He crossed the finish wine
Tom Gilbey runs wine businesses in England and is always looking for a way to promote his stores. He found one that combined charity with enjoying the grape. The “vintner sprinter” decided to run the London marathon to raise money for Sobell House hospice charity in Oxford, which cared for his mother during her final days. Tom signed up for the London Marathon and brought part of his staff to photograph, not his running, but his stops. In England Tom is known as the “Wine Guy” on social media, he frequently films himself doing various tipple taste tests and demonstrating how to get the best wine for your buck. At each mile marker, Tom stopped for the cameras, drank a glass of wine and guessed its variety, country of origin and vintage.
Of the 25 glasses, he reportedly got seven 100% correct, four completely wrong, and the remainder mostly right. Nonetheless, this feat was especially impressive given that the samples ran the gamut from gas station offerings to $50 bottles of Barolo. “I was totally exhausted, totally cooked, but it was just such a great day,” Tom told the Guardian of his grape accomplishment. Gilbey reportedly finished the race in four hours and 41 minutes, including wine stops, which he celebrated by drinking a glass of champagne after the finish line. “It was hilarious because when you’re overtaken by (runners dressed as) a fridge and double-humped camel, you could get really depressed
unless you knew there was a nice wine around the corner with some friendly faces to support you,” he declared. Despite boozing while cruising, Gilbey claimed that the
agony of running made him feel nothing but the “urge to finish,” joking that it was a “great way to stay sober.” Nonetheless, the grape enthusiast said he purposefully avoided downing all the offerings in order to avoid passing out mid-race, explaining: “If they were good, I might swallow it and if they were bad, they went on the road.” “This man drank 26 different wines & still managed a sub 5 marathon. Let that sink in,” gushed one fan.
Tom aimed to raise £2,000 for Sobell House hospice charity in Oxford, which looked after his mum in her final days of life. His fundraiser has now passed £13,000. While the runner claims he would “100%” never partake in such a challenge again, he encourages “everybody to have a silly idea for a good cause and see what happens.” Gilbey’s booze run
might be impressive, but it pales in comparison to his Chinese grandpa known as Uncle Chen, who ran 26.2 miles in just 3.5 hours while continuously smoking cigarettes.
Expert wine whimsy
We have an open-door policy. Show up with wine, and we’ll open the door.
I told my wife that a husband is like a fine wine: we just get better with age.
The next day she locked me in the cellar.
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Sometimes I even put it in the food I’m preparing.
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We want our land back!!
April 26th Birthdays
1971 – Melania Trump, 1984 – Emily Wickersham, 1933 – Carol Burnett, 1983 – Jessica Lynch
1874 – Robert Frost, 1981 – Channing Tatum, 1966 – Kevin James, 1971 – Jet Li