May Beauty Buys

Madeira Wine

I once saw an advertisement that stated that jade was more than a stone - it was a creation, and I would like you to think of Madeira Wine as being more than a fortified wine, but a creation that has evolved and matured over the centuries.

People have had a long and passionate love affair with Madeira Wine. Ships travelling to the East Indies and the New World would carry Madeira Wine in order to prevent crews and passengers from suffering from scurvy. It was discovered, quite by accident, that the wine also improved on these long sea voyages due to the warm temperatures it was kept under; and even now the wines are stored in barrels and allowed to mature at room temperature. Despite its popularity, many Madeira Wine producers today are actively engaged in sourcing potential new markets and looking at innovative ways to encourage more and more people to enjoy this wine abroad.

So, this month, I have decided to play a little and have undertaken a little Madeira Wine and foodmatching which I hope will encourage you to experiment a little and also have some fun. There are five main varieties of grape used in the creation of the different types of Madeira Wine which determine its colour and the type of wine; dry, semi-dry, medium, semi-sweet or sweet.

The Sercial is grown at high altitudes and is the last grape to be harvested, usually in October, while the wine it produces takes the longest to mature. Often used as an aperitif, this dry Madeira Wine can also be drunk at the end of a meal to cleanse the palate while its citrus or nutty flavours (depending on age) make it an ideal accompaniment to smoked salmon, soup, snacks and as a cocktail base. I have to admit, this is my favourite - with just a little ice.

The Verdelho is softer and more rounded than the Sercial while its versatility makes it not only an excellent semi-dry Madeira Wine but also as a very palatable white table wine called ‘Atlantis’. Often, carrying notes of dried fruits, the Verdelho is a beautifully balanced wine which makes it a good allround aperitif as well as an excellent accompaniment to salads, hard cheese and sea-food.

The Boal is used to create a medium sweet wine whose colouring and rich aroma makes it an excellent wine to be consumed alongside light desserts and tropical fruits.

Malmsey was originally made famous by the Duke of Clarence who, in 1478, opted to be drowned in a ‘butt of Malmsey’ rather than be skewered by a sword. Personally, I prefer this sweet wine in a glass with either rich calorieladen puddings or with chocolate - and I don’t mean fruit and nut. This is where you can really experiment with the many varieties of dark chocolate that are now available. Try it or make a party of it! Others state that this wine is best drunk on its own as a dessert.

Unlike its posher cousins, the Tinta Negra Mole is the workhorse of the family and all three-yearold Madeira Wines are made exclusively from this grape. This is also the most popular grape grown on the island. However, the Negra is very good at imitating or being blended with other wines while its small red fruits produce a light clear liquid.

Of course, not everyone agrees with combining Madeira Wine with food, confectionary or using it as part of a cocktail and the producers’ new innovative approaches have caused more than one nose to wrinkle in disdain! But, for me, Madeira Wine needs to be able to move freely into the 21st century and to do this it needs to re-brand itself as a versatile, attractive and desirable drink with the producers themselves endeavouring to create and develop new markets, trends and demands among younger and more experimental age groups. It is not about ignoring its past, it’s about embodying its heritage while creating a brand new future.

But, whether you are a connoisseur or just someone who enjoys a glass of Madeira, don’t be afraid to experiment a little and just remember: Madeira and chocolate, two of my favourite things.

Arthritis

Many of us grumble when our knees creak or back groans under strain but those suffering one of the three forms of arthritis – rheumatoid, osteoarthritis, gout - are often in constant pain from swollen painful joints that hinder movement. Like a torturer, arthritis shows you what you once had but never quite takes everything away leaving many sufferers frustrated, angry and isolated. Small wonder that many sufferers endure psychological and physical problems.

Rheumatoid arthritis is the most severe and crippling of all the rheumatic disorders. It occurs when the body´s immune system starts attacking the joint-tissue especially that surrounding small joints i.e. fingers. Under continual and prolonged attack these joints become painful, swollen and deformed. In severe cases, the flare-ups can cause fatigue, a feeling of being unwell and loss of appetite: in addition, continual pain can lead to depression and a feeling of isolation especially when loss of movement makes everyday household tasks frustrating and physically demanding. In one book, it has been compared to an insidious poisoner, each day it takes a little bit more from you without you really noticing until one day you suddenly realise that you are in terrible agony.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease where the cartilage wears away leaving exposed bone. Continuous wear on the joint causes bony deposits to form. The joint then ache, become stiff and slowly gets worse. Although it mainly affects the hands, hips and knees many suffer osteoarthritis in the neck causing problems with walking and activities like driving.

