Southern Right - Sauvignon Blanc 2008 "can't wait to open another"

Southern Right Cellars is located near Hermanus, South Africa. The wine and winery are named after the whales that visit each year.

I was pleasantly pleased with this wine. South Africa's whites are generally overlooked in the world market and this one showed a lot of class. Clean and crisp green fruit showed through. Think granny smith apple, with a bit of caramel and honeysuckle.

I can't wait to open another one.

Jordan Cigoj - Zelén "clean and bright"

In Slovenia, they produce a wonderful summer white they describe as "fresh". I agree with the "fresh" moniker. The wine is clean and bright with citrusy, dry overtones. At 12% alcohol it is easy drinking on a hot summers day.

I'm told that all Zelén (the grape varietal) wines are shipped in the same similar curvaceous bottle with hanging labels, so it can be confusing (to non-Slovenians) to identify different producers. And, just to confuse you, the bottle pictured illustrates my point. It is a different maker of zelén. I have not tried the bottle to the left yet.

Union Gostilna - Bled, Slovenia "A winner, worth another visit"

Spent the weekend in Bled, Slovenia. Weather improved each day and Sunday found us enjoying intermittent sun behind billowing alto cumulus clouds with temps in the 75F region. A typical Slovenia summer day I would imagine.
Slovenia extends down to the top corner of the Adriatic Sea, Italy to the West, Austria and Hungary to the North, and Croatia to the East and South. Bled is a pretty little town to the north, dominated by the large Bled lake. This lake is warmed by geothermal springs, and it's bright turquoise colour jumps out in Google Earth.
They clearly get the Tourist thing in Bled, the calendar is stuffed with events all year round. The main sites to see are the church on the island in the middle of the lake and Bled Castle on top of a large lakeside cliff. We managed to see neither as we were too busy golfing, eating and drinking the local wine which we found surprisingly good.
Union Gostilna is a casual restaurant on the main drag at the edge of the village. With advance notice, they serve a variety of foods cooked on an open hearth under "bell". The bell looks like a beefy wok cover. The suckling pig we enjoyed was cooked for over 3 hours. In the final stage, the meat is placed skin up, and the bell is covered with hot coals held in place by little barrel hoops. It was great and I hope to order some of these to replicate that dish.
Both the King's Course and the 9 hole companion course at "XXX" were very good. A nicely laid out course and more than worth a few rounds.
Bled is a winner and worth another visit to get to the tourist spots we missed, more golf, and more of the local wine.

James Taylor, O2 Arena 06/Jul/09 - "Rockabye, Sweet Baby James"

James Taylor and band members played a nostalgic set at the O2 Arena. His voice, still pure and all James Taylor, echoed my memories from countless listening in the late seventies and early eighties.
The last time I saw him was 1980. I remember, at the time, I was shocked that he had lost his hair and looked old. The hair is still gone, and he looks older, but music keeps him young. He is obviously still in love with his work.
The set lists were a mixture of covers and JT classics. His interaction with the crowd was sometimes a bit geeky and bit stiff, but it was obvious he had done this many times before and he graciously inserted a request for "Only One" into the set.
The backup vocals by Katie Markowitz, Andrea Zahn (also on fiddle), and Arnold McCullough were stunning. Jimmy Johnson on bass and Larry Goldings on keyboards rounded out the ensemble of talented musicians onstage.
His song introductions gave me a new understanding and appreciation into why he had written them. Sweet Baby James, written as a lullaby for a nephew named after him, was sung with a sweetness as if he was setting eyes on the baby again for the first time.
It was a bit of a time warp at the O2 last night, I was comfortably teleported back and happily lulled to tranquility. It looks like this was recorded for DVD, I'll be looking for it. "Rockabye Sweet Baby James", and thank you.

Set List
SET 1
It's Growin
Sea cruise
Country Road
Whiskey before Breakfast (Andrea Zahn - fiddle solo)
Stop thinking bout that
Wichita Lineman
Why Baby Why by George Jones
Only One - audience request
Everyday by Buddy Holly
Oklahoma By Rogers and Hammerstein
You've got a Friend by Carole King
Mexico
Shed a Little Light
Set 2
Hound Dog by Big Momma Thorton
Down in the Hole
I'm a roadrunner
Sweet Baby James
Fire n rain
Up on the Roof by Carole King
Steamroller
Carolina
Shower the People
Your Smiling Face
ENCORE
Walking Man
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
Midnight Hour
????

Spinal Tap - "Sod the one night"

Ah, Spinal Tap. When I heard back in April they would be playing a "one night, world tour" in London, I knew I had to go. Had it really been 25 years since their [r/m]ockumentary was created?
The Folksmen, Spinal Tap's folk playing alter-egos fronted the show. Sadly, we were a bit late and missed this part. A prior write up made me chuckle, when it reported that Christopher Guests' 5 year old son, saw the Folksmen playing and wondered when the "old guys would finish and the loud guys would start".
The band, played through their repertoire. Going back through their fictional past to play songs from before they became Spinal Tap. They also played some songs from the obligatory band splits up years when members explored their musical talents on their own.
Keith Emerson joined them onstage for a few numbers.
All in all, it was a good head banging time. I laughed until my "ears bled": the bass turned way past 11 for chest thumping riffs. Like all good bands, the encores never stopped (after 3).
Sod the one night - we want more Spinal Tap.

SET LIST - Missing songs and order: I'll correct when I find a complete list
Hell Hole
Heavy Duty
Gimme Some Money
Cups And Cakes
Sex Farm
Stonehenge
Rock and Roll Nightmare
(Listen to the) Flower People
The Majesty of Rock
Big Bottom
Stinkin' Up the Great Outdoors
Clam Caravan