Wine Clubs And Wine Tasting Events, Alcohol and No Alcohol Around Britain

Angela Lansbury trying Grenache Rose from a can at a show. 

Wine Clubs

Near Trafalgar Square, about half way between Charing Cross and Embankment stations, an easy 5 minute walk from each, is the Civil Service Club which is the venue for the Central London Wine Club. They meet the second and fourth Wednesday evenings each month and are open to guests. No need to be a member of the Civil service or its club. Just book and pay though their website. (New website from November 20th. Like all theatres and other places of entertainment, you pay in advance to reserve your seat in a place where seats are limited by fire regulations. Also for wine clubs, unlike restaurants, the number of bottles ordered depends on the numbers signing up.

If you want a venue with unlimited wine stocks, the ideal venue is a restaurant, but they mostly charge corkage, so the organizers have to budget carefully. Turning up with a magnum might involve the hosts in more changes. An alternative is a members' club with cellars, like 67 Pall Mall, where you pay a joining fee and a montly or annual fee.

Other wine clubs in London and the home counties which I have attended include wine clubs in St Albans and Welwyn, which attract people who live in those areas. Put into a search engine the name of your location and the word wine club and see what comes up. Very useful if you live in a new area and want to meet friends. 

Some clubs attract young people. Others attract the retired. Or a mixture.

Restaurants & Shops Tastings & Themed Evenings

Many restaurants, bars, and pubs, and wine shops have evenings based on wines from a particular country, or season. Also embassies, promoting the wines and vineyards of their country. If you attend one of these events, you are likely to meet somebody from the local area or further afield. You might get invited to an event, or meet somebody interesting in attending a wine club you start, or in helping you to organize a meeting.

If you attend a trade fair for a country, or hospitality, for luxury travel, or group travel, or a wedding fair, you might meet suppliers of sparkling wines, low alcohol and no alcohol wines, mixers, spirits and juices.

Those attending might include owners of wineyards, winemakers, owners of bars and restaurants, sommeliers and head waiters, students of wine (not necessarily youngsters) people celebrating weddings and anniversaries.

Suppliers of wine such as Berry brothers also have wine tastings before Christmas and at intervals throughout the year.

If you order a case of wine, or even do an internet search, you might be sent useful advertisements and invitations and information about wine events and societies. 

WSET

WSET runs courses for the interest of amateur enthusiasts, sommeliers, and those specializing in sake.

Wine clubs have also been started by members of big businesses such as banks. You might find that your company already has a wine society. Or if there is a newsletter, you might be able to start one. It is a good way to network with others in your company, or to network if the club is open to guests and outside members.

Why would you need to give your details or pay money in advance? First of all, for the security of the venue, and the event. Secondly, to ensure there is enough wine, water, crackers, bread, or food, for all attending. Thirdly, you need enough wine glasses. Even if the event is bring a bottle, if ten people each bring a bottle, you either need a tasting sheet to provide information and enable people to note which wine they liked, or enough glasses of different types.

What if the event provides no food, or asks you to bring your own wine glasses?

Big events open either to trade only, or to anybody willing to pay, are held at major stadiums, in London at Olympia, and Excel. In Singapore a popular venue is Expo. Get on their mailing list. You can also look at Eventbrite and Meetup.

If you order wine by the case, for a wedding, anniversary, birthday, housewarming, club Xmas party, you might be able to hire for a fee, or free, glasses from major wine shops or warehouses. You then get on their list invited to tastings or events.

Another option is to join the Wine Society. You can then visit their huge shop in Stevenage has large selections of wine bottles. You can join online in advance for about forty pounds which gives you a discount towards your first purchase. 

For the driver of your car, there will be water, or a coffee machine. And toilets. And at Christmas chocolates in gift boxes, and other snacks and gifts. 

My husband and I have attended several lunches. At one of them we made permanent friends of another couple who meet us in London to have lunch at an art gallery.

Before driving all that way, to Stevenage, check their opening times and events. It may be possible to ask a member to take you in as a guest, or to stop at the cashier and pay for membership on arrival, without waiting, but please check the latest regulations of the society, and the UK laws on club membership and drink driving.

