… and I did not appreciate a single sip!

You probably heard recently about the couple who ordered a bottle of wine in a restaurant priced at £260 (the poor things) but were given one that sold at over £4,000 by mistake. That reminds me of what happened to me a few decades ago.

I was a sub-lieutenant on board a County Class Destroyer, HMS Antrim.

We were on a flag waving world tour and one of our ports of call was Massawa in Ethiopia.

We were holding a special dinner for Princess Anne (who had flown out for the event) and Emperor Haile Selassie. He stepped down as Emperor in 1974 and was assassinated in 1975.

It was February 10th 1973. I remember the date as it was the day before my birthday.

When the Princess arrived we stood on the flight deck and saluted. Then the Emperor arrived and we did it again. Surprisingly he proved to be a small man wearing a large pith helmet.

Myself and most of the other officers were considered too junior to mix with such exalted company and we were sent to a local hotel. The restaurant was on the roof and we had, courtesy of the RN, a meal of spaghetti bolognaise. The influence of Italy was still writ large across the country and we indulged in some robust red wine.

We returned to the ship just before midnight in accordance with orders.

I’m coming to the wine part.

The wardroom was immaculate except around the room were open bottles of wine. We helped ourselves. I remember nothing of the quality or taste. All I do know was that these were wines suitable for a Princess and an Emperor! A close friend on the ship was the wine officer and had been responsible for the wines. He knew what they cost. Each bottle was about what I earned in a month. However, it was the liquid equivalent of pearls before swine.