Medway Exiles Club

Salinger's dead.

I shrug and move on. I read Catcher in the Rye and was left utterly unmoved. Maybe I read it too late; I was in my twenties. These things can make a difference. All the same I found it boring, self-indulgent and inconsequential. I guess in that sense it accurately reflects its origins. Who could expect a baby-boomer novel to be anything but a teenager's inelegant, inarticulate ecdysis?

Nothing against Salinger, mind. He seems to have been a decent guy. I just don't like his book much.

I know, I know. You wait all year for a few lousy posts from this so-called Exile, who does he think he is anyway, blogging when he feels like it, and then two come along at once. Well that's life mon pilgrim, as Jean Ouane would have said.

Wine.

I drink a fair amount of wine. Most of it is unexceptional and I confess myself untroubled by this. The supermarket glugger is good weekday fodder and in 2010 there's no need to apologise for drinking it. All the same occasionally one finds oneself in need of something more... inspiring.

Over Christmas I was fortunate enough to drink two very inspiring wines. You won't find these in any supermarket, although they shouldn't be more than a phone call away should you wish to purchase. Forgive me if I'm a little short on details. My wine-reviewing days are long behind me, I'm afraid: these aren't tasting notes, and I never enjoyed the analytical approach anyway. I always preferred the poetry of enjoying the wine in the moment - that surely is why we buy it, and drink it.

Chateau Sociando-Mallet 2003 Jean Gautreau
£40, Uncorked (www.uncorked.co.uk) 

A big belter of a Bordeaux this. Full-bodied and massive, fruity, mouth-filling flavour. Rich and powerful and refined but with plenty of fight left in it; you could happily drink this for another ten to twelve years, I reckon. 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, for those who are interested in these things. So deep and intense in texture and yet elegant in structure; it's unmistakably French and a fine riposte to could-be-from-anywhere varietal winemaking. I know forty quid is a lot to spend on a bottle of wine but there is a certain level of quality that you just don't get lower down the scale. It's not an everyday wine, it's not even a weekend wine. But I guarantee that wines like this, drunk with a couple of good friends, on special occasions, transform a meal into something quite magical. Something memorable, to be savoured.

Thorn-Clarke Shotfire 2005 Barossa Quartage
£11.50, Experience Wines (www.experiencewine.co.uk) 

A quick disclaimer: my friend Nigel runs Experience Wines. I buy a case of various interesting wines that he puts together when I go down to visit him once or twice a year.

This is certainly the highlight - so far - of the last case I bought. At 14.5% alcohol it follows the modern trend of balancing ripe fruit flavours with alcoholic strength. Personally I prefer my wine less strong; but there's only so much you can fight against a trend, and besides: this wine is balanced. It has none of the smack-you-over-the-head fruit and steal-your-wallet alcohol after-effect that you get with lesser wines. It's a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec , Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Merlot; a classic Bordeaux blend, like the Sociando-Mallet. Here, however, there is less power and depth. It's a far more approachable wine at a far more approachable price. Streets ahead of supermarket shelf-filler for little bit extra. 

The end of year review, part two. See below for part one.

Creating the New Year

- What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2010?
- I'd like to end the year not single.

- What advice would you like to give yourself in 2010?
- Don't listen to them, they're wrong.

- What is the major effort you are planning to improve your financial results in 2010?
- Moving in with the girlfriend with any luck. And then after that it would be nice to get a pay rise.

- What would you be most happy about completing in 2010?
- I'd really like to complete more creative projects. I have so many ideas that just wither and die for want of expression; it's painful.

- What major indulgence are you willing to experience in 2010?
- I genuinely don't know. Some time to myself, just to watch the clouds go by. That would be lovely.

- What would you most like to change about yourself in 2010?
- I'd like to be late less often. I annoy myself with my lateness. It's not a trait I admire.

- What are you looking forward to learning in 2010?
- Hopefully, how to live with a girlfriend. 

- What do you think your biggest risk will be in 2010?
- See above. Moving in with girlfriend. I would also have to say complacency. Complacency is always a big risk, because you don't see the consequences until they bite you on the arse.

- What about your work are you most committed to changing and improving in 2010?
- Consistency is a good thing to be noticed for. Not making the stupid mistakes.

- What is one as yet undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2010?
- No idea whatsoever. I'd say my talent for compromising, but that's more like undiscovered than undeveloped.

- What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do more or have more of that in 2010?
- Being in control. Knowing everything I have to do. Having it all there and being on top of it. The only way to get there is hard work, constant assessment, review, correction. The same way you stay on course in any endeavour.

- Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving in 2010?
- My girlfriend and life itself. 

- What one word would you like to have as your theme in 2010?
- "Yes." 

It is cold outside and there is a cold in my nose. I am performing an end of year review in public for the first time. The questions are courtesy of David Allen (www.davidco.com).

Completing and Remembering 2009

- What was your biggest triumph in 2009?
- I would have to say getting together with my girlfriend. After ten years of being single I'd say that was a triumph.

- What was the smartest decision you made in 2009?
- Well 2009 wasn't really a major decision-making year, but see above I guess. Most of the decisions I've made have followed from that.

- What one word best sums up your 2009 experience? 
- Unexpected. I had all these... plans that came to nothing, but then other things came along. So there was a balance to things, which is what I always search for.

- What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2009?
- That sometimes no matter what you do, no matter what you want, sometimes in life you are in the passenger seat. And when you are in the passenger seat it is common courtesy to shut up and let the driver drive.

- What was the most loving service you performed in 2009?
- I can't think of one in particular. There were lots of things I did to put a smile on my girlfriend's face. Lots of other things I did just trying to be more thoughtful than I naturally am. That's often enough.

- What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2009?
- All the creative projects I had - poems, songs, videos, stories, this blog - more or less went by the wayside. And I had to let it go. Not easy, and hopefully not to be repeated. Not if I want to stay sane anyway.

- What are you most happy about completing in 2009?
- The first year of being with my girlfriend, and a full year without having to look for a job. First time in my life that's ever happened.

- Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life in 2009?
- The aforementioned girlfriend, my boss and my housemate I guess. I was with one or the other of them pretty much every minute of the year.

- What was the biggest risk you took in 2009? 
- Meeting my then to-be-girlfriend for a drink.

- What was the biggest surprise in 2009?
- Not being single. 

- What important relationship improved the most in 2009?
- Not sure. Probably my boss I think. I feel lot more settled at work now than I did at the start of last year.

- What compliment would you have liked to have received in 2009?
- Never good with compliments. I like being thought of as thoughtful. And wise. And good looking. And modest.

- What compliment would you liked to have given in 2009?
- Not good at giving them either. "I love you, you're special."

- What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2009?
- Not a lot. I'm ready to move on. I enjoyed 2009, but I'm ready to move on. 

There's nothing like some unexpected bad news to bring aimless, too-long torpor to an overdue end. 

Jack Rose is dead.

Jack Rose was a wonderful guitarist, and by all accounts a fine human being also.

I saw Jack Rose play in 2006, at the Luminaire in London. It was a good gig, Jack's intense and finely-textured performance sadly overshadowed by the London malaise: indie scenesters on freebies chatting their way through the performance. A bête noire. But I digress. 

Jack Rose is dead; a fire is out; the world is a poorer, meaner, colder place.

You can find some videos and audio streams on his MySpace page. But better, buy some of his music and play it, and enjoy it, and think of the man and those he leaves behind, whom he loved and who loved him.

Requiescat in pace, Jack Rose.