oily sun-grown wrappers. the cigar aficionado Jimmy Best paired with: a rye McGhee; it’s easy to smoke, Also shown: whisky-based cocktail like a light but still very tasty 'Beluga' spectacles Manhattan, or an old bourbon with pronounced aromas of by bespoke makers EB Meyrowitz, £495 toasted almonds, hay and ebmeyrowitz.co.uk; a sense of autumn leaves. FiftySix automatic wristwatch in Best paired with: a gin steel, by Vacheron martini, or Chardonnay- Constantin, £10,100 based Blanc de Blancs vacheron-constantin.com English sparkling wine BENTLEYCREATIVE

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The shop has now moved round the Wine corner to Pall Mall and all the wine is out on display. You just select a bottle and buy it. So modern! And the range INTRODUCING THE is notably varied. Yes, Berry Bros. & Rudd is still strong on Burgundy BOISDALE LIFE and Bordeaux, but there’s also some surprisingly funky stuff from South WINE CLUB Africa and Spain, and a fantastic range IN ASSOCIATION WITH BERRY BROS. & RUDD of organic wines, all of which we will get to know in the next few months. But for our introductory offer, I’ve picked three stone-cold crowd-pleasers.

irst up is a Picpoul de Pinet from Félines Jourdan, probably the best F producer in the region. This part of the Languedoc used to grow grapes UNLOCK for Noilly Prat, but when vermouth sales declined, producers discovered that the local grape piquepoul (spelt differently for some reason) responded extremely well to being fermented cold in stainless steel. The result is a modern classic TASTE and with its grapefruit and saline tang, there’s nothing better with seafood. Next, we have a rioja with something of the Rhône about it. La Montesa from Palacios Remondo is made with a high Elevate your Gin & Tonic from Britain’s oldest wine merchant is offering readers percentage of grenache and the oak the ordinary to the remarkable an exclusive series of specially curated mixed cases. is very lightly done to accentuate the Wine writer Henry Jeffreys dives into the first collection gobs of raspberry fruit. It’s absolutely with the award-winning taste irresistible: my normally very am delighted to introduce a new abstemious wife drank half the bottle. of No.3 Gin. For the perfect wine club for readers of Boisdale Life And, finally, forget Cabernet and serve, garnish with fresh I in conjunction with Berry Bros. & Chardonnay – the Californian wines Rudd. When they were founded in I like best are the ones made from rosemary and pink grapefruit 1698, gin was a novelty, port would Mediterranean varieties. The aptly- have been dry, and the Médoc was a named Whole Shebang is a blend of to unlock a refreshing burst of swamp. This vast history gives the wine old vine varieties including zinfandel, juniper, citrus and gentle spice. merchants a valued perspective on the grenache, carignan and barbera. Ripe vicissitudes of the wine trade. Crisis in and intensely flavoured, think of it Bordeaux? Calm down old boy, it’s not as a sort of upmarket trattoria wine. as bad as the 70s – the 1870s, that is. Clockwise from top: the All that history can, however, be a Cases contain two bottles of each wine, showroom at Berry Bros. & Rudd's shop on Pall Mall; little intimidating. I have to confess that at a discounted price of £85 including the famous frontage on I used to find the shop on St James’s free delivery. Visit bbr.com/boisdale, St James's; the six bottles rather forbidding. Treading on to the email [email protected] or call 0800 – two of each vintage – sloping wooden floor felt like walking 280 2440. Available until 1 December in the Boisdale Life Wine onto a stage and then forgetting my lines. Club mixed case offer There were no bottles on display, and customers were expected to talk through their needs with elegantly dressed young men, like one would when visiting a bespoke tailor. But beneath the aloof façade, they were a good bunch – eager to show visitors around the ancient cellars and point out bottles of dust-covered 19th- century Tokaji and ’61 Chateau Palmer.

