Make Mine A Large One

Chris is working away and won't be back until tomorrow night, so I was just a tad  indulgent last night and treated myself to a bottle of wine in front of Sports Relief.
I don't know why I do it.
The story of the elderly chap losing his wife, or the African girl quietly explaining her tragic life to camera and that's me blabbing for the next hour or two.
A glass of wine and a sob story
Not a good mix.
This got me to thinking just how alcohol can  punctuate our lives.
Advocaat always reminds me of my grandmother, who seldom drank anything at all. My mother would always have a small bottle of the yellow mud in at Christmas so that granny could have tipple before lunch.
I don't think I have seen the drink for years.
Whiskey reminds me of my brother and father.
Gin reminds me of my mother, though the memory is a bittersweet one.
And Pernod & lemonade reminds me of my teenage years when I thought it was sophisticated to drink it when I was out at the disco!
The very smell of Tequila makes me heave. it reminds me of a party I went to many moons ago now, where an ex spinal injury patient introduced me to tequila slammers
The next morning I thought my insides would explode!.....
Never again!........
Oh.....And a properly made vodka martini brings back memories of my first trip to New York with Chris,
When I drank two large ones in Doc's bar on second avenue when I was jet lagged, and couldn't climb down off my bar stool.
Guinness reminds me of happy days at the Dog & Partridge pub in Sheffield , where everyone would  sing The Fields Of Athenry in the back room.
Jim Beam reminds me of family parties in the 1980s
Nowadays my tipple of choice is probably a Crisp white wine.
I like a gin and tonic ( especially on holiday) but wine is generally more preferable though I don't recommend too many glasses whilst watching charity fundraisers on tele.
You cry like a baby!


44 comments:

  1. Make mine red..... hardly ever drink anything else.

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  2. I don't drink these days, but I met my husband in a pub called the Dog and Partridge, though not the one in Sheffield. Happy memories of lager and black, Stairway to Heaven on the jukebox and the smell of oil from the bikers!

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  3. I drink Newcastle Brown Ale. Some of the Irish supermarkets have finally started importing this bitter from England. I thought Del Boy and Rodney looked very old last night on Sports Relief.

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  4. So glad it wasn't just me blarting at it with a glass of red wine in hand.

    X x

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  5. The highballs are on J.G.!

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  6. ..... and several glasses later, you make a hefty donation like I did !

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  7. Campari, soda and ice please.

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  8. A decent port, with blue Stilton and crackers.

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  9. I watched last night with the odd glass of Sauvingon Blanc and wept into it !! Thought Only Fools and Horses was dire and David Beckham terrible. I am a bit sceptical about these fund raising evenings as the celebrities go on it mainly to promote themselves as much as to raise money. If they all just gave some of their vast fortunes to these worthy causes, they would have reached £50 million without having to watch some of the silly sketches…… oh dear, I'm sounding a right misery and, even though I think that, I still watch it !!!! What does that say about me ?!!
    Southern Comfort reminds me of the time, in my late 20's when I had to be carried out of a lock- in at the pub and, Green Chartreuse the same scenario !! XXXX

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    1. Just to make my comment even longer { sorry } ….. If I'm going to have a cocktail it's got to be a Rose Petal Martini. I could knock them back all night !!!! XXXX

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    2. My thoughts exactly.
      If the "more money than sense" celebrities parted with a fraction of their dosh I would think a lot more of them. They use these events to improve their own image and increase their own fortunes while persuading ordinary people with very hard earned cash.

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  10. drinks from my past port and lemon babycham but only drunk in the babycham glass eggcustard on legs must stop showing my age watched sports relief with tea and dunkie bikie dog licks tears away

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  11. beer reminds me of my first husband. gin and tonic reminds me of my second one and a big bottle of wine can almost make me forget my third.

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    1. Anonymous11:05 am

      Third and current? ;-)

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    2. hoo think i would like you love your style

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    3. Oh praise God, I'm not the ONLY one on husband three ! (although I swear after 21 years, he will be the LAST)

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  12. For a long time the margarita was my tipple of choice, once had gotten over the memory of a nasty binge in my late teens. But these days, it's a nice crisp Riesling in summer and a nice pinot noir in winter. And down here in New Zealand we make both to perfection xo

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    1. Damn right we do! Make mine a nicely chilled sauvy blanc, please.

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  13. Port and Lemon reminds me of Christmas - they foolishly let me mix the drinks on the day, and I had my back turned to them when I mixed my own...

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  14. Never touch Souther Comfort since I was 16, and Canadian Whiskey never enters my house as it brings with it bad memories.

    Not a big drinker, but I do love mixed cocktails.....something pink in a frou frou glass with a sprig of fruit and and a sugared rim.

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  15. Amazing the things that trigger memories, for me it is smells.

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  16. I had tequila once and my memories of the next day are similar to yours. However, my memories of the night before were completely lost.

    I stick to white wine now.

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  17. Tequila scent makes me heave too. Gin and tonic though.....the only thing I drink any more. Tastes as nice as it smells although Asda's tonic doesn't do it quite as well as Schweppes.

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  18. Anonymous1:10 pm

    I very rarely drink...it doesn't agree with me more's the pity...but when I do it is a dry white wine. The only other drink I identify with is Woopecker Cider. My parents discovered it when they went to England and for a little while every time we visited we were asked if we would like a glass of cider.