No Alcohol Drinks

For non drinkers, it is very handy to see the variety of low alcohol and no alcohol drinks which you can give to drivers and non drinkers, and people on pills for temporary or permanent conditions. You can now buy no alcohol wines, beers, ciders, and decaffeinated teas, and coffees.

Alcohol In Food And Drink

Keeping informed about spirits in food is also handy. For example, you might see alcohol in the list of ingredients in Christmas pudding and other dishes which you wish to buy or serve. The same applies when you look at menus or get served in restaurants or people's home, when you responsible for events serving adults or children. 

Useful Websites On Wine And Events (alphabetically)

Central London Wine Society

https://www.67pallmall.com/

wine@clws.org.uk

Berry Brothers & Rudd

https://www.bbr.com/events-and-experiences

Decanter

https://events.decanter.com/london/your-details

The Wine Society

https://www.thewinesociety.com/

WSET

https://www.wsetglobal.com/wset-school-london

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Rain in Singapore - The Good and The Bad For Travellers and Photographers

Problem
Non-stop rain in Singapore on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The TV announcers were out in the streets under umbrellas, paid to smile enthusiastically.

Answers
What's good?
1 EXPENSIVE OUTINGS ARE AVOIDED
Stay home and save money (if you haven't already paid for a night out).
2 UMBRELLA SALES INCREASE
Shops get fewer shoppers in the rain. However, those which stay open can sell umbrellas.
3 INDOORS INCREASES BUSINESS
Indoor bars and other places attract passers-by. People already in the restaurant stay there and order more.
4 Outdoor bars and balconies with parasols attract a few hardy souls.
5 WASHING DISAPPEARS
People who draped their sheets and underwear over balconies to dry had to remove them and return skyscrapers to elegance instead of looking like slums.
6 PLANTS ARE WATERED - DROUGHT AVERTED
WateredPlants on blaconies and in gardens and in the wild are getting watered and the city and countrside stay green.
7 NO SWIMMING OUTDOORS
When it rains, especially if there is thunder and lightning, pool attendants will vanish, or prevent swimmers from entering the pool for safety reasons.
8 WATERFALLS ARE AT THEIR BEST
In long hot summers, some waterfalls disappear altogther. The rain means you can see waterfalls afterwards.
9 NO REFUNDS
Some events specify that they will not offer refunds if rain causes cancellation or part or all of the event. Why? Because the staff had to turn up to work and turn down alternative work for that date. Because rain is like 'act of God', not their fault. Because otherwise they would go out of business. Because they are in business to make money and they make the rules.
10 SONGS ABOUT RAIN ARE REVIVED
Songs about rain pop into my brain:
Singing in the rain

What's bad?
1 PHOTOGRAPHY - POOR VISION
The camera you hired for four days for New Year photography will not get the best shots. If you were a wedding photographer you would have to deal with it. You could take indoor shots. Or make a feature of rainy shots, or contrast before and after or same scene in sun and rain.
2 CAR CLEANING STILL NEEDED
You may be tempted to give up cleaning your car in the hope that the rain is doing the job for you. Rain is not necessarily cleaning your car. It may be depositing acid which eats into chrome. You need to wash off the dirt, salt, bird droppings and remove damp leaves from crevices, dry off smears.
3 SLIPPERY ROADS
You also need to check your car tyres have good tread to deal with gripping wet roads.
4 SHOPS & RESTAURANTS WITH OUTDOOR TABLES LOSE OUT
An Indian restaurant owner complained that since he has half his business from his outdoor tables, in rainy times he loses business.

WHAT'S GOOD?
In my lists, the good features of rainy days outweigh the bad. Is that because I am a psoitive person?

When the sun comes out you don't complain the weather is too hot. You are grateful for the sunlight and appreciate its advantages. You rush out with your camera.

CHEAP UMBRELLAS
Cheap umbrellas are sold in Seven-Eleven. Only four dollars for a small fold up umbrella which you can afterwards put in your bag. You can buy similar for only four dollars, different patterns, in the drug stores such as Guardian and Watson and some supermarkets. One member of my family who lives in Singapore says:
"You get what you pay for. Cheap umbrellas won't last long. But even if they only helped you out ofr one trip or one day, they are only the price of a cup of coffee."

Useful websites
http://brandinsider.straitstimes.com/audi/essential-car-tips-rainy-season/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.