RTL update, and a new camera

It's been a while since Rosie The Labradoodle graced these pages. Heck, back in December when she had a litter of puppies, this blog was more about dogs than it was about wine. But since then she's been off the radar.

Well, she's totally back to her normal loveable, full-on, playful, annoyingly hyperactive self. She's like a two-and-a-half year old puppy. It's probably because we are bad owners, but I actually like the way she is so full of life. She's pictured above, with her hair even shaggier, and sporting a beard.

I got a new camera today. While I'm still using my Pentax digital SLR for serious stuff, it's big to lug around. So I have a need for a decent pocket camera. What did I choose? The Panasonic DMC-TZ5. I didn't want to spend too much - around £150 - because then I won't be worried about it getting a bit beaten up. And for that price, the Panasonic rocks, with 10x optical zoom, image stabilization, a 3-inch screen - and it's pretty compact. There's a new version out, which costs twice the price. It means I could pick this one up in-budget by buying a factory refurb. Cool. Pictured below is a Pinot Noir shoot in the background. You can see the potential flower cluster here.

Today was Fiona and my 16th wedding anniversary. We were going to go to the Glasshouse in Kew for a nice lunch, but we got a call this morning saying that older son and another boy had been getting up to mischief and so were excluded from boarding for three days. So Fiona volunteered to do the 6.5 h round trip to pick him up, and our lunch had to be cancelled. We did manage to get a traditional English breakfast in at Wetherspoons over the road, though - £2.69 each. And younger son is delighted that the hire car we've picked up for the weekend to help make some complicated logistics work more smoothly was upgraded to a very sport soft top (and we're paying just £16.50 a day for it). Roof down, CD in, and he's happy.