So I had a few unplanned drinks yesterday. The sun was shining and the match was on. Plus I met a friend I hadn’t seen in two days. Might as well have a beer. After all, this unprecedented sunny spell needs to be consecrated.
On a normal day in winter, I’m in bed with a cup of tea by my side, in the summer, I’m considering whether I should just pour a shot of whiskey into my morning coffee or perhaps a Mimosa for breakfast. It is sunny after all, and I’m in the garden. Hangovers aren’t that bad, plus it’s bright, plus the World Cup. Also it could be 2002- my first full summer in Ireland, where we endured upwards rain every day.
I’m sure there are some puritans out there drinking green juices doing group yoga in a park with a bunch of people who make lampshades for a living, but I don’t know those people. Like me, the ones I know aren’t afraid of a pint.
A pint being 15 of course. The excuse being, ‘It was sunny. Sure everyone is drinking. You sweat it all out.’ That kind of thing.
That’s the beauty of Irish people, besides denial, we need to do things in groups in order to feel less bad about ourselves. If you turn around to someone and say, ‘No its fine I don’t want a drink,’ there will be disapproval and mistrust, even loathing. ‘How dare she spoil our alcoholism?, they think sheepishly.
You can’t have your friends showing you up after all. I’m not a greedy drinker so I wouldn’t just drink a few bottles of wine or a bottle of gin for no reason, but will go on the sesh if called upon. Selective drinking, I like to think. I wouldn’t be one to waste a hangover, they are rather nasty after all. That said, in this sunshine, there’s booze being consumed more regularly, I won’t lie.
Summers like this only come around every 41 years. It’s like Spain after all. Isn’t it good we’re all here and not abroad? Soon it could be 17 degrees and chilly again. No wonder our drinking habits have been altered.
If only people knew how much they drank. There’s one and a half units of alcohol in a small 33ml bottle of beer. How many of them can be consumed in one afternoon? Women are only allowed 14 units, -men 17 units per week. That’s just 5 bottles per week. Oh dear.
It’s amazing how oblivious Irish people still are to alcohol intake. I often hear ‘I only drank two bottles of wine,’ pending on the wine that’s 10 to 12 units per bottle, but who’s counting? You could never say anything to people about theirexcessive drinking. I know lots of alcoholics, and yet only one of them admits to being one.
It’s an astonishing phenomenon that people who drink vodka for breakfast or have a 180 degree personality turnaround or think the earth is flat, or lose friends, jobs and their minds, don’t think their life is a mess because of booze.
Everyone knows so much about other people and yet have absolutely no idea about themselves. Its nuts. Anyway, let’s not dwell on rampant alcoholism and the victimhood and boring denial that comes with it, because then there’s the litter too.
Jesus, like just clean up after yourselves. Everyone loves a bag-of-cans by the canal, but bring them home or stick them in a bin when you’re done. Take a leaf out of the Japanese football team at the World Cup’s book. Despite suffering a stunning last minute defeat at the hands of Belgium they still cleaned their dressing rooms and left a Thank you note for their hosts in Russian, while their fans cleaned the stands before they left the stadium. Japanese people would never leave their tourist spots and beaches in the same kind of filth that Irish people do.
This situation can be sorted if a responsible recycling policy was put in place. A very simple ‘pfand’ deposit refund system can be copied from Germany where all cans and bottles- both plastic and glass can be returned to supermarkets in exchange for money. When I was at the World Cup and the Love Parade there, the place cleaned itself, as homeless people and students went around picking up anything that was left behind and cashing in on it. So easy.
The place would be spanking, why not do it?
Anyway, despite all this tomdickery, we do know how to have fun, thats why we’re all here. Let’s face it, no one parties like us. Those other countries don’t quite know degenerate, wanton craic like we do. There are many great places to live, but none of them like Ireland in summer.
I just watched a stunning timelapse of swimmers taking a dip at sunset on Nuns Beach, Ballybunion. Its breathtaking. There are so many beautiful places to enjoy in this sunny spell, I’m going to do that too. Then have a drink after. Just the one, or maybe four. Four is good.
>>>>ENDS>>>>>>
