Sarah-Kate Lynch

I'm astonished that it has been four months since I last posted anything. Where does the time go? This certainly explains my wrinkles but not much else.

Since October, we have moved back to New Zealand from the Gold Coast of Australia. I loved it there so was a little bit bitter to begin with but now that summer is here, finally, I'm cheering up. And thawing out.

Also we had an amazing trip to New York for Christmas and New Year. I'll tell you more about that when I get the time to write it up (brief mention in "new stuff") but in the meantime I am working my fingers to the bone (although they remain strangely fleshy) on As Yet Untitled which has me salivating over the thought of Tuscan cookies to the point where I think I am baking more than I am writing.

This could explain the time it is taking.

Ciao, ciao!

(I used to hate it when people came back from Italy saying ciao, ciao and now I am one.)

The kind people at Shingle Peak wines have made their decision about the five lucky winners of a 6-pack of wine.

For those of you who know me and didn't win, I had nothing to do with the judging! For those of you who know me and did win, I had nothing to do with the judging!

Winners, if the email address you gave me on your post was correct, you'll be hearing from Shingle Peak in the next few days regarding delivery of your wine. If the email address was incorrect, I'm going to drink it myself.

Winners As Chosen By Shingle Peak...

September 19, 2009 5:07 AM EDT
Where was the Pinot Noir when I brought that mallard to my table! Either of the Pinots will suffice to adorn the table with my eclectic range of wild roasts, and bounce around the palates of equally wild guests.
- Jim Bow
* Jim, can you email me by clicking on E-mail the Author to the left so I can get your correct details to Shingle Peak?

September 22, 2009 6:29 PM EDT
Shingle peak Pinot Gris would be my pick to review. "Spring tastes like nectar, drawn to it like a bee." Well I am, anyway.Cheers, Julie
- Julie

September 25, 2009 12:33 AM EDT
It is a little known fact that my real name is Nicky Pinotgrino. Truly. And even if it wasn't I'd change it for six free bottles...
- nickyp

September 27, 2009 3:10 AM EDT
A celebratory sauvignon blanc. Not a Shingle Peak should go by without looking up - and giving thanks.
- wac

September 27, 2009 5:00 AM EDT
Mmmm - wine to taste - what would we choose?
Shingle Peak Pinot Gris for our reviews!
Lovely and tasty and oh sooo good
We’d devour it daily if only we could.
Six bottles of wine in the fridge – what delight
We’d share it with friends from noon until night.
- Grant & Neree

After nearly 100 years of being a hard working writer, I finally got a job that was more fun. The people at Shingle Peak wines emailed me and asked if I would please drink a case of their wine and tell me what I thought, in my own words. What I thought was, HOORAY!

Actually, I met one of my best friends over a bottle or two of Shingle Peak Sauvignon Blanc back in 1992 when I was just getting used to not drinking wine out of a plastic bladder. He was the maitre d' at a restaurant I went to and recommended the wine, then after everyone else went home, sat down and drank it with me. We also did some dancing and a little bit of juggling. After all these years we are still close friends so the review I came up with after being reunited with the same wine was: "Never mind matching it with food, I have just the friend to go with this."

Now Shingle Peak has given me five six-bottle cases of wine to give away to readers who think they might have it in them to review wine without using the words "cheeky", "bouquet", "nose", "gooseberry" or "old man's wart cream".

All you have to do is post - by clicking on the link in pink below - in less than 50 words, which of the Shingle Peak wines you would like to review and why.

You can choose from sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, pinot gris or chardonnay.

I will decide the winning entries on Monday 28 September - so you'll need to check back then to see if yours is one of them and send me your contact details.


Sorry to my overseas readers but the cost of sending our wine further afield means you can't be in the running. And sorry to readers under 18 but you should be locked in your rooms saying your prayers, taking down the hems on all your skirts and doing your homework.

Usually I live in New Zealand but at the moment I am based on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. This is because my lovely ginger husband, who I call My Lovely Ginger Husband, is working on a movie that's being made here. It's the third film in the Narnia franchise, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He's an Art Director, so he is organising the building of the Dawn Treader, which he tells me is a boat. That is all he will tell me though as I am a notorious blabbermouth who blurts out top secret information with nary a thought for his reputation or career prospects, apparently.

