Great piece Jezza.
I seem to have the ability to consume vast amounts if booze, mostly with little or no affect but I have no doubt that it does me no good whatsoever and I hate 'wasted Saturdays' when you just can't get going.
Reading other people's comments, it seems that 'it's all or nothing' is a common thread. Although I can and have cut back, I still binge.
As it happens, I plan to be off the booze for a period of 40 days sometime soon but am struggling as to when this period should start. If it starts now, it means that I will not be drinking when my wife's family stays with us. If the period starts after they leave, then this means I will not be drinking when I go cycling in France with my old (drinking) chums from Exeter.
My dilemma is not the lack of booze (oddly, I'm looking forward to that) or that I feel I will be missing out. It's the effect it has on the people around me who are used to boozy Hummers, the living embodiment of Bacchus himself. (In the past, people have even invented an expression for it "I've been Hummered" which to be honest, does not fill me with pride.) No, the issue is that I know that my wife's family will feel a bit put out and my chums, no matter what I say to convince them otherwise, will be convinced that I am not enjoying myself if I am not sinking bottles of wine and balloons of Cognac.
This is not a new thing as I have gone without booze for over month a couple of times in the past. I agree with others that it is surprising the uplifting effect it has on your capacity to enjoy life. It is also interesting to note how you really notice the smell of stale alcohol on others - something you find hard to notice when you drink regularly yourself.
So the question I find myself asking as I type this is why do I drink at all? I suppose A massive part of it is the social aspect but I feel that is entwined with my identity as a man who draws deeply on the cup of life more than it is to do with the grog itself.
Of course, there is the taste of drink.
Real Ale, by far my favourite, is almost irreplaceable as a social drink and one pint brings me far more pleasure that many. I tried to match my mates, drink for drink, with orange juice and threw up.
Wines are bursting with flavours and textures in your mouth. There is nothing like having a good full bodied red rolling over your tongue? Yes, I know I just typed that and there is not a hint of intended smut, honest.
Single malt whiskey is also high on the list but I drink a lot less of that since my friends moved away to Scotland to live. Oddly, they would (and do) say the same.
Outside of all of this, there is the 'coming home and opening a red' which Mrs H and I noticed was on the increase - so we stopped buying wine when we shopped.
I think that if I could have the tastes and textures without the affects (and if possible, the calories too if that is not asking too much) I'd be perfectly happy.
H