I enjoy a drink now and again. But I think it's important to enjoy leisure time sober as well. Alcohol is a kind of escapism isn't it, like any other recreational drug. If looking at life through the bottom of a glass was turning into the rule rather than the exception, I might start asking myself why. Sorry to sound like a party pooper, but like somebody said a few posts earlier life is for living, and there's a limit to how much living you can do while you're the influence and not seeing life crystal clear.
Whilst my Beloved likes his glass or two of wine per day...I'd rather drink coconut water any day. I've never found a wine that likes me...so I don't drink. However...I sometimes have a cold glass of beer when it's hot. :-)
If you can offer to be a designated driver, and/or go to a social night and abstain for the most part of the night, I'd sy it's no problem for you. If the majority of what is going to the bottle bank is all from one person, perhaps there is an issue.
All our bottle bank trips were my doing. If you're drinking enough to start asking yourself if there's a problem, there is a hint that there may be too much alcohol consumed in your house.
I love how everyone giggles at their couple of bottles of wine here and there, and their compulsory cognac after a meal. Sure, living like that is great. Like "oh, culturally-, in my country, we abuse alcohol, but it's notb like we're all alcoholics."
Hardly.
as a buraliste I quite agree, Joe ;-)
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i must admit there is a "moral highground" taken by some that i too dislike, i say do what you want, its your life, i must say it all the anti smoking and drinking stuff out there irritates me too though, if its that bad for me, make it illegal...
Usually attributed to Dean Martin.
It was intended to be mildly humorous Joe. Yes they are guidelines but the way they are being promulgated in the UK in particular have an odour of sanctimony and moral disapprobation which I find a little irritating.
Hi Liz, you are of course right but I have got used to "foreigners" conflating British and English.
As regards drink, I can still see and hear my local vicar denouncing the evils of drink from the pulpit and maybe my lack of interest in alcohol derives from that.
Yes, I started learning Welsh at school in late 40's I suppose, but dropped it when I went to Grammar school. Those were the days when many of our teachers had just returned from war service and knew a thing about discipline and how to hold our attention but that is another topic.
Actually Peter, being Welsh is not a "technicality" It is a birthright! It also means a lot to the French as they relate to us Gallois and seem to accept us more than they do the "English". Especially as there are some words almost the same in Welsh and French - Pont, Bont etc. It is important to differentiate us from "Les Anglais....", especially when it comes to rugby. (well we did come second, but they accepted being beaten by us better than being beaten by the English). I am afraid we flaunt it a bit locally and it goes down really well. Being Welsh also gives us an initial language ability, even if you do not speak Welsh fluently(as Welsh was discontinued in schools for a while in the 40s-60s), you hear it and understand a lot. It certainly helped our many language skills along the way. Actually, the Welsh consumption of alcohol is normally up on the English but gives way to the Scottish and Irish who are top of the leagues in the UK. We are about the norm, going on what everyone else is drinking in this blog, although substitute the occasional rum for gin. (again a Welsh thing). My grandfather signed the pledge aged 7, against "the demon drink" in the late 1890s, but made his own homemade tipple that was far stronger than anything manufactured which we used to laugh about so much as kids as he used to offer it to us as "fruit juice". starting us on the road to the proverbial. Life is fun and if you like a drink or not, just being "high on life itself" is enough.
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Vintage Calvados? I think that in a few years you can expect to see people behaving subserviently and tenderly pouring out your evening camomile tea! One of them might be me!!!
I'm quite happy with an ambivalent approach to drinking - I just don't care whether I drink or not, it's just not that much of an interest to me but I can see that others enjoy it perhaps to a degree that is not healthy. I don't blame them at all, life is for living and if drinking is what is wanted then good luck to them - it doesn't necessarily shorten one's life. By the way, who is it that said something like, 'Teetotal? If that's as good as you are going to feel all day then it's not for me!' I can't remember the exact quote but you know what I mean! Was it Winston Churchill, he drank a lot every day and lived to a ripe old age?
As for French gin? It's the cheapest in the supermarket! Round here they laugh at you if you drink spirits other than Cognac (produced locally). Whisky seems acceptable though. But I take your points wholeheartedly and thank you enormously for them.
Marie-Claire - well given that I "don't drink", when I do my choice would be either Calvados or Armagnac.
I did some work for the mother of a friend some years ago and she wanted to give me a gift, so as she lived in Normandy I said well a bottle of Calvados would be great.
She sent a case load of different varieties from the small producers, all very old and I have to say very nice. Given my intake of alcohol, I guess that one bottle should see me out, so my estate will include some very old vintage Calvados.
I have to admit that my first thought was "Why FRENCH gin? What's wrong with Calvados or Armagnac, if you want something French and a change from Cognac?"
I am convinced that you should drink alcohol from producers who don't produce it on an industrial scale, avoid drinking during the day as much as possible, enjoy each and every drink, and steer clear from binge-drinking. Apart from that, as long as you're happy, there's no reason to start looking for problems!
I'm 64, spouse 67, we are grown ups with no dependants. I watched my parents (very frugal drinkers, non-smokers) slide into incapacity and dementia and have no ambition to follow them. We believe that quality of life is more important than duration, and if we are being irresponsible by drinking the odd pastis and a few bottles of wine a week, we will only be hurting ourselves, and increasing our chances of leaving this world with a bang, not with constant attention from carers.
It may all go terribly wrong, but at least we will be enjoying it while it lasts. So we don't keep track of what we drink, only of whether we liked it and where to buy more of it. Sorry, not politically correct, but at least we have the freedom of choice, for now.
Well neither of us drink, not that we are teetotal we just do not enjoy the experience.
Given that I am overweight and I know how difficult it is dealing with my problem, I am not trying to be in anyway judgemental but my immediate reaction is you are drinking way too much but then, given you are "a bit past rigorous exercise" - a shared situation - the long term consequences of drinking excessively are not likely to cause you a medical problem.
When I had my "regional medical" assessment some years ago, I had great difficulty convincing the doctor that I did not drink, especially as I was "English!!!" - Welsh actually but easiest to ignore that technicality - which I guess is a common perception of the "English".
if you can remember going to the bottlebank you did not drink enuf lol
More like one week in this house hold, we do entertain a lot of friends though.
Thanks Bryan but I'm a bit past rigorous exercise at my age, just walking and a bit of Tai Chi. As for the gin? It's mainly for Mrs Wells who seems to have taken to it like a duck to water...
Exercise - yep, that comes into the equation too, I manage one or two 80+km training rides a week so a few glasses of red a week seem justified :-)
Not so sure about the 5 or 6 strong espresso a day...! :-O
Do you really enjoy the spirits so much? Gin is one of those drinks that gets lost in its mixers. Why not just keep the bitters and soda and cut out (most of) the gin - you might not even notice!
Answering your question with a question: how much excercise do you like? (Take). I justify some of my booze and sweet intake by excercising for an hour or so a day - makes one feel better, morally & physically!