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April newsletter

April started with a bang. Drinks at Albannach was very well attended, with lots of new faces, and lots of old ones too (if you see what I mean). Albannach is an interesting venue. It has a huge bar on the ground floor which gets very crowded and very noisy, and an intimate bar downstairs which turns into a nightclub after about 11pm. We hired out the downstairs bar area, so we were able to mingle without being jostled, which was perfect. The drinks and canapés flowed - some of the canapés were a bit odd (it’s that whole Scottish theme), but generally they were excellent. With everyone on good form it was a fun evening where I could see new friendship developing before my very eyes!!

Our next drinks party is on 30 May, so put it in your diary now, and invite your friends along too.

Next up, we were at Vivat Bacchus for one of our regular Monday night wine tastings. This week the wines were from Burgundy, and we tasted some absolute gems; the Chablis and Puily Montrachet, being particularly to my liking. South African wine connoisseur Geri Knoetze, who co-owns Vivat Bacchus, always manages to secure interesting growers with and eclectic mix of wines from around the world, and this coupled with good food available from the bar afterwards, makes an evening that is both educative and enjoyable - and at about £30 it’s also very good value. Golfer Ernie Els’s winery will be the flavour of the month in May.

I can only write about dinner at Bumpkin second hand because unfortunately I was struck down with a nasty bout of bronchitis and couldn’t be there. Thank you to Jon who stepped into the breach and hosted the evening. I understand that the service was pretty slow, but that the ambience was nice, the food was very tasty, and it goes without saying that the EEC crowd gathered there dazzled as usual.

I am very happy for EEC members to host dinner parties off their own backs, and would actively like to encourage it. In fact not so long ago we instigated a Members’ gastro-pub night, where someone chose the location and acted as host, but it kind of fizzled out. Perhaps we should revive it?

Later in April, the theatre-lovers amongst us (of which there are many). had a wonderful evening at the Gielgud Theatre, where we saw The God of Carnage. Yasmina Reza’s new play is similar to ART in that there is one set, and a specific subject which the actors explore. In this play it was playground bullying. Two sets of parents (the accused and the accusers), played equally brilliantly by Ralph Fiennes, Jane MacTeer, Ken Stott and Tamsin Grieg, start off talking through the problem like civilized human beings but end up 90 minutes later completely destroying themselves and each other. The emotional roller-coaster was by moments funny and cruel, yet the issue was never fully addressed and therefore remained unresolved. British theatre at it’s best.

Towards the end of the month we spent a very pleasant afternoon on the South Bank. First, we caught the final day of the Aleksandra Rodchenko’s photographic exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. Rodchenko’s work spans two world wars and the changing face of communist Russia. As a political comment on the time they are fascinating, though obviously there were difficult times when his output was severely censored, unhappy times where he was forced to work for the State, and times when he worked freely.

Having feasted out eyes on these pictures, and before feasting our ears in the Festival Hall, we feasted out stomachs at Canteen. Why is it that so many restaurants these days have unacceptably slow service? It seems illogical, because all that happens is that the punters become frustrated, and more often than not the potential to make money from desserts goes out of the window because of time constraints i.e. curtain up. So in point being at Canteen where we sat down at 5.30pm and only had time for one course before having to leave at 7.20pm. almost two hours for one dish - incredible. However, it should be said that that one course was really delicious. I had smoked haddock, garlic mash and spinach, others had home made shepherds pie, sausage and mash, macaroni cheese etc. Good simple fare, good sized portions and well cooked - so definitely to be recommended if time is not an issue.

The concert was a delight. The Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Christoph von Dohnanyi were on sparkling form as they accompanied Frank Zimmermann in Alban Berg’s violin concert. This is a dark, brooding, mysterious work, full of atmosphere and nuance that requires a soloist of great sensitivity. Zimmermann rose to the challenge and gave an exemplary performance. The second half of the concert was Mahler’s gigantic Symphony No.1 in D. I am very familiar with this work having studied it in depth a number of years ago, however, for quite a few EEC members, this was the first time they had heard it, and they were completely mesmerized. It was such a lovely concert, it made me question why we don’t organise more concerts - something I intend to rectify post haste.

And finally a very starry line up for the IQ2 debate ‘America has lost it’s moral authority’. Chaired by Mr. Sky News Adam Boulton, Prof John Gray, Matthew Parris and Will Self put forward a convincing argument for the motion, while Martin Amis, Howard Jacobson and Simon Scharma, made an even more compelling argument against the motion. It has to be said that questions from the floor were not quite up to the stratospherically high standard they usually are but none the less it was an entertaining, thought-provoking evening. Interestingly the motion was upheld by almost 2:1, despite the greatest swing being to those opposing the motion who gained all the initial ‘don’t knows’ - but it was still not enough to snatch a victory.

With two Bank Holiday’s in May, this will be a relatively quiet month, but June and July will be bursting with exciting events for you to enjoy. There’s Ronnie Scott’s, The Comedy Store, a weekend in Liverpool, European City of Culture 2008, Royal Ascot, a Kenwood House picnic concert, the Cartier International Polo, a ladies-only clay pigeon shoot, dinners, drinks and much, much more. Full details are in the diary, so don’t delay....book today!

Bye for now