My local has now put out its seasonal xmas wine offers.

One or two look of interest, the Yalumba Mourvedre/Grenache and the Ara Composite '08 Pinot Noir might make it into the GK basket, there's also an '06 Marques de Valido Rioja Reserva (made by Muriel) for a fiver but I fancy this to be drying out by now. The St. Hallett Riesling is new to me and they're still selling the '04 Senejac (have been for several years now, still working my way through a case).

Any comments on this lot guys?

Red Offers

White offers

Damn, I haven't put them up here. Will sort it out immediately.

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mel

That's that sorted. Off out to pick my whole harvest of grapes. Won't be long. They've ripened better than in other years, but am going to make grape jelly. They're very small and quite tart. Estimate 60 bunches but will count and let you know. Brrr. It looks beautiful outside, but is on the nippy side. Saw cars with icy lids this morning.

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mel

Picked 95 bunches and left about 30 smaller ones for the badgers (they're falling to the ground; I don't have flying or climbing badgers).

Small bunches. 95 bunches just filled my largest stainless steel pan. Perhaps 8 to 10 litres vol. Just need a de-stemmer now. Small child with a fork, I think.

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mel

Good crop!

I have a strawberry plant in the garden with around a dozen fat fruits on it, they are struggling to ripen though so I covered them in a small cloche this morning, that should help.

Aren't the slugs hammering on the cloche or have they all retreated for Christmas.

Still haven't harvested my jerusalem artichokes as need to find time when I'll be alone for long enough to eat them.

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mel

This particular strawb-plant is in the middle of a raised herb bed, a rouge plant that I decided to leave, I get very few slugs/snails in this area, pehaps the strong scent of herbs scares them off?

Currently chomping my way through this years pickled beetroot, yum.

[quote="GK"]This particular strawb-plant is in the middle of a raised herb bed, a rouge plant

Ha! another Freudian slip.

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

Can I get my weeping goosegog back out please......Ba's yellow fevered goosegog and my weepy green gog can dual for the title of Quaffers swattable blob of the year.

The winner gets to be battered senseless by Dunc with a rolled up copy of Left Bank Monthly

Nah, any self respecting quaffer reads Modern Drunkard Magazine.

Oh yes, it exists.

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Yep, Im still here.

'Snot a Gog nor a Magog, it's a couch-Pacman.

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

Get your gog out Goose.

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mel

...and thank you SO much for that rain. Nearly went through the tiles !!!

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

I had a large branch of mine come down on the pavement, so I had to drag it onto the drive and am hoping one of the kids will convert it to kindling over the weekend.

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mel

I have lost my gog. I am gogless.

Ba wins.

We've had little rain here but we're on the coast and the wind is beyond belief. Most of Swansea has been blown into the Brizzle channel.

Which is nice