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  19. My Mum used to give me a tablespoon of Advocaat before dinner, to stimulate my appetite.The smell of it makes me heave now.
    Jane x

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  20. The only alcohol I like is white wine, and maybe the occasional port or sherry. I can't stand beer and lager. I've only been hungover three or four times in my entire life (as a teenager), and that was so awful I've been a very light drinker ever since.

    I read today that there's a new trend for alcohol-free bars, where you can buy any drink you like as long as it isn't alcohol.

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  21. Cold white wine for me unless it's summer when I opt for ice cold Rose from Provence in a frozen glass... Bad memories of southern comfort and Port. And I do love the occasional Grande Marnier which reminds me of a certain restaurant in Washington, D.C. where I spent many of the years of my misspent youth. As for last night -- the girl that knew Davina -- that really got to me ...

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  22. I once got hammered on too many rye and cokes and wound up in some farmer's field (was it yours?) staring at the stars swirling around overhead. Like you with tequila, I can't even bear the smell of it now.

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  23. My ulcer won't let me drink. I hurt to badly to make it enjoyable.

    Pernod. Nasty, nasty stuff. It was involved with my 18th birthday outing. Which I don't remember. The smell of licorice makes me gag to this day.

    I'm a cheap date.

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  24. I was always the designated driver. I only drank to excess twice. First time I threw up in my very long hair. Second time, 20 years later, I got pregnant. I have no fond memories of alcohol, unless you count my son.

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  25. I have a few very funny memories of 'tequila nights out'! It can cause you to do the craziest things! It's more a drug high than a booze one.
    I don't drink alcohol anymore, so I don't have a favourite one to share.

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  26. You're so right about the memories evoked by different foods or drink! Ooohh . . . the sick-making alcoholic punches served at college fraternity parties . . . and the awful 3.2 beer!
    Craft distilleries here in the pacific northwest are making truly outstanding gin. Lots of wineries and micro-brew breweries dot the landscape. Combined with our winters (which sound similar to yours), it's a wonder the date of alcoholism isn't higher!
    My current favorite drink is a 'Dark and Stormy' - spiced rum, ginger beer, and lime -yum!!

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  27. The lovely elderly gentlemen got me crying too, so heartfelt, just raw, raw emotion. I cried into my cider like a baby.

    My first drink of choice many, many moons ago when I was in the low teens and just discovered that I could get into the clubs ;-) was Cherry B and Cider, so I've not changed that much, just simplified things (and made it much easier on my stomach).

    My tipple of choice now is a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio, ice cold and with a few squares of dark, dark chocolate to nibble on, or if I'm feeling naughty a tube of Cheese and Onion Pringles :-)

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  28. cider makes me heave, even apple juice turns my stomach.

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  29. Slow gin fizzes in college left me hanging upside down from my two story dorm window, beer at my 50th allowed me to dance like Madonna with my adult children (not my best maternal moment) so now it's a single pint of Guinness at O'Loughlains Pub in Ballyvaughan, Ireland when I visit on own. My new alchohol motto "no witnesses"

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  30. I enjoy a Baileys or a nice tipple of Harvey's Bristol Cream sherry especially at Christmastime, I used to drink Cherry B's and cider in my disco days, a cheap way to get happy :)
    ~Jo

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  31. Thank you all for your comments
    Apart from a couple
    We're all sinners!

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  32. Oh, i had an unforgettable night with Southern Comfort when i was 14 and have never drunk it since.

    I don't usually drink, when i do, it's not usually a lot, and i can count on one hand the times i've had a drink when i'm all alone. That said, i thought about having a beer last night (didn't).

    My usual libation is single-malt scotch. Every time i've had a G&T, i get a headache next day, even if i have only one. Vodka and tonics don't give me headaches. I occasionally will have a glass of wine with supper.

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  33. In my late teens when I thought I was sophisticated (but wasn't) I drank Brandy and Babycham! Then Pernod and black where I could drink and drink and drink (terrible eh!) Then Baileys at Christmas, now thank goodness it's red all the way, preferably a spicy shiraz with or without food. Craft beer is in here at the moment so also an IPA when it's stonking hot! Gin and tonic although a lovely drink makes me maudlin so is out... I'm a horrible person if drunk so avoid it at all costs.

    Jo in Auckland, NZ

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  34. Not drinking I obviously miss out - yet I too link drinks with people.

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  35. I haven't touched Pernod since my sister's 18th birthday ~ to this day the only thing I can remember is being kissed by her then boyfriend! Can't abide the smell, let alone the taste, of sherry; hubby's Nan gave me a glass of the stuff and a few hours later I was violently ill. Wasn't actually the sherry, I'd caught a nasty stomach bug, but still can't go near the stuff!

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  36. Interesting that the smell of tequila makes you ill. I have the same reaction from Pernod. Back in 19X? (insert a date a very long time ago) I used to work in a nightclub in Scarborough as a 'bar assistant'. (It meant I collected glasses, did the washing up, sliced lemons but didn't actually serve drinks.) We used to do cheap Pernod nights and all the young girls used to come in and get sh*t faced on in, then throw up in the ladies. These days I can't smell Pernod without associating it with the vomit that I was expected to clean up as part of my 'assistant' role.

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