Strange as it may seem, gout also comes under the arthritis group. For many, gout is personified by an old man sitting in a chair by the fire, his foot encased in bandages resting on a pouffe, railing against the unfairness of not being able to consume his favourite claret. But gout is not only painful it can cause serious problems to the kidneys due to the formation of uric acid crystals. Gout is caused by the over production of uric acid. The acid is then deposited around the joint in the form of crystals causing swelling and a burning sensation that can be experienced all over the body, including the ears. However, gout usually manifests itself in the joints of the big toe or fingers.

For many, the process of adequately treating rheumatoid arthritis is frustrating and painful. Many having resorted to buying prescription drugs over the internet in a bid to control the pain as often medical guidelines in the UK insist that symptoms are treated on a graduated scale starting with aspirin or paracetamol to alleviate the pain. Once it has been proven that they have no affect, the next stage of the treatment will include drugs that ‘may’ prevent further damage, disability and disintergration of the joint by suppressing the bodies autoimmune system and therefore limiting the amount of further damage to the joint. But these and corticosteroids can only be used for a limited amount of time as they suppress the immune system making the sufferer more susceptible to infection.

For those suffering osteoarthritis, exercise is a form of treatment as the joints should not be allowed to stiffen. The symptoms are generally treated by non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibrufen. These drugs do not halt or alter the degenerative progress of the joint but help reduce the swelling, inflammation and pain around the joints as well as treating associated/secondary ailments such as headaches and stiffness. Due to the number of drugs available within this category, doctors often find they have to prescribe a number of different drugs before they find the one that suits the sufferer.

Gout sufferers are usually advised to make changes to their diet and reduce the amount of alcohol consumed. A course of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs are usually prescribed to control pain and swelling. However, in severe cases drugs that will reduce the amount of uric acid produced are given. Aspirin is not used for pain relief as it inhibits the excretion of uric acid from the body.

Although there is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis, complementary medicine, especially aromatherapy, can play an important part in the treatment of arthritis. Aromatherapy is ideal as it works on all levels by providing pain relief of the symptoms such as stiffness and generates a feeling of well-being in the sufferer.

In addition, many have found that certain foods can also trigger arthritic flare-ups and for those suffering, it is worth having a little patience and working through your diet, either with a professional or by trial and error, as sometimes by avoiding a certain food such as eggs the symptoms ease and become containable and treatable with less aggressive drugs.

Although it's easy to think of arthritis only affecting the elderly, in truth, it can affect children and those in the prime of life. It’s a persistent and determined stalker and care should be taken to identify it in its early stages so that remedial action can be taken.

WORKING TO DEADLINES - How good are you?

For those of you who are football fans and remember the late great Bobby Robson, I heard a lovely story this week on the radio about him. For those of you who are not football fans please bear with me.

Apparently, training sessions started at 10 a.m. If a player turned up late or just on time, all he would say was: “If we’d have been catching the 10 o’clock train to go to a match, you’d have missed the train and not played”. Those players never arrived late for training again.

The same principle applies to work.

My mentor in the States has a lovely phrase, viz. Completion versus Perfection. We all have our own idea about Perfection, but in most cases it is purely subjective. So, when you are working on a project for your boss, another company, etc., I can understand that you want the work to be of the highest quality, but actually getting the work completed on time is most important.

I do a lot of work with students in schools and it doesn’t matter whether they are working on a challenge where they have one hour to complete it, or two hours, or even a whole week, they are always told what time they will be presenting their findings. Usually, the students have been split into small groups tackling different aspects of the challenge, and at some point they get together to make sure that “the sum of the parts equals the whole”.

You can guarantee that one group will always ask if they can have a bit more time. This is never allowed, and that particular group still gets finished on time and to the deadline set. I never know what would have been done had I allowed them that extra time.

So, what do the students learn from this? It is great training for when they eventually get to work in a company, whether their own or someone else’s. To be able to work to a deadline is a great skill, and this coupled with the thought of “completion versus perfection” will make you a valuable commodity to any business.

Ask yourself whether you believe that you are good at working to deadlines. If the answer is yes, then what is it that you do to achieve this every time?

Let’s consider two situations. One where it is just you working to a deadline, and the other when you are part of a team working to a deadline.

Taking the first case, do you use what I call ‘block time’ and put aside fixed amounts of time on a daily basis, knowing that the total time allocated will mean that you hit your deadline? Do you break the total project down into smaller manageable units and programme these into a time frame that will ensure you meet the deadline? By doing these two things, you are able to measure that you are keeping yourself on track and highly motivated.

All the above points can be used when you are part of a team, but you could also emerge as the team leader by proposing that everyone adopts the above procedure, and then the team will meet the deadline.

Finally, if this article does not appear in the May edition of 'THE BRIT', then you’ll realise that I should practice what I preach, and start working to deadlines.

If you would like more tips like these or have any questions on life skills, then please email me on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it