Whisky, Words and Wine

You've gotta be ballkidding me.......

……… Jack still hasn't finished Traitors UK and Graham can barely contain himself. Retreating to less emotional ground Graham and Jack discuss the various dictionaries’ “Word of the Year” – some land well, but “Vibe Coding” (which is two words) is ridiculous (….Collins Dictionary I am looking at you!), and not being 15years old, both are baffled by  Dictionary.com’s  choice of “Six/Seven”.
Meanwhile Jack is reading McCartney (post Beatles) (a gentler time when none of the 2025 words of the year had been invented). Jack dives into The Bay – another crime drama (in which no Scotsman are harmed), but not much else because he has been glued to the Australian Open Tennis (but cannot resist mentioning an obscure Scotsman – a perennial non-winner of the event). Graham hasn't watched the tennis but has watched the Netflix Doco “Ballkids” about the 12-16 year olds who are the true heroes of the AO tennis courts.
Finally, radio (yes, it does still exist) and Triple J’s annual “Top 100” list – 2million people from around the world voted this year, - the number 1 was Olivia Dean (who Jack has spoken of in a previous pod) while Graham mentions the memorable “Keith” from the Aussie group “Playlunch” (I know I said “Fred” but it is actually “Keith” - senior moment).  we discussion  episode of the “What Went Wrong” podcast on the near disaster of a pilot for the Game of Thrones series - it almost didn't happen, and it wasn't because they couldn't capture a real life dragon>
Electric Avenue’s new single “Behind Closed Doors” didn't make the Top 100 cut ........but only because it hadn’t been released!…..but next year……..And you can get it now at http://electricavenue.hearnow.com/
Wine: Artemis Pinot Grigio, NSW Southern Highlands
Whisky: Morris of Rutherglen “Muscat Barrel Single Malt”
Songs: Keith, by Playlunch
             Triple J Hottest 100 – ABC LIsten app
Podcast “What Went Wrong” Game of Thrones episode  (Lizzie Bassett and Chris Winterbauer)
               “Sumomainichi” podcast – Dave and Amy

Mixtapes and lightning, very very frightening

Lightning has taken out Graham’s internet and TV; Jack goes back to the future with vinyl and cassette tapes (remember those?) - who knew how much friction is involved?. Graham gets Traitorous, and both discuss “What You Can Know – Ian McEwan’s new book on a near-future partial apocalypse caused by …. you and I (and don't they hate us for it in the future!). Jack does some Crime (in Scotland of course), Graham gets excited about barely-clad large men (ie its Sumo before you jump to any conclusions). We avoid a debate about which is the best city in the entire Universe (Melbourne or Sydney). Graham looks forward to some Australia Day lamb, and Jack to the Australia Day release of Electric Avenue’s new song “Behind Closed Doors” (it's a good one!).
And a shout out to our listener in Romania…..!!
Music:  Status Quo: Piledriver album  
​Electric Avenue: Behind Closed Doors single (released on 26 Jan)
​Triple J Top 100 (Listen for this on the last weekend in January)
TV/Streaming: The Traitors UK (Channel 10, Australia, BBC UK)
​​Crime (UK) – Britbox
​​Scoop – Netflix
​​Greenland (where-ever)
Books: This Way Up (When Maps Go Wrong) – The Mapmen
​Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York; Andrew Lownie
Drinking: Magarey Lane “Glenroy” Cabernet Sauvignon   (a 97 point wine – get some!)
Classic Gin and Tonic: Husk Distillery  Burnt Orange Ink Gin, Fever Tree Indian Tonic, with home-dried orange garnish (by Graham).

New Year not resolved

Why is Jan 1st the start of the year? Why wasn't Xmas Day a holiday in Scotland? Why is Graham drinking whisky? Jack has his band (Electric Avenue) but why should everyone also see  "My Brothers Band"? Why did the bus get lost? What is so exciting about books about maps? What were Jack and Graham's New Year resolutions? These and many more questions will probably not be satisfactorily answered but we had fun trying......
Films: "Lost Bus", "Breakdown 1975", "Nuremberg", "My Brother's Band", "Now You See Me"
Books: "What we can know" Ian McEwan; "The Proving Ground" Michael Connolly; "Churchills History of Ungentlemanly Warfare" Giles  Milton; The Great Zoo of China" Matthew Riley
Upcoming Concerts: Electric Avenue @ Mosman Whalers (or is it Mosman Wailers?); Ludovico Einaudi - Sydney; Anna Lapwood, Organist, Sydney and Melbourne

