Our Story
Help us to continue to support the Royal Marsden. We’ve been raising money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity since my husband, Henry, was diagnosed with mesothelioma (a rare form of cancer) in 2012.
Henry died aged just 49 in May 2017 having just completed his book, Thoughts on a Wine Cellar. Anyone who knew Henry was aware of his love of wine and his immense knowledge on the subject. Over the years he had built up collection of ‘1,100 bottles or thereabouts. That’s about the size of it. 20 years or so work, 20 years or so dreaming, 20 years or so love affair. 1,100 bottles. Maybe 1,200. I was once told the perfect size for a wine collection is 1,000 bottles or so. Large enough to develop a tail so that you are always drinking a variety of wines at full maturity, small enough that you stand a chance of drinking it all and are not obliged to sell or give large parts of it away.’ Henry Goulding, Thoughts on a Wine Cellar
Thoughts on a Wine Cellar is the story of Henry’s wine collection, of Henry and our family. I published it in 2019 and since then we’ve been donating the profits from the sale of each book to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. To date we have donated almost £5000 in Henry’s memory.
Janis Robinson
I’m lucky to have contacts in the wine industry and even luckier to have been put touch with the iconic, Janis Robinson. I sent her copy of Thoughts on a Wine Cellar hoping she would read it and possibly review if on her wonderful website. The review was published a couple of days before Christmas. I can’t tell you how proud and emotional I was on reading it. This extract will give you a flavour of the review:
“…. this is not just a list of laid-down wines. It comes with a rich framework, with context, and with insights and opportunities for learning that the newcomer, the amateur and even the jaded critic can benefit from. If you don’t have a Jasper Morris, Jane Anson, Clive Coates or Stephen Brook on your shelf, the insights of one Henry Goulding will guide your bordeaux and burgundy wine buying with a fairly sure hand. If you’ve never bought a wine from Lebanon, he might persuade you to be adventurous.
The book, as the subtitle suggests, is Goulding’s love affair with wine. But what makes this book so rich and so unbearably heart-wrenching (please forgive me for using that word twice), is that it is, more than anything else, about his greatest love affair. It’s a love letter to his wife, Lucy. If you have ever loved someone with every cell in your body, this book will rend you in two.” Tamlyn Currin (Don’t Quote Me – Memoirs)
The full review is available on Janis Robinson’s brilliant website. It’s a subscription website featuring all sorts of brilliant wine news and reviews. Actually well worth it if you have an interest in wine. If you’d like to read the full review for free then click here. It’s the third review in the article.
World of Fine Wine
We were also lucky to be reviewed by the World of Fine Wine. As you can imagine all this fantastic coverage as resulted in brilliant sales of the book, Thoughts on a Wine Cellar. Orders have come in to us from as far away as Australia. We now commissioning a fifth reprint which is wonderful.
The Marsden March
We took part in our first Marsden March in 2022 walking from the Royal Marsden in Chelsea to the hospital in Sutton. This year we signed up again and we completed the 15 mile walk last weekend. So far with our 2023 walk we’ve raised almost £2,500. There’s such an amazing atmosphere and just about every walker has been touched by cancer in one way or another. It takes place annually in May. As the date falls close to the anniversary of Henry’s death taking part seems the perfect way to come together as family and remember him. Last weekend we took part in our second walk on behalf of this incredible charity.
This is the biggest fundraising event of the year for the Royal Marsden. Since it began in 2011 walkers have raised over £15 million. These vital funds support the nurses, doctors and researchers to provide the very best care. They develop life saving treatments, which are used across the UK and around the world.
Fundraising Plans for 2023
Henry and his love of wine is at the heart of our business. As well re-printing Thoughts on a Wine Cellar myself I’m also going to look at finding a publisher. If you any recommendations or ideas do get in touch. If you would like to buy a copy for yourself you can do so here.
You can make a donation to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity by visiting our team Just Giving Page, Hawks in the Sky.