A nice pint bottle of gold top milk in the morning! They have long banned kids from working on a milk round every morning before they go to school. Earned a lot of money in the early eighties . Around about the £20.00 mark with a paper-round. Kids today, they don't know what they are missing.
I used to have a "paper route" in the early 80s but we got replaced by adults driving trucks. As far as alcohol is concerned, I think there's lifespan on the one hand, but then there's also quality of life...
I had a couple of pints tonight with one of my (now a long time ago) two best rugby pals and couldn’t give a flying duck what anyone thinks. My above mentioned pal had a heart attack 11 days after his 40th birthday but is still ticking along 15 years later. He used to drink pints of Brandy and Coke. He is far more moderated now. And the other one of the two died around 6 years ago - alcohol related. He was always a better pilot when he was pissed, so he said. Eveything in moderation guys, everything in moderation. But abstenance is boll*cks...!
Talking of being drunk on the job, my old man used to be a dray-man. How many pints could the second man drink in each pub? That being that they did about 8 -10 pubs a day. The wise old man took Newcastle Browns home for himself.. I was having a drink with the old man the other day, (him having his share of the whisky in large amounts) & moderation to himself. He told of a tale of two old dray-men who had more than a moderation on one day. The driver ended up going through the crash barriers on the M6 motorway & ended up bouncing down the viaduct into the canal below. They did not need moderation for a while. The Old Queen butted in & said, "You have not told me that one before"!
This recent article came to mind Tonga PM challenges leaders to lose weight Perhaps whatever is supposed to be 'good for the people' should be tried personally, for a year, by their elected representatives and/or health advisors.
Consumers in Denmark tend to drink Pilsner including ladies and it is served in 33cl bottles,never on draught although a "cafeteria" owner,a long time friend of ours on one of our trips laid on a draught system......the young lads soon put that away and it was back to bottles.After a night out to a function,the owner invited us back to the "cafeteria"and opened up in the early hours of the morning.As regards taste,on their reciprocal trips to us in the UK,the Danes tend to prefer our bitters rather than the lager. Denmark is not a wine country and wine tends to be far more expensive than in the UK.I would say that I have never seen wine available in a Danish pub,ie,Kro. The favoured spirit is Taffel Akvavit.......schnapps...45%vol, which is drunk straight from the fridge or even after time in a freezer,served in cold small metal goblets.In some homes it is drunk at the breakfast table as is the culture. As all countries,alcoholics can be found among the population in places such as ports and in the local Kro..As regards driving it is customary for dedicated bus services to run late from towns to rural areas on Friday and Saturday nights free of fares. France...... it is normal to see older children drinking wine diluted with water while having a meal which may contribute to a better understanding of the consumption of alcohol.The other observation is the French in a meal setting take on board water which tends to negate the effects of alcohol. The price of alcohol and consumer choice has changed over the years.Many years ago during RAF service a pint of bitter would be available for 10d to one shilling....spirits were much dearer and tot would cost 2 shillings and sixpence to 3 bob,so it became socially accepted that in rounds,one did not request spirits unless the party was drinking spirits.Now the price of spirits has not risen in line with beer and lager and is relatively quite a lot cheaper in comparison hence the increased turnover in spirits. As the old adage states "a good servant but a bad master"...."enjoy responsibly".I would think that we all could relate cases of people loosing control and alcohol intake adversely affecting longevity. The report is not entirely a new medical revelation as for years cardiologists have stressed that alcohol is toxic to the heart.
Ahhh found this which I think is an article on the same subject Are Nordic countries as happy as we think? So the picture in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden does remain relatively rosy - just not as perfect as some may have painted. TD
Interesting article.I have seen the Nordic utopia challenged before. As regards Denmark.it does have a what would be termed a higher than normal suicide rate.Know of a young man before the period of the report who had mental problems but outwardly one would not think so......he was holding down job as as a skilled craftsman but was not attached. However I had met his father much earlier who later I was told, had committed suicide. As a general observation...friendly people,excellent hosts who like the British and English is spoken widely. Health...appear to have a vein of heavy smokers across the complete age range....found this also in France.
One of the stumbling blocks (see what I did there?) is that soft drinks are hugely overpriced in pubs and bars etc. If they introduced free soft drinks for the dedicated driver in a group, then the rest could relax and have a few and the driver wouldn't feel he's been ripped off. We're in the sticks, so a drink out involves one of the party being the driver. Paying £3 or so for a pint of flavoured water that costs less than 5p does drive one to drink!
There have been so many contradictory studies. I decided years ago to be sensible. Never have too much too often except on holiday or special occasions. Have days or weeks which are dry. But remember we only have one life and lopping a couple of years off the end of my life in exchange for much good cheer, and conviviality seems a fair exchange.
Like many others, I launched a concerted campaign of destruction on my liver late in high school and early university. Pissed every weekend. Thankfully, I outgrew that party lifestyle by second year and over the years since , especially after the kids arrived, my consumption has steadily dropped. Two year olds and hangovers are an ugly combination. Now I can go weeks without a drop. More beer in the summer around the grill but usually only one or two. It's come down to social drinking, in the right setting. almost never hard liquor other than the occasional gin/tonic or Caeser. I think we all know those who fell into a bottle and never emerged other than a very few who hit rock bottom and rebounded. There but for the grace of God go I. The scariest memory is of those days when drinking and driving was almost compulsory, not frowned upon. The lottery of life claimed a few old chums who did no different than we did.
Frank Skinner talks to Adrian Chiles about his reformed attitude to alcohol. BBC Two - Drinkers Like Me - Adrian Chiles, "My social life has never recovered from not drinking"
