SUNDAY 12TH FEBRUARY 2023
As Valentine’s Day looms with no prospect of sharing a bottle of champagne or a bottle of red wine, I can’t deny that I am looking forward to a time when I am no longer denying myself on special occasions! On the plus side, Valentine’s Day is a Tuesday this year so I know what that would normally have meant….. drinks on 14th and more drinks at the weekend to celebrate properly so in effect, I’ve saved myself from not one, but two hangovers. It’s not that I’m craving it, I really don’t feel like I’m missing it at all these days but the habit of celebrating with alcohol runs deep.
MY WHY
Alcohol – the perfect way to celebrate, and supposedly enhance, any and every occasion, from wetting the baby’s head to raising a glass at a wake. Beer to watch the game, Pimms to watch the tennis, whatever you like in your hipflask on a golf outing, a drink in the bar before the flight, a drink on the flight, cocktails on the beach, drinks in the bar before the show, drinks at the interval, a G&T after a hard day, mimosas with brunch, an aperitif before a meal, white wine with the fish, red wine with the meat, port with the cheese, a brandy or a baileys to follow, shots to get the party started, a hot toddy when you’re ill, cider in the summer, mulled wine in the winter, a wee dram for any occasion that calls for a wee dram and, my personal favourite – fizz to celebrate anything worth celebrating. God, it’s every-bloody-where! Bar a yoga / spiritual retreat or a health farm, I doubt there’s anywhere an adult can go that doesn’t offer alcohol or anything an adult can do that hasn’t been cleverly paired with the perfect alcoholic accompaniment. Big Alcohol has bombarded our conscious and subconscious minds to the point that we just buy into whatever concept they choose to sell us. If an alcoholic substance hasn’t been selling well, they’ll rebrand it, tell us that it is the perfect drink to enjoy doing [insert whatever] and sales will soar. Even now that my rosé-tinted specs have been removed and I can see it for what it is, the pairing of alcohol with certain activities/foods is so deeply ingrained that I cannot imagine never indulging in that way again. Then there’s the snobbery factor….As long as you have a discerning palate and can afford to buy from Purveyors of Fine Poison, you can convince yourself that you are better than the less fortunate, who buy Buckfast from the corner shop and supermarket own brand spirits. I won’t deny that, up to a point, the more you spend on your alcohol, the smoother it is, but let’s not kid ourselves …… at the end of the day, it’s all ethanol, no matter where you buy it or how much you pay for it.
Theme Tune: I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash