Extra Chairs, Extra Cakes, and a Phantom Raffle: How Elizabeth and Sally Saved the Day
Date: Wednesday 20 May 2026
Venue: L’Escut Restaurant, Jávea
Presenter: Jill Crabtree (stepping in for Peter Keane)
May, against all recent meteorological evidence, decided to behave. The sun returned, the terrace at L’Escut looked the part, and the room — for reasons that became evident very quickly — was rather more populated than expected. What followed was an afternoon that began in mild administrative chaos, recovered with considerable style, and ended, as these things tend to, in the warm collective conviction that it had been a very good day all along.
This month’s presenter was, until late in the day, a mystery. Peter Keane, originally down to present, was called back to the UK at short notice. Jill Crabtree — who had been scheduled for June — very kindly agreed to swap places and proceeded to deliver four lovely Spanish wines with the sort of unflustered grace that made the whole substitution look like the plan from the start. We are, collectively, in her debt.
Slightly Theatrical Start
Several members arrived who were not on the final seating list. All insisted, with disarming sincerity, that they had RSVP’d — and we are entirely inclined to believe them. The emails, by some quirk of digital mischief, simply never found their way to the WAG inbox, which left Roger and Mac planning numbers somewhat in the dark. Mathematics being what it is, the on-the-day reshuffle was brisk.
Elizabeth of L’Escut — by now unfazed by any conceivable WAG eventuality — worked some quiet magic, conjured up an extra table, and produced enough additional food to settle the room as though the numbers had always been right. A small masterclass in unflappable hospitality.
The wine, however, did not stretch quite so obligingly. With the extra heads now seated and looking expectant, Roger and Mac made a swift executive decision: the raffle bottles would be redeployed for immediate consumption, and the raffle itself would be conducted in spirit rather than in liquid. Tickets were drawn, four winners identified, and each was promised a bottle at the next meeting. A pretend raffle, with very real winners and very genuine applause. The room, it must be said, took it in excellent humour.
The Wines
Jill had assembled a four-wine tour of northern Spain — two whites and two reds — that proved a fine antidote to the recent run of Costa Blanca weather and a thoroughly satisfying afternoon’s drinking.
Santalba 2024 — a white Rioja, bright and clean, and a pleasant reminder that Rioja is not only a red affair.
Marqués de Riscal Rueda 2024 — classic Verdejo: crisp, citrusy, and a popular pick around the room.
Navas del Emperador 2020 (Ribera del Duero) — dark fruit, depth, and the kind of red that rewards a pause.
Marqués de Cáceres Crianza 2021 — a smooth, oak-aged Rioja Tempranillo. A polished close to a well-judged lineup.
Birthdays, Food & a Considerably Better Ending Than Beginning
May is, by some margin, the busiest birthday month on the WAG calendar — and this year delivered seven in all. The group leaders had planned for four; Sally, with characteristic resourcefulness, swiftly conjured up three more cakes so that no birthday went uncelebrated. A particular mention must go to Sylvie Williams, who marked being 90-plus years young with all the style and good humour that anyone who knows her will recognise. Many happy returns, Sylvie — and to all seven of our May celebrants.
Elizabeth’s food, as ever, was outstanding — and on this particular Wednesday, doubly impressive given the late expansion. One of the quiet certainties of a WAG afternoon: whatever the wine, the kitchen will match it, and when the day asks more, the kitchen simply delivers more.
The afternoon wound down in the way WAG afternoons should: slowly, convivially, and with no great urgency on anyone’s part to be elsewhere. A warm thank you to Jill — for stepping in, for four lovely wines, and for handling the whole afternoon with the composure of someone who had planned it all months ago. A thank you, too, to Elizabeth and to Sally, for the rescues. And to the four ‘pretend’ raffle winners — your bottles will be waiting in June.
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