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I admit to being fascinated by Red Kite's blog, Adventures in Records Management. It's a very interesting glimpse into the working life of a civil servant responsible for data management. For those working in the same field or affected by such issues, there's some pretty solid info in there, but Red Kite also has a wry sense of humour and a deft touch with words, as evidenced by his latest post.

Wine, wit and the sommelier

Grazza, who works at the Michelin-starred restaurant the Arkle at the Grosvenor Hotel, has been spilling his Tales of a Sommelier.

If you're a wine fan, you'll love reading his detailed tasting notes - mostly of bottles many of us could never afford and can only dream of sampling. There's also lots of behind-the-scenes gossip about the reality of life as a leading sommelier, told with wit and sparkle (just like my favourite Champagne). He offers a very interesting glimpse into a world inhabited by few and envied by many.

Sifting through duds and dross

I've been spending spare moments hunting for Chester blogs. A "Chester" search on Blogger.com indicated that there are around 200 registered bloggers in our fair city. That sounded very promising and so began the task of checking out each and every one.

Sadly, it has quickly become clear that as many as 3 out of 4 bloggers have only registered a profile but no blog, or a profile and one sole blog entry. And then there are the blogs that exist but are so badly written (as well as illiterate) that they are not worthy of inclusion.

At the moment it feels like searching for the proverbial needle. But there are some gems out there and they are gradually being added.