Quintin Jardine's blog

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What have I been doing for the last week? Well, I’ve been in Spain, tolerating a shamefully slow broadband service (Get your act together, Movistar!), thinking about Skinner 27, and driving the ugliest car on the road

to Barcelona and back. I’ve also been getting back to work on Skinher 27, but of that more later.

Mia is five today. Go, Miss Pie, go.

Jacket design for next year’s Skinner, hot off the press. Due for publication May 2015.

Man against  Machine – Garth Brooks. The man’s first album of new material in 13 years. Kinky Friedman used to call GB ‘The Anti-Hank’, and if you’re a country purist you’ll understand what  he meant, and question his right to the cowboy hat.  The new collection is welcome, the voice is massive, and it has fiddles and steel guitars a-plenty, but it’s more rock than anything else. After all this time I was waiting for the big track to jump out and grab me, but it isn’t there. ‘In the LIfe of Chris Gaines’ remains my favourite Brooks album, by a distance.

By the way, for those who wonder what he looks like without the airbrushing and the cowboy hat —

It’s all very Hallowe’en at Restaurant Mark Greenaway, Monday October 27

I had a fine time last night at a dinner hosted by Ian Rankin and Mark Greenaway, in the latter’s multi-rosetted restaurant at 69 North Castle Street, Edinburgh. The intimate event was the precursor to a much larger project, ‘The Big Dinner’, the brainchild of the wonderful Olivia Giles, CEO of the charity ‘500 Miles’, which supplies artificial limbs and other prosthetics to amputees in Zambia and Malawi.

‘The Big Dinner’ will take place on March 7, when thousands of people will sit down to eat at venues all around the country, with the goal of raising at least £500,000, to get people back on their feet. To be part of this unique and exciting evening, follow this link:

http://bigdinner.co.uk/

Last night was part of the preparation for the project. Its purpose will become clear as the promotion of ‘The Big Dinner’ is rolled out over the next few months. All I’ll say for now is that there were five writers round the table, the other guests being that formidably talented trio, Lin Anderson, Hardeep Singh Kohli, and Sara Sheridan, all of us being filmed and interviewed as we enjoyed the work of the real star of the evening, Chef Mark.

For example, this is his Chicken and Potato Pressé,

complemented by beetroot meringue, pickled heritage plums, goats cheese parfait and bread tuille.

If you’d like to try it, this is where you’ll find it and the rest of his unique and imaginative Scottish menu:

http://markgreenaway.com/

There was much interesting conversation: (the best  of it wasn’t recorded). My only regret is that I was driving, for I know a good wine by its nose.

Note the date again: March 7, 2015.

Jordi Maso and Dom Abernethy, (l-r), part of the powerhouse that drives Arrel de Vi, the annual St Marti wine fair.

Arrels de Vi, the annual St Marti wine fair is now under way,  until it closes tomorrow evening, Sunday June 8.

Go if you can, and when you do don’t miss out on a range of unique painted ceramic wine coolers, the work of the celebrated Spanish artist, Manolo Sierra; I’m lucky enough to be able to call him a friend.

Spotted recently in Newcastle Station. So what does it mean? If you turn up on time but the doors are closed we ain’t going to help you board?