Well there it is, the world as we know it will not now end. Greggs are going to be opening their doors again. A brigade of starving subbies will be able to dash in for their pasty, sausage roll, steak pie or whatever takes their fancy for their lunch. Less justifiably another cohort of those who have partaken too liberally of Greggs fine offerings in the past, with time on their hands, will now manage to stagger to Greggs for their one permitted walk out of the day.

Never mind this must be the ray of hope that a government minister was promising us last week.

With not much in the news today that stirs me to comment on I will address a couple of queries raised by readers of this blog. Firstly a query from one of the more discerning readers who enquires about the quality of a bottle of Faustino Rivero Ulecia Reserva Pinotage 2011 vintage that has come into their possession. For the less well informed it is a red wine from Spain. The Rivero family vineyards and winery are a very long established business with a good reputation. Anything coming from this source is drinkable or better as a variety of offerings come from this winery. I have enjoyed a bottle from here in the past. I have not had the pleasure of this particular offering but I think it should be a very pleasant offering. One to be drunk on a suitable occasion but not one to save for a very special occasion. Far too good however to waste on friends/family who do not appreciate decent wine. Give them a bottle of Piat D’Or (see previous blog) If you bought it a sound choice: if it was given to you worth keeping up the friendship.

In answer to the query as to were there only two sweets to chose from when rationing ended after the war (WW2 not the Napoleonic War as some other blockhead suggested, I am not that old) no there was a third option to the Liquorish Wheel or the Sherbet Tube. It was the Gobstopper or the Penny Gobstopper as it was generally known. This was a multi coloured ball shaped hard boiled sweet with a sugary taste. It was a bit larger than a table tennis ball and just about fitted into your mouth. When sucked on slowly it would last for a very long time. The correct way was to suck gently and NEVER chew at it. If you wished to talk to anyone you had to transfer the gobstopper to one cheek before speaking so you looked as if you had a badly swollen cheek. Then you had to speak out of the other side of your mouth. To speak intelligibly was quite an art and even then quite indistinct when the gobstopper was new and nearly full size. Mind you from the indistinct mumble produced by some modern day TV actors you would think they had been issued with one just before filming commenced. As it was a very hard sweet it kept its hardness, which had certain advantages. When you wished to remove it – as you were about to go into class for example, you could whip out your handkerchief, wrap the gobstopper in it and store it in your pocket. If carefully nurtured a gobstopper could be made to last for several days. In the shop they were stored in bulk in large screw top glass bottles. The price was, I hope, self evident. So there you are, that is the full range that was available to spend your weekly allowance on.

And welcome back Boris. You have saved yourself, now your country needs you to save them!