I didn't have any alcohol until I was 23, when I was an evening student at a London college and a group of us would go round to the pub after the lesson.
Like the others, I tipped the alcohol down with gay abandon, and put up with the inevitable hangover the next morning. It was only after a hangover so appalling I was barely able to function that I decided to severely cut down my drinking.
After I left college I stopped drinking altogether and I drank no alcohol for a good decade until I met Jenny and we started socialising a lot, which led me back to alcohol.
We never drank that much, but there were evenings when we would consume a whole bottle of wine. We've been drinking less and less and a couple of months ago decided to quit alcohol altogether.
For me alcohol has never had the supposed benefits people mention. It doesn't make me more confident, or more talkative, or more vivacious, or help me to cope with a big shock. Usually it just makes me sleepy and vague and not very good company.
We're also saving a pile of money of course, especially at restaurants where a single glass of wine can set you back seven quid. Is it worth it?
Incidentally why is copious alcohol the routine way to celebrate? Couldn't we celebrate some other way?
Group celebrations tend to be heavy on tradition and peer pressure. There are always those who would be disappointed if the champagne didn't flow. I've seen this in workplaces on early afternoons.
ReplyDeleteYou're fortunate if alcohol isn't addictive to you. For those to whom it is, it can be a huge problem.
Infidel: Indeed, alcohol addiction is a very serious business and getting on top of it isn't easy.
DeleteNick, a good glass of wine when having lunch or dinner can be really nice. I cannot imagine a "cheese plateau" with a glass of water. As for all things it depends on the quantity you consume.
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: I'm very happy with fruit juice rather than wine. And there are lots of tasty dishes other than cheese. (Cheese platter not plateau. Käseplatte in German)
DeletePlateau de fromage in French Nick. Of course we are all free to eat (we have the chance to have food) and drink what we want , even if I would find it difficult to eat fish and drink a fruit juice instead of a delicious glass of white wine.
DeleteHannah
Hannah: Plateau in English means strictly an area of level high ground. The complexities of language! To me fruit juice is as delicious as a glass of wine, but different strokes for different folks as they say.
DeleteNick, I understood what plateau means in english . In my first comment I put together english and french in saying cheese plateau. I love fruit juice too , but would never drink one with meat, fish or cheese. It would be interesting to know why you stopped to drink alcohol and Jenny also. Drinking a glass from time to time doesn't mean to be addicted. It's for me a question of table culture , but I would of course never insist if a person doesn't want to drink alcohol.
DeleteHannah
Hannah: We gave up alcohol because neither of us were getting anything out of it and we thought it had just become a habit.
DeleteThat's a good reason. We are only drinking from time to time and have a quite frugal life.
DeleteHannah
Hannah: I suppose you could describe our life as quite frugal too.
DeleteI’ve been cutting back. One glass of wine or champagne is usually my limit these days.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Jenny and I had been happy with one glass of wine for some time.
DeleteI don't like wine. There I said it. I like the occasional tipple. Alcohol should be treated with respect - and only ever drink it if in a good mood as it's a proven depressant.
ReplyDeleteSx
Ms Scarlet: Yes, it's not often that I encounter someone who doesn't actually like wine. I didn't know alcohol was a proven depressant. A good reason to stay away from it.
DeleteI have had wine since I was a kid. Holidays we were allowed a tiny bit. It's part of the culture. I don't drink alcohol since I started a medication prohibiting it. I love wine and gin, but I had no trouble letting it go, other than I missed the table culture, as Hannah said. I periodically buy dealcoholized wine and have found some good ones. I loaded up on bottles for the holiday season. I do like limoncello flavored sparkling water.
ReplyDeleteSandra: We're also sampling a few non-alcoholic wines. There are some very tasty ones.
DeleteWe used to enjoy wine with our meals...but when Leo's pills conflicted with alcohol, that pleasure was denied us....so a gin and tonic it is for me before supper.
ReplyDeleteGone, long gone, are the student days of beer and Dublin Dynamite....
Fly: What's Dublin Dynamite? Yes, I'm glad the days of crazy student drinking are well behind me.
DeleteIrish whiskey and dry cider, half and half. A favourite of the sailing club.
DeleteI don't like the taste of it at all so I don't drink. Every once in a while I'll try something my daughter makes me but she knows I don't like most alcohol so she doesn't bother anymore much.
ReplyDeleteMary: Aha, someone else who dislikes the taste of alcohol. I'm surprised actually that so many people enjoy the taste.
ReplyDeleteI don't like wine so I don't drink it. I used to drink a mixed drink or two when socializing but at sometime I decided they were not worth spending money on. I haven't had anything alcoholic in many years but I don't miss it. Dave will have a glass of wine or two when dining with his family but we never buy it anymore.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: Another wine aversion! The cost of alcohol is ridiculous. I wonder how people can afford to drink heavily for hours on end. They must have pots of money.
DeleteMy family has a couple of recovering alcoholics. We gave up alcohol at family gatherings going on forty years ago and have never missed.
ReplyDeleteJoanne: With two recovering alcoholics in the family, that's a good incentive to drink sparingly or not at all.
DeleteI have a few alcoholics in my family, and I thank my lucky stars I didn't get that gene, if gene it be.
ReplyDeleteColette: I suspect a gene is involved. And if so, like you I'm glad I didn't inherit it.
Delete