Alcohol

When I was late teens and into 20s I had my share of alcohol and party times. However I never liked the taste and following marriage and children rarely would have had a drink.

Towards the end of a very stressful and unhappy marriage I found myself having a couple of drinks during the evening just to get through it. soon realised it was not a good idea.

During separation, divorce, single life and remarriage I've never been bothered. Don't like it and hate hangovers. Though I will enjoy a nice cold shandy or cider if out for a meal or in holiday.It

Probably also having a parent who would binge drink also showed me a horrible side to it and would never have been interested in a relationship with someone who drank to get drunk.

I am also one of those who enjoys a drink (or three) most evenings. Yes, I am aware of the recommended limits and tend to stick within them over a week but not if I am out with friends! I have always loved gin, any kind, plain or flavoured, and am delighted that it is now fashionable as there are so many new varieties to try.

For me, a gin and tonic helps me to relax and I find I sleep better, without it, I tend to toss and turn for ages before falling asleep. That said, I do not drink every day as I know it is not good for me but there is always some gin in the fridge!

I am not persuaded to drink because of adverts, I do not spend more than I can afford and I intend to carry on as long as I can. I think I would only stop if my doctor told me to!

The sun over the yard arm is our evening routine as well. It's usually a gin and slimline.

Later on we'll often share a bottle of wine if there's a good drama on the telly.

In the meantime, I drink water.

I used to enjoy a glass of good wine but have found, in the last few years, that I can not tolerate alcohol. I thought it strange but have recently heard others say that they have lost their tolerance to alcohol as they aged.

I hope I never have to give up alcohol. I don’t use it as a prop of any kind. I’d never drink to drown my sorrows or as stress reliever or even to give me confidence. I just enjoy it. I like the taste, I like affect. From the early 80’s my sister in law and I like to have just one gin and tonic in a nice pub after a day shopping. When we’re on holiday drinking the local alcohol is part of the holiday experience for me. I like the occasional wine with family. I can go months without but if I fancy a alcoholic drink I’ll have one cheers

My dearly beloved late stepfather came from a (titled) family, where the "sun over the yard arm" thing was the norm.

He would come in from whatever he was doing, and at 6pm would say "now, who want's what?" My mother would be cooking supper and would usually opt for a (rather large) sherry, he & I would often have a whisky and soda.

I would lay the table, then we would go through to watch the news before sitting down to eat.

My mother would often sneak a top up of the sherry, we realised this when her pet cockatiel added the noise of the cork coming out of the bottle to his repertoire!

The Rasberry Gin liqueur from the Edinburgh Gin company is absolutely delicious. DH bought me a bottle last Christmas when I met up with the Edinburgh gang and he went for a walk up to the Edinburgh Gin factory. (Sshhhh.... don’t say anything.... but he thinks I’m still drinking that same bottle)

joelsnan the drinking of alcohol has always been 'normalised'. For centuries 'small beer' was the standard drink because water was not safe to drink. The 'unnormalising' of alcohol, only came in in the 19th century with the temperance movement because in the appalling slum conditions of Victorian England people did drink to excess to cope with the excesses of their lives. I think alcohol use would have diminished if the temperance movement had put all their efforts into improving housing and wages rather than just demonising alcohol.

I actually think the current interest in drink for just what it is, whether it is craft beers, varied gins or improved tonic water is more likely to reduce alcohol consumption than increase it.

People are now seeing alcoholic drinks as something to be discerning about, to try different flavours, think about the drink they are consuming, take time drinking it, savour the flavour and enjoy it, rather than just hurl back vast quantities of cheap mass-produced drinks to see how much they can consume.

Look at the price of these new drink to savour drinks, they are certainly not aimed at the drink until your smashed brigade. They are for those who choose to drink less but enjoy more.

I actually think the programmes and marketing you worry about are a sign of the 'normalisation' of alcohol as something you drink with discernment and discretion, but do not consume to excess.

I am sure I have seen some statistics recently regarding over 50's consume more alcohol than under 25's.

I can honestly say I've never been swayed by the marketing of a drink.

My real query relates to women getting swept along with the money making marketing.

I know what you mean Joelsnan. Who was the person who suddenly decided gin was the 'in' drink? Young people have gone for it in a big way, yet G&T was always around and was my drink of choice over the years. It was something older/middle aged people drank.

And yes, bars doing deals on Prosecco are all over the place now. I await the next trendy drink. The advertising people are definitely getting through to most of the younger women I know, who regularly drink gin and Prosecco. What's the fuss no about flavoured gins? That's a very lucrative market too, according to daughter who loves rhubarb gin.