78 www.no3gin.com BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 UNLOCK TASTE

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www.no3gin.com Hampshire stables atKingsclerein father, Ian; House Park Mill Reef, by Balding’s trained wife, Anna Lisa; astatueof at KemptonPark; withhis Royal Ascot in 2014; Balding Countess of Wessex at Stakes award fromthe receiving theBritannia the Epsom Oaks in 2003; Classic for Balding, winning Casual Look, anearly Clockwise fromright: 80

GETTYIMAGES; RACING POST PURSUITS

Starters Orders THE MASTER OF KINGSCLERE Presiding over the historic Park House stables, trainer Andrew Balding – racing royalty in his own right – is aiming for Antipodean glory at November’s Melbourne Cup, he tells Colin Cameron

ndrew Balding is today the isolated at a stud in Newmarket. At least When I got home, my parents asked what undoubted master of Kingsclere’s access there is relatively straightforward, exactly the plan was. I replied, run the A Park House stables. There are and you can use the gallops after the horse and increase its value before selling other candidates: his sister, Clare, enjoys town’s many stables have finished for the at a profit. Simple! We managed it. Just. national treasure status, and his father, day. Then, on arrival in Australia, once But the process wasn’t quite what I’d Ian, trained Mill Reef, the distinguished you have negotiated the flight, which expected. After that, Mum became my Epsom Derby winner, in the same will usually involve a stopover, it’s more handbrake: the voice of reason.” 150-year-old racing yard. As a noted complicated; a turnstile rather than gate, breeder of champion racehorses, his then showers and a change of clothes hatever may have changed mother Emma might also have claims. Yet after visiting.” He gives a knowing smile, in his 15 years as a trainer, the youngest of the Baldings, a winner of acknowledging the odds stacked against W Balding says the main one of English racing’s five classics like him. “Equine flu is the big worry there.” challenge remains the same: simply the his father, now prevails over all that he Breaking new ground is additionally daily task of ensuring the horses are sees every morning: namely 200 expertly- hard when you are part of history. fit to race for their lives. Then there’s primed thoroughbred racehorses. The Kingsclere estate, where Balding the challenge of installing a winning Owners include racing royalty exercises his string, has an abundance mentality. “Training racehorses is like (literally, in the cases of HRH Queen of landmarks referencing this past – the being headmaster at a smart prep school,” Elizabeth, and Qatar’s Prince Fahad Flying Fox yard, a statue of Mill Reef, he says. “Your staff are the teachers, Al-Thani) and distinguished newcomers acknowledgements to John Porter, the the owners are the parents. The only such as Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, legendary trainer of the Victorian era. difference is the holidays are shorter!” of the King Power duty-free empire, “It can be a bit like living and Balding is overlooking that schools who also boasts Leicester City FC and working in a museum,” says Balding. are also filled with applicants. A major interests in polo as part of his sporting “But at the same time, I love the history part of his job is, in fact, persuading portfolio. Amid rulers and masters of and have a reverence for the past. Being owners like Casual Look’s patron, Will their own universe, Balding is fully at Kingsclere is a privilege.” Farish, formerly America’s ambassador commanding of many prime Berkshire to Britain, to entrust him with bloodstock acres featuring gallops, barns and yards alding shares some issues with his homebreds valued at six or seven figures. named after the likes of Ormonde and forebears: moles under the gallops He also scours auctions in Britain, Lochsong, among the many champions B date back to the very beginnings. Ireland, France and America, and favours stabled here since the 1860s, when Park Where he is leaving his own mark is in going beyond the most established House was first home to a trainer. modernising the site. Thanks to him, markets. “The Baden-Baden sale in Balding is equally at the helm seated Kingsclere today boasts American-style Germany is great,” he says. comfortably at Boisdale Belgravia, opting barns – one end open, which allows One product of Balding’s success at for the linguine. On his own menu this the air to circulate without generating recruitment is Fox Premier (the owner autumn is the prospect of extending a draft, with the added advantage of is Srivaddhanaprabha). “Fox Premier is his reach to the southern hemisphere. natural light. “We also have treadmills,” a two-year-old machine on the gallops A brace of Kingsclere inmates, the Balding adds. “Horses can go full-pelt.” at home; he just has to show that on four-year-old colt Count Octave, and His own tempo is perhaps more the racecourse,” says Balding. “Of my Duretto, a gelding two years’ senior, measured now. “When I started training, older horses, Beat The Bank has the could feature, respectively, in Australia’s taking over from Dad in 2003, I was ready ability to win a Group One race.” Melbourne Cup and Caulfield Cup. to conquer the world. That first season I Prize money from that would No British trainer has managed saddled Casual Look, who won the Oaks, improve his position in the trainers’ the feat of bringing home the former, at Epsom, giving me a Classic winner. But championship – on the day we lunch, a trophy that Antipodean horsemen at the end of the year, I had a £200,000 Balding stands 10th. “I check the Racing and women covet above all others. overdraft and few orders to buy yearlings Post league table every day,” he admits. “Quarantine is the first hurdle,” Balding for the following season. I went to No need to confirm who’s number explains. “First it’s two weeks in the UK Saratoga and bought a colt for $130,000. one at Kingsclere, though.

