Daniel Green is the front man for an events cover band – Me And Mr Brown. In that capacity, Dan gets to go to a hell of a lot of weddings. Every week, we’ll be bringing you a fresh piece of insight by Dan on weddings, and the wedding industry. Take it away, Dan… The […]
Something that I observed at a wedding a couple of weeks back really struck me as being rather irritating, that being what i call the “MC show”. This is when the MC of a wedding takes it upon himself to essentially make the entire reception largely about, well, himself.
Don’t get me wrong- the basic idea of having a ‘photo booth’ at your wedding is, fundamentally, quite cool. I get it. It’s fun and all that but please… Stop it… Just stop it right now.
My latest wedding gripe might go relatively unnoticed by the vast majority of wedding goers but I guarantee you that it takes place at every single wedding- I’m explicitly referring to the section of the evening where the MC or Best Man reads out messages from those who couldn’t attend.
This is the last column from me here, for the known future at least. Which, let’s be honest, is nowhere past my first cup of coffee tomorrow morning. It’s been a blast. Or, as much of a blast as a wine column can be. I have stood on a soapbox a couple times and railed against the insidiously commercial, cynically sweet, and risibly reduced-alcohol wines that plague our shelves.
While I was away in the Drakensburg trying to survive for a week on only box wine, a little pile up of samples built up back at home. In this week’s column I go through them at let you know what they’re like.
I am sure that for every sensible word written about wine, Public Relation teams issue out 100 silly ones. Luckily conscientious writers shield the broader public from much of this hyperbolic guff, however, some of it does slip through on back labels, and boy, is it a load of tripe.
Never have I drunk so much wine without hearing that singular thudding pop of a cork, a sound as comforting as a mother’s voice, or the gentle breathing of a lover as s/he sleeps against your chest. I did and it made me sad
Bonnie Tyler spent the eighties searching for a hero, for a streetwise Hercules on his fiery steed. She held out long into the morning light. Enrique Iglesias offered his services, but all too late.
I remember reading this in the Onion once: “The quality of wine is inversely proportional to the ferocity of the animal on the label.” Sadly for South Africa, we have many animal labels. Producers, it seems, think that they can bottle any crap and then throw on a cutesy label and all is forgiven.
A few columns back I mentioned the RE:CM 10 year old wine awards, and how some of the wines I tasted during the judging (I was filming not judging) were not very good. I couldn’t mention the best ones, as the results had not yet been made public. I can now talk freely as the awards have been handed out.
Fear not, I will not be ranting here. I will not spend 1000 words frothing at the keyboard about the abysmal, facile, corporate, lackluster, insulting, sell-out winelists that do not deserve the bad laminating they have.
I have been thinking quite a lot about Pinot Noir lately after having written an article on the grape for a local magazine. I feel that I can usefully reconstitute some of those points here in slightly stronger language.
Local band, Red Huxley is comprised of three young musicians from Cape Town who have been working hard to make their mark in the industry. Last year, Red Huxley met Dave Catching from Eagles Of Death Metal. They were brave and cheeky enough to hand Catching their music, asking whether he would be keen to produce […]
Super Rugby is a tough school and over a season it’s not just the form players that will be included in the Bok team. It’s also the players that perform when the going gets tough and can consistently show that they are Springbok material. So without further ado, let’s have a look at the backline players that I’ve put on the radar
I had a new wine experience this past weekend. I wish this meant tasting a new exotic variety, or an ancient vintage, or even just a good Pinotage. But no, it was far more banal than any one of those, it was a trip to the Wade Bales Society wine sale.
Social media can change our lives. The last two weeks has been an eye opening experience to say the least. A South African hero and international role model for millions was arrested for the pre-meditated murder of his girlfriend, in his house, while she was locked in the toilet. His defence is that he thought […]
Moving House’ debut/self titled album is one which every ‘Hipster’ on Kloof Street – sporting a denim shirt, bowler hat and a pair of skinny jeans with a skinny Caffè Mocha in one hand, an iPhone in the other, has been anticipating. Even though one might feel that this band caters to a pop/indie lover, […]
I do not lay awake at night wondering about the permutations of whether Oscar Pistorious shoots with or without prosthetics, I do not toss and turn weighing in my mind the quality of Lindiwe Mazibuko’s State of the Nation Address rebuttal, nor do I consider whether Vernan Philander can bowl better. No friends, I ask myself how can I get more people drinking wine
It’s a mixed bag of uncapped players, bit-part Boks and established Test players. All of them have something to prove this season if they’ve got Springbok aspirations.
2013 seems to be the year of the come back. Bowie, Black Sabbath, Beck, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Depeche Mode, Queens of the Stone Age, and Tool are just a few of the anticipated come-back albums we can expect this year. There is no in between with come-back albums, they are either a […]
This week’s column may come across as slightly schizophrenic. I have some thoughts on older wines and a wine recommendation. They are totally unrelated.
The details on this morning’s shooting are still unclear, but whatever the outcome it should serve as another warning againt raising a simple sportsman up to be something he ultimately isn’t.
After a long school or work-week, there is nothing better than planning a Friday night outing to a club with a few friends to unwind and blow off some steam. I can’t think of one person in my circle of friends or even acquaintances who doesn’t like watching a live band, whether it be a […]
For your enjoyment! Please welcome former Sports Illustrated SA staffer, pub quizz enthusiast, and latest edition to the 2oceansvibe Columnist stable – Gareth Rosslee! Take it away, Gareth
Wine judging is a strange endeavor. As weird, I imagine, as the judging at country fairs of jams, tarts, cakes, flower arrangements, and whatever other product of pastoral hobbies are put forward.
When inspiration in wine deserts me, I can always trust in pure anger at stupidity. Unfortunately there is never a lack of that. The stupidity currently on my mind is any talk about a boycott of South African wines as a response to the recent farm worker strikes.
Riesling. What a grape. I wonder how much you’ve had? Probably not enough. I know I haven’t. The wines of the Riesling grape are hard to have too much off. It is another type of wine in South Africa that is on the up, if a bit slower than Riesling lovers would like; but then all things vinous are slow.
The God of wine – Bacchus – called me on New Year’s Day for a talking to atop the rather benign Bottellery Hills. He gave me six commandments to give to you. So listen carefully, young and old.
Terroir. It’s time we had a chat about it. Is it complete marketing hogwash? Is it the holy grail of fine wine making, so, in fact, total hogwash? Is it a real thing that winemakers should strive toward? Wait, hold on Harry, wtf is terroir.