I like a drink before a meal or wine with food but I can take it or leave it. I couldn't give up tea, but I could give up alcohol. Now I am trying to lose weight I am drinking more water than anything, being aware of the empty calories in alcohol, but OH often reminds me the sun is over the yard arm when he comes in from his cricket, football or garden and more often than not I join him in a drink. It's a sociable thing to do and part of me thinks "Life is short. I am retired. No work tomorrow. Why not?"

I am and always have been of the "A little of what you fancy does you good" school. I cannot see that changing, really.

As long as I harm nobody as a result of having a glass of wine/prosecco or a nice gin and tonic I fail to see why it is anybody's concern and I get rather tired to po faced comments by non drinkers (don't mean you Joelsnan). As to the question about marketing; surely that applies to everything? What about breakfast cereals with their depiction of happy,healthy, beautiful families in their sunny, designer kitchens? Personally I think cereals are the food of the devil, full of sugar, processed carbs, but obviously many think differently.

If it’s any consolation things were much worse in the 18th Century
www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Mothers-Ruin/

Joelsnan I kind of agree with you surprisingly enough with my g and t in my hand lol.

At one time gin WAS regarded as mother's ruin and now it is everywhere! Personally I love it! My daughter's love prosecco but I can't stand the fizzy stuff - never had any champagne I actually liked (but then again maybe never had the real expensive stuff either)

Does marketing have much effect tho? hmmm not sure....think back to times gone by? People have always drunk alcohol to excess even if they have had to brew/ferment it themselves! Thinking of prohibition in the States ...all it lent itself to was the black market.

Overall I think people do drink less now (note to self...drink less) and it is a good thing but not sure I agree any adverts make much difference t.b.h.

maggiemaybe
As mentioned earlier, i have absolutely no intention to say anything about someone elses attitude to alcohol.
I suppose my real concern is the effect that marketing has had basically on normalising alcohol consumption, yes, this has gone on for decades with the Bulmers Cider, party 7 and the others. Nowadays though, we have specific tv programs dedicated to the stuff, recipes, gin festivals, every food program seems to have an alcohol section, etc. Apart from the occassional 'drink aware' logo, there appears to be little reference to its potential damage.

I am the same, Ja.

The best part of my day is cooking the evening meal, chatting to dh and having a couple of drinks of cold white wine!

A glass of wine maybe preceded by a G and T is just part of my evening.
It makes me feel relaxed and makes dinner taste nice.
That’s all.
Nothing to do with marketing.
Why shouldn’t women drink alcohol if they feel like it? Men do.

I enjoy a glass or two of wine. I like the taste and like the slight lift it gives me. I don't see any problem with alcohol in moderation. Other people eat chocolate which I don't like - it's not part of a healthy diet and no-one needs to eat it but I don't complain about it, I know people enjoy it. Of course, excess alcohol is different but it's only a small minority who abuse it.

Don't they reckon that alcohol consumption is going down amongst young people anyway? I'm sure I've read that somewhere recently. With the price of those posh gin bars though, I wouldn't be altogether surprised.

I'm a bit mystified as to why this is an issue for you, Joelsnan. I drink because I enjoy a drink. I'll have a bottle of wine over the course of a week and maybe a couple of G & Ts or beers, or amaretti, as the fancy takes me. I might as well start a thread asking why people eat cake, or chips. Is that benefitting them, their families or society in general? I'd assume they just like them. Trends will of course come and trends will go, in drinks as in everything else - that's nothing new. Cherry B and brandy and Babycham were quite the thing when I first started gadding around town. And I even remember a brief period of popularity for (yuck) barley wine.

I think you might be on to something with the milk stout and hot poker, though - I could see the hipsters going for that.

I never drink to excess . Never .

I have a family member who is an alcoholic and I know only too well the problems caused by drinking too much .

I have never found a glass of wine or gin, or anything else has of itself has any effect on my mood. It neither gives me confidence nor makes me depressed. It is just a drink, like having a cup of tea or coffee, which I would usually prefer to have.

I like a nice glass of red wine with a meal, a pint of bitter shandy in a pub on a hot day, and a glass of cider now and again when the mood takes me. On a cold winter night,nothing beats a glass of home made sloe gin.

But this idea of drinking to enhance confidence or mood defeats me. Looking from outside most people who do that just go that little bit over the top that shows them up rather than showing them at their best.

Fennel
I have always seemed to have a particular fear of gin as in my youth it was known as 'mothers ruin'. And remembering going into nightclub toilets frequently seeing a mascara cheeked well iniebriated girls crying on the floor and being told 'she's been on't gin'.

Finger trouble! That should read clothing styles and colours...

I've noticed the recent adverts for gin, Joelsnan, and am (nearly) horrified. I enjoy a glass of wine like others, but gin .
It always makes me think of Hogarth's Gin Lane picture:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Street_and_Gin_Lane