81 BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 I

each playedanequalpart.On theirfirst between thethreemembers, in which Evans wantedamusicalconversation simply supportedthepianist. Instead, Up untilthen,thebassistand drummer and youngvirtuosobassistScottLaFaro. workedwithhimbefore), Motian (who’d of 1959hesettledondrummerPaul months oftrialanderror, atthetailend of bassistanddrummer. Finally, after needed tofindtheidealcombination he wantedtoformatrioin1959,but to heroinandsufferingfromhepatitis, being ontheroadwithMiles,addicted was indangerofthis.Exhaustedfrom to maketheKindofBluerecordings, Davis inlate1958,onlyreturningbriefly back seat.BillEvans,whohadleftMiles maybe yourownworkmighttakea PURSUITS This trioredefinedthejazztrio. Miles Davis’s KindofBlue,then biggest sellingjazzalbumever, f you’rethemainpianiston Jazz J changed the way the world thought about three-pieces forever three-pieces about thought world waychanged the the for your vinyl collection – both from the Bill Evans Trio, which

selects two essential albums you albums need essential two selects Shipton Alyn critic azz N VILLAGEVANGUARD, 1961 JAZZ JUKEBOX BOISDALE’S o 1: BILL EVANS AT THE

BOISDALELIFE.COM AUTUMN 2018 ISSUE 13 ISSUE 2018 AUTUMN stunning collection of jazz, collection stunning 82 vintage vinyl fromvintage our the of Mayfair, where patrons The Vinyl BaratBoisdale can selecttheirfavourite blues, rock andreggae for thebass":Evans Bill "I wanttomake room at thepianoin1965

by oneofthegreatestalljazz trios. reminder ofwhatmighthave been, a stunningachievement,and apoignant dazzling albumsremainhismemorial: LaFaro diedinacaraccident. Thesetwo potential forfuturedevelopment. understood eachother, withhuge how thethreemusiciansinstinctively ‘Alice inWonderland’ perfectlyshow tracks suchas‘Solar’,‘Gloria’s Step’and of introspectionandinnerstrengthon gentle swingingtune),andthemixture after theintroductionandbecomesa for Debby(whichstopsbeingawaltz and whimsyofthetitletrackWaltz jazz classics.Theethereallightness Village. ThetworesultingLPsbecame basement clubinNewYork’s Greenwich record themattheVillage Vanguard, a setting. SoinJune1961,hedecidedto trio wasatitsbestinalivejazzclub Evans enthusiast,andheknewthatthis Riverside RecordswasamassiveBill and feelmusicasoneperson. approach thatthetrioseemedtothink so completelyidentifiedwithhis kept thedrums,andLaFaroMotian better withoutthem.”Fortunately, he would beaproblemandwemight explained Evans.“Ieventhoughtdrums so thatthebasscouldpickthemup,” leave somefundamentalrolesempty 1959, theyfoundawaytodothis. record, PortraitinJazz,fromDecember as one person music and feel think to – seemed LaFaro andMotian The trio–Evans, Barely twoweekslater, on6July, Producer OrrinKeepnewsat “I wanttomakeroomforthebassand

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