This evening our DotW is in fact many dogs. Her Majesty The Queen was surrounded by Corgis as a child and has owned Corgis and Dorgis (a Dachshund/Corgi cross) herself since she was 18 years of age. A Corgi called Susan was her first. Over the years The Queen has owned more than 30 Corgis in the period 1945 to present.

Sadly, The Queen’s pet Holly, the last descendent of her first Corgi Susan, passed away in 2016 and her last Corgi named Willow was put to sleep in 2018. Both Holly and Willow appeared in the 2012 Olympic sketch, with James Bond accompanying The Queen to the Olympic Opening Ceremony. Thankfully The Queen was gifted another Corgi in 2021 so she has good company.

As a final reminder, our opening hours over the coming days are as follows:

Thursday 2nd – usual hours 0900-1800hrs
Friday 3rd – 0900-1400hrs (we are taking the afternoon off)
Saturday 4th – usual hours 0900-1700hrs
Sunday 5th and Monday 6th – closed as usual
Tuesday 6th – back to regular hours

The only change to our regular opening hours is Friday 3rd where we will be closed in the afternoon. At all other times you will be able to purchase your Jubilee weekend treats as usual. Please also accept that we might be a little jaded on Friday morning, it being the morning after the night before. No shouting in the shop please. And if any of you want to drop a bacon buttie off it will be well received.

Here’s a short article I discovered about the operation of The Royal Cellars, just for fun. It was written in 2014 so I hope Simon is still the Clerk. Read on…

The Clerk of the Royal Cellars is a part-time member of the Royal Household. They are usually an experienced senior wine merchant. The Clerk advises and supervises the purchasing and maintenance of the liquor for the Household, focusing on spirits and wines.
The Clerk will give advice on wine pairings for State banquets and other events. The Clerk of the Cellar also supervises the Yeoman of the Royal Cellars.
The current Clerk is Simon Berry, head of Britain’s oldest wine shop, Berry Bros & Rudd. In 2007 Her Majesty requested that Berry take over duties at Buckingham Palace.
Since 1698 Berry Bros & Rudd has traded in London. It has been a supplier to the Royal family since the reign of King George III. If you are wondering how long ago that would be, George III became King in 1760. (Ed: ah, marginally older than Sheldon’s then.)
To assist with recommendations for the wines, there is also the Royal Household Wine Committee.

If you’d like to read more about the Royal Household Wine Committee then take a look at this excellent article by Committee member Jancis Robinson on her website:

Along with a deputy and an assistant, the Yeoman is a staff member of the Master of the Household Department.
This position requires the holder to be responsible for the procurement of spirits, wines and beers for meals as well as for entertaining whether it be private or official in the Royal residences.
The Yeoman of the Royal Cellar keeps inventory and along with the Clerk of the Royal Cellars, makes certain an ample stock is at hand.
Robert Lange is the current Yeoman of the Royal Cellars. Lange received the Royal Victorian Medal (RVM) as part of the Queen’s 2014 New Years Honours List.
(Actually LinkedIn tells me Robert retired in April this year, so I am not sure who is the current Yeoman…any takers among the Sheldon’s community?)

Wine content in tonight’s edition of Sheldon’s Times is restricted to just a handful of delicious New Ins:

Sticky:
2016 Carmes de Rieussec (2nd wine of Ch Rieussec) 75cl bottles (£25/bt)

Red:
2010 Chateau Bernadotte (£32)
2015 Allees de Cantemerle (£23) – last stocks of this before we move on to the 2016 of which we also have good stocks
2016 Chateau Cantemerle (£35) – just about drinking at 8 years of age, but also one for keeping
2000 Segla (£59, the 2nd wine of Rauzan Segla) – many of you ask for Segla so I was delighted to find a small 5-case parcel of the wonderful 2000 vintage. WIGIG.

And for those who like to go large:
2010 Clarendelle Jeroboam (5 litre) – owned by the Dillon family, Clarendelle is described by the team that produce it as being ‘inspired by Haut Brion’, Haut Brion being one of the five Bordeaux First Growths and the flagship wine of the Dillon empire. This Merlot based blend from one of the best vintages in recent memory will deliver enormous drinking pleasure and at £250 for a 5 litre bottle it also represents great value for money.
1998 Chateau d’Armailhac Jeroboam (5 litre) – need I say more? Fabulous Pauillac from the Mouton (English) side of the Rothschild family. Please enquire.

This week’s Car’s the Star belongs to, err, The Queen. It was a toss up between the Royal Bentley and one of the Royal Range Rovers. This Range Rover won, because the picture of Her Majesty is so cheery.

Research tells us that as Head of State, the laws applying to the roads do not apply to The Queen. This means The Queen is the only person in the UK who could drive around without a driver’s licence, not wear a seat belt and ignore the speed limits. However, our Queen does have a driver’s licence and of course has plenty of driving experience since she worked as mechanic and driver in the Second World War. And for her 96th birthday she took her Range Rover for a drive around the Sandringham Estate, by all accounts with the dogs in the back.

That’s it for tonight’s Platinum Jubliee Edition of Sheldon’s Times. I hope you have much planned over the coming days (or nothing planned if that is more your thing).

We’ve been checking the forecast every hour and as I write this on Wednesday afternoon it looks like we are in for a dry, warm spell ahead. Perfect weather for a garden party/street party/just a party or anything else you decide to put your hand to. Jude, Trish and myself will be here throughout the coming days, do drop in, wave a flag and buy some lovely wine. Whatever the weather may we wish you all a very merry Jubilee weekend.
Cheers!