Our best of (almost) everything seen, read, heard in 2025

Following their resoundingly successful "Top 3 Xmas Songs" list, Jack and Graham are emboldened to name this year's top 3 podcasts heard, films and TV seen, books read, live performances seen, and places visited.
Graham hasn't quite recovered from forgetting "Adolescence" and leaving it off his "Top 3" altogether, and the only thing they agreed on was "All Her Fault" (Starring Sarah Snook) at #3 on their lists of Streaming/TV shows. Except for that, it is clear they have absolutely nothing in common...... 
Jack's Whisky of the year was Glenkinchie Single Malt, Lowland Scotch, while Graham's best wine was the 2004 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz from Barossa Valley, Sth Australia
Let us know what you agreed or disagreed with by emailing us at whiskywordswine@gmail.com

Bananas, Venn Diagrams and the end of the world (perhaps)

Graham goes bananas with the Venn diagrams of life, Jack relives the past with an old friend, gives feint praise to the streaming series Hostage, and wonders if the characters in Down Cemetery Road were just "too too much".  Graham and Jack pull back from the brink of getting too serious when discussing House of Dynamite and moral dilemmas. New podcasts listened to - "What Went Wrong" - a pod about movie disasters (not all were disaster movies), and Desert Island Discs (a venerable radio program now in the world of Pods - only 2000 episodes to binge........). Finally we are doing our best not to be "interesting", but instead to be "intriguing", "fascinating", "absorbing, and "engrossing".
And if you are in Albury, NSW, make sure you have a meal at "Sen" in Olive Street - the best VietNamese food I have had outside of Vietnam.
email us at: whiskywordswine@gmail.com
 

This week's oxymoron: "the best Xmas songs"

It turns out Graham is a bit of a Xmas Grinch, not helped by the fact that Jack sings Xmas songs and sends the audio to friends, so the anticipation is terrible. Top 3 Xmas songs from Jack (actually 4, you'd never guess he was once an accountant...) - (approved by Carol) included Xmas Song - Nat King Cole, Driving Home for Xmas - Chris Rea, Come Home for Xmas - The Eagles, and Its Xmas Time - Status Quo......  while Graham struggled to find 3 but ultimately came through with #3 White Xmas (Irving Berlin/ Bing Crosby), #2 White Wine in the Sun (Tim Minchin) and #1 How to Make Gravy (Paul Kelly).
Jack finished the  Ann Cleves novel "The Killing Stones", while Graham finished The Bookshop" by Penelope Fitzgerald (who only started writing novels when she was in her 60's but ended up writing 23!). Films watched include "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" (the third in that franchise of Robin Hood Illusionists), and "Jay Kelly" (Cooney and Sandler in an unlikely but likeable pairing). Jack got his music rocks off on the "Rockenteurs" podcast, while Graham got some interesting but ultimately useless information about Mick Herron from "The Rest is Entertainment" podcast. Our listeners are liking an earlier recommendation for the "Strangers on a Bench" podcast. Useless fact of the week: People who come from the Orkney Isles (off the coast of Scotland) are called "Orkadians" - very Tolkeinesque.  
Comments, advice and requests can be sent to whiskywordswine@gmail.com
 

Nuremberg, a new drinking game, and the Electric Avenue Sessions

Jack and Graham discuss Jack's band recording the eponymous "Electric Avenue Sessions". Films include Nuremberg (in cinemas now starring Rusty Crowe and Rami Malik), House of Dynamite (Netflix - starring Rebecca Ferguson and Idris Elba) and Wicked (Disney: which includes an actor who Graham doesn't rate as great although does indeed grate). Podcasts include Graham's new favourite "Illadvised" by Bill Nighy; and "The History of Rock Music in 500 Songs" by Andrew Hickey, and "Stranger on a Bench"  (not to be confused with "Stranger Things" which Jack also mentions, which is .......strange). Graham is reading "The Bookshop" by Penelope Fitzgerald.  Drinking: Suntory Hibiki Whisky (Japan), and Leogate Estate 2022 Creek Bed Semillon (Hunter Valley, NSW) - both excellent.
We receive some feedback (always welcome) - some which has resulted in this extended notes section, and one which caused us to invent a new drinking game!
Email us at: whiskywordswine@gmail.com

It’s never about the golf

More than just golf, Traitors deliver, and The Church go to the Pub.
Recommendations:
Books: Jane Harper  Last One Out
Streaming/TV: Celebrity Traitors UK  (Channel 10, Australia,  BBC UK)
All her fault - starring Sarah Snook (Foxtel Australia);
Karen Pirie (Scottish crime drama)

Melb Cup Slow Horses

We have both been to see Bruce Springsteen the Movie and ponder on the state of both recorded music and movie theatres, have watched Slow Horses, and remember fast horses when we first met (is there a more flimsy excuse for a public holiday....?). And of course we review our current whisky and wine indulgences.

All for a good cause

Graham and Jack cover a wide range of topics in this week’s podcast from Scottish pubs with no whisky to celebrity traitors !