Cocktails and Records

In the continuing exciting tale of my adventures in ye olde London town, today I found myself at a rather posh luncheon (note that’s luncheon, not lunch, thank you very much) at the Guildhall in the City of London.

We ate in the Crypt which was lovely and positively oozing history. The Guildhall’s East Crypt is apparently one of the oldest and largest of its kind in England, dating back to Edward the Confessor in 1042. Like the Tudor Queen’s House at the Tower of London, it is one of the few places in the old city to have survived both the Great Fire and World War II.

Appropriately, the company was similarly ancient. My colleague and I were surrounded by the kind of people who, delightful as they were with their tales of second homes in France, long-lost favourite Latin Masters and ‘fondness for buying boats’, will be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes.

However, I am pleased to say that some of our nearest diners did actually inspire me. Before a speech from the Lord Mayor we were instructed to toast the Queen (reverential looks, raising of glasses and courteous sips), The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall (markedly less enthusiastic clinking of glasses and supping) and ‘the Other Members of the Royal Family’ (outright snorting and smirking, necking down of fine wine).

So there might be hope for the City after all.

It might be the first and last time that I ever say this, but thank you Queen Elizabeth II.

Why?

Because she has given me the Dubonnet cocktail.

There I was a few weeks back bored and half watching an episode of recent BBC documentary series The Monarchy when I noticed one of the royal staff giving a very detailed and specific rundown on what exactly the Queen likes to drink pre-dinner. My ears pricked up.

She will only drink the Dubonnet cocktail. The cocktail is equal parts gin and Dubonnet (a French wine-based aperitif), stirred over ice and served in a pre-chilled martini glass.

Obviously because I do everything that the Queen tells me I rushed out and bought some Dubonnet to try this myself. Or rather, I tried to rush out because hardly anyone stocks the stuff.

But I have finally located some and boy, is it great. In fact, here’s one I made 5 minutes ago just to illustrate this entry:

The Queen is right – it is a great drink. And the pleasing red colour (poorly illustrated by our red wall) makes it even better.

Long live the Queen (until the next top cocktail tip). Wonder what her favourite ale is…

I have been resisting the temptation to write about last week’s Australian election results. As a national traitor who abandoned the country at the beginning of the ‘Howard years’ and who barely keeps up with the politics of the nation, I am hardly qualified to go into it.

However, what has been interesting is the British press reaction to the news of the Kevin Rudd and (not very labour) Labor victory over John Howard’s (not very liberal) Liberal party. Has Howard’s legacy been deconstructed and analysed? Is there discussion about whether Rudd will save the country from becoming America’s 51st state? Very little, because the most important question for the British media is, of course, will Australia become a republic?

I really don’t know why anyone here cares. Australia will inevitably become a republic at some point and this is hardly going to have a tremendous impact on Britain when it does. It’s just a matter of pride and identity really and the UK, or more to the point England, is going to have to face up to its crumbling empire at some point.

I say that Australia will inevitably become a republic, but it does feel a long way away. According to some newspoll results I read recently in the Sydney Morning Herald only 45% of Australians support a republic, although the number did rise to 51% if Charles was to be King…

Either way, these are very low numbers and with the complete apathy shown towards the issue by Labor, it’s probably more likely that Scotland will become a bloody republic before Australia does…