Sensing the onset of a cold I have been self-medicating with draughts of the King’s Ginger. The King is Edward VII, who took over the reins from and reigned after his mother, Queen Victoria.
Let’s be frank, a judicious mix of supermarket Scotch and ginger wine would achieve almost, but not quite, the same effect, the main difference being that the genuine article is 41% vol. Whether you are about to catch cold or are simply cold it is as reviving today as His Majesty found it in, of course, Edwardian England. This short documentary puts in context the King’s arduous life-style and the medical reasons for the invention of this elixir.
Before you watch, may I digress? The only other monarchs to inspire such innovation are: Alfred, oven timers; Harold, eye patches; Henry VI, services to education; Henry VIII, tennis courts, (that’s enough kings, ed). OK but my History A Level, grade D, has done me proud.
I recall a wet day in May a few years ago when a Test Match at Lord’s was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Ian Alexander-Sinclair and I repaired to Franco’s in Jermyn Street for lunch and then, feeling that the day wasn’t yet quite over, meandered down to Berry Bros. I advised Ian to invest in the King’s Ginger. The staff suggested a tasting before committing to the project. The shop got busy and before you could say “howzat” we’d polished off a bottle. BB&R took this setback philosophically.
Em, I notice the label says “Distilled in Holland”. How very British!!
Frank, you make an excellent and relevant point. Are we to be deprived of The King’s Ginger if we leave the EU? No, but might it be more expensive? This is a microcosm of the economic answer for staying In. I think that the tide of economic activity flows from the UK to the EU. If we leave this will not change overnight – it will be (economic) death by a thousand cuts executed over a decade and more. As industries that have chosen the UK to make things, like cars, for sale to the EU need to build new factories they will move from Swindon to Toulouse. In the UK we are fast to criticise the EU but we forget the economic benefits membership has brought.