The best thing about the Gold Coast is the weather. Even though it is the middle of winter, I go to the beach sometimes at lunch-time because it's only one block from our apartment and it's hot and sunny.

Also, the Gold Coast is only an hour or so away by air from Sydney where my sister Rachael and my best friend Ronnie live. Rachael is a lawyer and Ronnie is a clothing designer so I am very well dressed and you shouldn't sue me.

I checked out Twitter this week, by the way, but I just don't get it. For a start, who cares? And for a finish, if I have something to say there is no way I can say it that economically. That's what having Irish blood in your veins is all about. 140 characters, I mean, please! My sneezes involve more than 140 characters.

I think email is one of the best inventions ever but maybe that's as far as I'm going.

Right now I am working on novel number seven, either called Dolci di Love or The Secret League of Widowed Darners or something entirely different. In the interests of research, I again headed to Tuscany, this time without my faithful manservant in tow.

I spent a week not learning Italian at Il Sasso language school in Montepulciano and then another week also not learning Italian at a gorgeous rented house in Montisi. I did learn how to make cantucci, a type of biscotto, though, and torta della nonna, a custard pie.

I then had to go on Gwyneth Paltrow's detox diet when I got home because I don't eat meat and Tuscany is full of it, which means I turn to cheese. I practically looked like one by the time I got home but actually I could live on pecorino, a sheep's cheese typical of the region. Well, I did live on it, with quite a lot of mozzarella thrown in.

Our March book club had quite a good turn out and we must have managed at least 10 minutes talking about books we'd read over the summer but unfortunately I can't remember what any of them are. Next meeting, girls, is April 23 at Cath's and it will have been her birthday on the 19th so I just bet she will have had an enormous party and let off some explosive fireworks to celebrate that, birthdays being such precious gifts at this stage in the proceedings. The book, by the way, is the Girl WIth The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. (By the way, there's a photo of my book club on the Coming Up page because I can't work out how to get it on this one.)

Book Club Christmas Party is at Nicky M's on December 13th. Christmas theme. Santa undecided so start fattening those husbands up right away. Mine is still over excited from being santa two years ago so I have him on a strict beansprout diet.

Nicky M.... Truffles and mince pies
Cath .... Matt's turkey
Bonnie ... salads and I have written down champagne?
Miranda .... Mozzarella salad
Deanie... Ham
Janey ... knibbles
Nicky T ... salmon
Jewell.... dessert

The book club has agreed to read for December (more…)

Book Club Christmas Party is at Nicky M's on December 13th.

Nicky M.... Truffles and mince pies
Cath .... Matt's turkey
Bonnie ... salads and I have written down champagne?
Miranda .... Mozzarella salad
Deanie... Ham
Janey ... knibbles
Jewell.... dessert

The book club has agreed to read for December (more…)

I've just been to see the movie and am left with the question WHY pounding in my head. I remember the TV series as being six months of action packed triumph and tragedy yet the 2 hours and 15 minutes seemed to drag in the cinema. The lady taking the tickets tried to stop the young things ahead of us from going in! They didn't last long and weren't the only ones. It's not a terrible film, it all looks beautiful and the chap who plays Charles Ryder is very good and of course Emma Thompson is captivating but it doesn't seem very different from the TV series and certainly wasn't better. Of course, I watched the TV series in 1982 so I'm probably not in a very good position to be comparing. Also, a further minus as far as the movie version was concerned was the bloke in front of us who was eating caramel popcorn which comes in the crinkliest bag known to mankind and should be banned from all cinemas if not the universe although on the other hand him reaching into it did wake me up on a couple of occasions. (more…)

My Book Club has trouble remembering what day we are meeting, whose house we are meeting at, and what it is we are reading, which is the purpose, after all of a book club.

For MBC's information, however, the next meeting is allegedly at Bonnie's place at 7pm and I think it is on the 6th of November which is a Thursday.

The book was originally going to be Mary, written by erm, you've got me there, but about Abraham Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd. However, a ginger group seems to have peeled off and read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Maryanne Shaeffer. It's jolly good, too.

Btw, at the last meeting where all the above was decided, or not, it was also decided, or not, that the book for the following month was to be Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.

XSK