Me and Al

"Never trust a man who doesn't drink" An old, oft repeated adage in the company I prefer to keep. Now any regular reader of my blog will know I'm rather partial to a tipple. I've had a pretty good relationship with my mate Al Cohol over the years. Al's been there with me through the good times and the bad. Something good happens - lets celebrate and get sloshed. Something bad happens - lets commiserate and get sloshed. Someone gets married - lets have a party and get sloshed. Someone dies - lets have a wake and get sloshed. My Dad was from an Australian background and my Mum was from an Irish background so drinking is pretty much a part of our family culture. As best I can tell (they both passed away long before I was on the scene) both of my grandfathers were alcoholics and drink played no small part in their demise. My Dad never really talked about this, but when I visited my cousins in Cairns (Queensland) they told me the whole story.

Now a couple of my siblings have decided that they are alcoholics and have given up drinking (for a couple of years now). When my mum died last year, they presumably faced their biggest test. It's times of stress which get us back into bad ways. They seemed to cope pretty well without the booze. Which brings me onto the question. Am I an alcoholic? I've read quite a few definitions of what an alcoholic is. By the most ridiculous one, then yes definitly. I read that if you enjoy drinking, you are an alcoholic. If I didn't enjoy it, I'd stop. Other definitions - Do you drink every day. Well I used to. Every day I'd visit my mum and have at least 1 can of guinness with her. When she died, I stopped. I missed her and I missed having a Guinness with her, but I didn't feel the need to have a Guinness every day. So if I was an alcoholic, I've been cured.

So when do I drink. Well I always have at least 3 pints of Shandy (50% Lager/ 50% lemonade) after football on a Thursday night. If t's my mate Paul's turn to drive, I have 1 shandy and two pints of lager. I generally don't drink on a Tuesday as it's band rehearsal night. Mondays are the wife's band rehearsal. Afterwards, sometimes we share a bottle of red and sometimes we dont (same is true on Wednesday). Fridays and Saturdays we tend to go out and we'd share 1 or two (or sometimes 3 bottles of wine) or have 6-8 pints of lager if I'm out with mates. If we stay in we'd share 1 bottle of red wine. Last week I had a total of 7 pints and 3 glasses of wine, but my better half was away at Swansea for the weekend at a swimming gala and I don't really drink on my own - don't really feel like it. I'd estimate that on an average week I'd drink 15-20 drinks (a drink being a pint of beer or a glass of wine). I kept a log from August to December out of interest and this what it averaged. At Christmas & new year it may have been twice or three times that.

As to spirits. I rarely drink them, even at new year. I had 2 Scotches in that period (on top of 10 pints one night) and sorely regretted it. So how healthy am I. Well I have a problem with a hiatus hernia, which drinking doesn't help at all (neither do crisps, pizzas and pies). Other than that pretty good. I play five a side football once or twice every week for 1 hour. I visit the gym to do aerobic exercise 2-3 times a week (Row approx 14K a week and cycle approx 25K and do 600 abs crunches). I do an advanced ashtanga Yoga class (I'm not advanced but it fits my timetable) as well on a Friday. My blood pressure and heart rate is low for my age. My Cholesterol was also very low last time I had it taken. Last time I saw the Doctor he was rather surprised at my blood pressure. I'm 6'1 and approx 16 Stone. He took it three times and told me he thought the machine was broken. I explained about my exercise regime and he said this would lower my BP significantly. As Mrs T is not a meat eater (likes fish though), we tend not to eat much meat at home.

Now I'm quite happy with my lifestyle, my alcohol intake and my health. I'm not what you'd call a worrier. My bigest problem with drinking is that when I'm with friends, I really enjoy getting completely hammered (if they are also drinkers - which most of them are). I don't generally make a fool of myself or fall asleep in the gutter, but I have a day of feeling ill. My on-the-wagon siblings ask if it's worth it. Yes it is for me.

I believe that life is to be enjoyed. The first miracle Jesus performed (if you believe the Christian bible) was to turn water into wine at a wedding feast. An old irish priest once pointed out that the amount was about 40 gallons of wine. He also said that in scriptures it said that Jesus and his disciples went away and rested afterwards for a few days! An ex colleague of mine (a member of a non drinking Christian sect) claimed that the wine was non-alcoholic. As teh wedding was an Orthodox Jewish event I asked a Jewish friend whether he thought that it would have been recognised as a miracle if, when the booze ran out, Jesus had turned the water into Non Alcoholic wine. He said "He'd have been crucified three years early for winding them up". It must be remembered that the steward at the wedding also said it was the best quality.

So my definition of an alcoholic (for what it's worth). Someone who considers their alcohol intake to be a problem. I don't care whether people do or don't drink. I don't really think it affects their trustworthyness. If I was going out for the evening with a bunch of abstainers, I'd choose somewhere or something where drink wasn't a key part of the fun. Will I ever give up? Not unless I have to. It strikes me that all of the places in the world where Alcohol is banned don't seem to be much fun. Cheers !!!!!