Unfortunately my teaching trip to Egypt has been postponed until March, due to the elections there, and worries about what may happen. But the upside is that I get to visit my bead group today for the first time since April- and I have missed everyone there.

I'm keeping what I work on today underwraps, until it appears as a published project, so instead can just show you the box of beads and beadwork I took with me.

Bead group was great and I really enjoyed catching-up with people, seeing what everyone was making and hearing what they had been up to. At lunchtime we had our customary Christmas meal and continued chatting. Then on the way back I took myself on a diversion.

Recently I was reading about an interesting sounding drink- white port with tonic and as part of my continuing quest to find refreshing drinks I knew I had to try this. So at lunchtime I popped into a wine shop and asked if they had any white port only to be told it didn't exist.

Immediately I began to doubt myself. Maybe I had read it incorrectly? Whatever the issue, I was convinced I had it wrong.

As I wandered back to bead group I decided to not take our usual short cut, and instead walked along the main road when I suddenly glanced at the sandwich shop I was passing, which I have passed many, many times, and realised it was actually a Portuguese deli and at the back of the shop were shelves with what looked suspiciously like wine, or maybe port...

In I went only to see no port anywhere. Already my confidence in my memory was shattered and so I planned to leave without asking when I summoned up the courage to enquire if they sold white port. The response? 'Sure, downstairs in the cellar'.

The cellar? Already this sandwich shop had contained many hidden delights, but as I made my way down the stairs, and entered a large room filled with bottles and bottles of wine and port my mind was blown. You would never know this room existed from the outside. Fortunately not only did they have a few varieties of white port but the owner, Nuno Lobo very helpfully recommended what he thought would be the best for a P&T and told me just how nice it was to drink.

So within 5 minutes I had gone from being assured white port didn't exist to holding in my hand a recommended bottle from an expert. All because I turned my head right as I walked. That will teach me to pay more attention as I wander and not just look at my feet.

Once I got back to bead group I raved about this place and everyone agreed you would never know that from the outside. Then on the way home, as we drove past, I checked out the name, which is hard to spot from the pavement as you walk by, and of course it's called The Wine Cellar.