Some guidance on etiquette required

[Alex Bridgeman]

In a couple of weeks time I am visiting Portugal again and will likely be entertained in a way which is not offered to normal port consumers and enthusiasts.

I was always brought up to believe that when you have opportunities which are not offered to everyone then it is crass and rude to publicise your privilege. My grandparents taught me that money talks, but wealth whispers.

But on the other hand I absolutely love to live vicariously through the stories of others who visit Portugal.

So the question I'd like help with is whether I should write up my trip on TPF for others to read in great and glorious detail or whether I should just mention it in passing because it would otherwise be gauche? (But even if I did write it up, I wouldn't give the names of my hosts as it would not be fair to them if I did.)

[LGTrotter]

I sense a bit of an itch here. And to quote Bladerunner, there is nothing worse than having an itch you can't scratch. So as someone who's grandparents taught me how to pluck chickens rather than giving me advice on noblesse oblige I would give a hearty, go for your life.

I would love to hear all about your trip. As for you being crass or gauche I don't think you would know where to begin with them. But I appreciate the sensibility which makes you pose such a question.

And I shall mightily enjoy subtly undermining you after you have posted pictures of yourself being carried on silken cushions between feasting with nabobs. It will be something to distract me from my work in the salt mines.

[Alex Bridgeman]

So as someone who's grandparents taught me how to pluck chickens rather than giving me advice on noblesse oblige I would give a hearty, go for your life.

I received a very varied upbringing, mostly from my grandparents - I was also taught how to dress and pluck a chicken/duck/goose, how to joint a lamb or pig (a cow was too big for the kitchen table), how to lay both wood and coal fires, all my DIY skills and a whole pile of other things which I rarely use these days. It does amuse me to walk into a butcher and ask for a lamb carcase, and now the freezer is nearly empty it's time to do so again. But my grandparents also wanted me to be well mannered in a variety of environments and so gave me a very varied social education.

I would love to hear all about your trip. As for you being crass or gauche I don't think you would know where to begin with them. But I appreciate the sensibility which makes you pose such a question.

Noted (and thank you). I shall see what others say, either in thread or privately, before making up my mind.

And I shall mightily enjoy subtly undermining you after you have posted pictures of yourself being carried on silken cushions between feasting with nabobs. It will be something to distract me from my work in the salt mines.

This is northern Portugal, any cushions will be wrapped in coarse wool and sackcloth. But I shall think of you in the salt mines as I waft from one nabob to the next.

[DaveRL]

Glorious detail please. I applaud your good fortune, and would also love to hear about your trip. Hope you have a fantastic time. I'll select something to drink - reading such exploits will make me thirsty.

[jdaw1]

Your hosts also host wine merchants, wine journalists, competitors, and others less discreet. Obey yours host’ confidences — whether requested or assumed wise — but otherwise tell the tales great and small.

[Monique]

C'est le ton qui fait la musique !

Somehow I'm convinced your Grandparents did teach you that too, so please share..

[Glenn E.]

Your hosts also host wine merchants, wine journalists, competitors, and others less discreet. Obey yours host’ confidences — whether requested or assumed wise — but otherwise tell the tales great and small.

+1

Tell all that you are allowed to tell, but be conservative with unspoken confidences. I suggest asking if particularly juicy details are allowed to be revealed.

[DRT]

I suggest asking if particularly juicy details are allowed to be revealed.

I suggest not asking. If they are "particularly juicy" they are not for sharing and should be treated as such

[LGTrotter]

Oh you folks are all so coy. What's the point of having a good story and not telling it? That's what stories are for. Maybe save them for telling directly to an audience in the ancient oral tradition. I suppose the internet should get the bowdlerised version .