ABSTRACT
S.M. Ellis Hardy was indifferent to food, and quite unaware of what kind of wine he might be drinking. In later years Mrs Hardy told me how on one occasion when her husband was ill a friend sent him a case of fine champagne, and in jest she asked: ‘How do you like this brand of cyder?’ To which he replied: ‘It’s very nice, but rather drier than what we usually have’(p. 394).
