Time for the Late Harvest?

I fell out of the bloggersphere a little while ago, but have a sudden urge to splurge as it were.

Today is 1st November 2018 and I have just entered what looks like it will be the last month of my 40 years of proper jobs.

What to do? Well, I am looking forward to embracing 'the Third Age' and building what some people call a portfolio career. This means that I no longer have to answer tedious questions, such as 'what do you do?' with a reference to my means of making ends meet.  I find it curious that this exchange is a social norm, implying that the most interesting detail we expect to learn about  each other is how we make money, or that this is the characteristic that most clearly defines who a person is.

The first item in my third age portfolio will be participation in a community endeavour to establish and staff a shop in our home village. I will be trained before the month is over and will don my apron in December to undertake whatever duties may come my way. Making coffee? Selling bread? Cleaning the toilet? Probably all of that and more. I will let you know.

I plan to restart my golfing career. I last held a CONGU recognised handicap in 2003 and am keen to pick up the challenge again. My last handicap was 22 and I had spent ten years trying, but failing, to get it down into the teens; I still think I can do it which is a perfect example of the triumph of optimism over experience.

November 2003 was also the month in which I retired from the Royal Borough Band after 25 years very enjoyable service. I am both proud of my bandmates for still performing 15 years later, but also rather irritated that the whole thing didn't collapse in response to my departure. Perhaps they never needed a banjo player in the first place? But then, who would?  I have had some musical activity since those days, but almost none since late 2008. First step on this road is to find local venues and go, as audience, to those. The Blues Bar, Tring, is high on my agenda.

So, what of wine? I am still keen and still exploring. A part time role in retail? Some further efforts towards delivering tastings and even education, perhaps? I had a minor setback when I was dropped as an associate at the IWC, but it's their party and they can invite whosoever they wish and it has not diminished my enthusiasm. (See the theme?)

Holidays, gardening, exercise, bees and cheese all offer opportunities that I will relish, as will spending more time with those that I love, both near and far.

Keep safe.

A bit of reflection

I started this blog at the time I signed up to study for the WSET Diploma. That was in September 2010. It was supposed to take two years to complete but, in fact took me nearly three. Six months of the overrun was down to me taking a break when the day job unexpectedly offered me a chance to take on a senior role I never thought I would experience. I enjoyed it but failed to keep the job. I rushed back to study and found that I had a mountain to climb. Once I had failed one half of the biggest of the exam I sensibly allowed myself a year to prepare for the resit.

If you read my posts from that time you will see that even with that time to study it was not a foregone conclusion. I successfully took the last exam in June 2013 and enjoyed the graduation ceremony in the Guildhall in January 2014.

So here I am two years after that wondering how to feel about it all.

Mostly good, to paraphrase Douglas Adams.  Throughout the long study period and almost until now I have told anyone who has cared to ask that I was laying down the foundations for a second career, post eventual retirement from the current one, but now as the reality of retirement is vaguely visible over the horizon of my 60th birthday,  itself still just over four years away, I wonder if that is at all realistic.

The wine business is an interesting place when viewed from just inside the touchline. It has a range of cliques, if that's not offensive, such as the world authorities who publish so many written words every month it's impossible to imagine them ever not typing but yet they love to write about the 1500 new Burgundies they have tasted and assessed in detail, so they must take a break sometimes.  You also get the trendy wannabee iconoclasts who love faddy things like natural wine, orange wine and obscure producers who they once met at a secret tasting. They tend to be young and either penniless or early retired hedge fund managers.

So where could I fit? Hmm, ....

A temporary change of focus

I have been doing most of my blogging on www.lateharvest.co.uk until recently, but have suspended activities there because the day job just got very busy. I don't like the idea of it existing in an uncared for and incomplete way and so I have hidden the content until I decide to revitalise it.


I have been using that blog to be slightly more formal about my exploration of wine but I have decided that it is driving me to behave in ways that are not entirely conducive to real life. I have twice previously considered suspending my structured investigations (I have been using the alphabet to guide a weekly wine selection and have nearly completed five laps over two and a quarter years) but have found the idea of giving up completely unappealing. So, I am on sabbatical and will instead reinvigorate my less well considered and infrequent ramblings here.


No-one cares, but I wanted to explain to myself what I have decided to do.


Happy New Year.

Still Going

I have had to give away my ticket to the Wine Society tasting at Lord's Cricket Club so that I can attend a day job dinner. It would be a bit churlish to complain, however, I am disappointed.

On the plus side, I have been invited to lead a tasting of the wines of South Australia a little later in the year, and have been allocated another day as an associate judge at the International Wine Challenge. This is good.

The local wine club is having a member's night next month and I have been offered the opportunity to present one wine. I think I could make that last 30 mins if I do enough research. That should prevent a second offer.

One wine? How the hell do you choose?

Anyway, still active. Just felt the need to share.

Exposed

It appears my bonus daughter has taken it upon herself to reveal my little secret.

At least, the one she knows about.  I think this one is safe.  We shall see.

Refreshed and ready to go

So. One tasting done. That makes me active in my alter ego as a provisional tutor.

Registration for the wine fair has been taken care of and Friday will be my first outing as an associate judge at the International Wine Challenge.

Corkscrews at the ready......

I think that wraps it up

Sorry for the long silence, but I have been busy elsewhere and attempting to project a more outwardly-acceptable face.

However, it has been a good week.

On Monday, The One accompanied me to the Guildhall to attend the WSET Graduation ceremony at which I was handed a blue cardboard tube containing a letter and a waiter's friend, by non-other than Jancis Robinson, whose bottles I am unworthy to uncork.

Apparently The One has a cousin who considers JC and her husband personal friends. Small world. I didn't mention this to the great lady and limited my half of the conversation to 'thank you' & 'yes, please'. I was well brought up.

Then on Thursday I presented my first wine tasting to the Hampstead chapter of U3A. Nice bunch. They asked lots of questions to which I shouted lots of answers, in an attempt to be heard over the Portsmouth Symphonia who were rehearsing next door.

I got away with it and was rewarded with a pizza. I think that now justifies me having had some business cards bearing the optimistic title 'independent wine tutor' printed. I gave my first one away on Monday, so it is possible that the readership of my other blog (and worryingly this one) will increase to two. The other is me when I am not logged in. It will be nice to have some company, but the potential loss of anonymity is concerning especially as I may come under scrutiny, for reasons I cannot disclose, in the near future.

I am quite encouraged that this may all be leading somewhere over the course of the next decade. No hurry.

Keep in touch.