Fairtrade wine and more ramblings

I'm posting again from the coffee shop in Bermondsey I found myself in the other day. I spent the morning judging the Fairtrade Wine Awards at the WSET just up the road, followed by lunch in Delfina opposite. It was supposed to take the whole day, but we finished early, and now I have a couple of hours to kill before dinner.

The wines were mixed - some good, some less so. The other judges were good humoured and fun to hang out with - they included Michelle Smith, Olly Smith, Sarah Jane Evans, Susan Hulme and Patricia Langton. We were doing it for love, because fairtrade is a *good thing*, but I'm beginning to realize that I have to ration the number of non-billable days I spend since Fiona's review of family finances (she deals with the cash; it depresses me) showed that I need to earn more money.

That's the challenge. Naturally, I'm not terribly money motivated. But I have skills that can earn a good deal if I channel myself in the right direction, and make the most of the opportunities there are. However, I need to make sure that commercial considerations never come before the journalistic desire to tell it like it is.

Now I'm going to visit a few wine shops with a view to updating my guide to London's wine destinations.