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Monday 9 July 2018

The booze


Mrs H and I have been social drinkers since the beginning of time. Okay perhaps not quite that long but for all of our adult lives. We don’t drink alcohol excessively and never every day so we might be classed as moderate drinkers. In winter it is port or wine in front of the log burner while in summer it is a glass of wine or beer outside while the sun goes down.

However, over the past year or so we have been drinking less and less alcohol. Sometimes we don’t drink any at all for a week or two - often longer. Hardly makes us teetotal but for some reason we are losing the taste for a tipple. We don’t enjoy it as we used to and we don’t miss it.

We don’t know why either, but in part it probably has something to do with the effects of alcohol on ageing brains. Something within us is telling us that alcohol is not as harmless as drinkers tend to think. It is not worth delving into the fiendish complexities of alcohol consumption, I merely offer this as a personal experience.

We still drink alcohol every now and then but sooner or later I suspect we’ll give it up and I also suspect we’ll feel better health wise. That’s the issue but it isn’t easy to explain. It could be an illusion, a result of all that anti-alcohol propaganda which is impossible to ignore completely.

At the moment not drinking feels like a slightly enhanced but indistinct sense of mild well-being where nothing specific has happened yet some change has occurred which more regular drinking would reverse. What could it be? Here’s one idea.

We no longer watch television and television is mildly depressing. Not only is it depressing but it is also has a definite association with alcohol. Alcohol is part of life and part of numerous lives we see on television. Always has been. In which case the effect could be psychological after all. 

4 comments:

Scrobs. said...

And Waitrose had Glenfiddich on offer at a third-off, so we stocked up for Christmas...

It is our favourite, but our usual consumption is an old home-made recipe which we've made since 1974, so we can't give up now!

Back in the old days, beer in quantity was the norm, but quality tends to take a preference thee days...

robbo said...

I,m sixty eight and gave up booze a year ago, then i was almost a cripple and overweight high blood pressure etc I took up cycling and now i can cycle approx thirty miles a day and i,m fitter now than when i was forty i cant believe the change, it just shows a bit of determination, stay away from the booze and you will be fine Regards Bryan

wiggiatlarge said...

I am sure that if we all gave up the booze we would be fitter, but at what cost, a drink is more than just getting blotto it is a social event, it relaxes people and with much booze of what ever grabs you can be very enjoyable.
Three years ago I did give up drinking, well 95% of it as with me it piles weight on, I lost four stone over a year and felt better for it but became unwell and collapsed ending in hospital I was very lucky they told me I would not have survived another 48 hours.
Since getting back to normal ! I am drinking again, not as much as before but I am drinking and enjoying it, I have reached that age when it is a bit late to get back on my bike and jogging even long walks are out as the knees have had it, so I believe it is an individuals choice and that's that.

A K Haart said...

Scrobs - we are shifting towards quality a little, but mainly we are drinking less.

Bryan - good for you, that takes determination. We are okay health-wise. We walk regularly in the Peak District but I'd find a 30 mile cycle ride hard work.

Wiggia - four stone in a year is good going. Drinking less is where we are now but I suspect we'll always drink socially - maybe. Yes it is a personal thing and in our case it wasn't even a decision, we just found ourselves drinking less.