Drink

#129. We had bars put on by Tennents lager . The actual bars and all fittings supplied by the same, the kegs held 40 pints andwe charged 10p a pint was cash over the bar and the ch, stwd supplied the coin as a sub. We actually made a profit and when back in uk every couple of weeks used to throw an occasional party by invite only.At 10p a pint people were very generous. . If remember a 200 keg restock was normal at frequent intervals. There was very little if any trouble. JS

John, I like the phrase recovering alcoholic, Because i don't think its something you can ever say you have cured yourself, I am one of those people who believe its in you from day one genetically { The booze chooses you } Not the other way around you usually or should i say in most cases find there is a history of alcoholism in your past family, And f you abuse it enough you will cop for it. I used to visit an old Irish stoker who was in his late 70s he lived in the same rest home my Mother lived at the time he had everything in place as in memory and of sound mind i used to chat to him about ships he had sailed in all the greats Cunard's/ Empress/ Just about the lot he was alcoholic and made no secret of it, He had a chalk board in his room and every morning he would get up and strike a line on that board when i questioned him he explained once an alcoholic always an alcoholic, So each dry day i have for the rest of my life i awake with a clear head and chalk one more day that i had for me not the booze, That old boy was killed coming out of a coffee shop after being hit by a bus in Liverpool City centre he would go into Liverpool city centre every day and meet up in pubs with old acquaintance's yet never even though tempted to Secom to the booze for 16 years. R.I.P. Paddy Terry.

There are non so pure as the purified. Most alcoholics that I sailed with used to be only happy when they were expounding the evils of drink. Not the best company to go ashore with. JS

Unfortunately John, For some people The rhythm of the glass is stronger than the rhythm of life Regards Terry.

Have to agree with RLT that most alcoholics it is genetic. If it was simply the drink then I should be going to AA but can with hand on heart say that not drinking for over eight months and not even craving it surely proves that I can manage the drink. Mind you put a bottle of spirits on the table between the sheriff and I while watching the box one can be sure that it will be empty before retiring. Our kids are the same so no worries there either. How many put additive with their spirits as for us it is killing the taste of the drink doing that. Also do not fall for that idea that one has to purchase expensive crap as we go for the run of the mill stuff because after the first two or three it all tastes the same. Son got us a bottle of glenfiddik the other day and it sits in the cupboard for when he can join us to down the bottle. As for wine well the 5litre casks mean less exercise having to get up for another bottle LOL.

I had a friend who was an alcoholic and I got the impression that the reason for his drinking was to give him Dutch Courage, as was very loath to make a decision . It was a downhill path with him, and unless he sailed with someone who knew his capability’s and managed them he was done for in decision making of most kinds. He used to drink vodka as apparently this is the hardest to detect on ones breath, years ago when I was home on leave I used to take a beer out of the fridge when I felt like it even at 0900 in the morning and my wife used to go her ends and call me an alcoholic, I tried explaining to her that there was no such thing as day or night at sea it was all part of the 24 hour clock and people worked at different times during that 24 hours. When bar hours were imposed on ships at sea it was a killer for the bar as I saw it. The bar should be closed if it is being misused otherwise it is run on trust and open for all watchkeepers coming off watch at whatever time. The freeloaders if there were any were soon spotted and discipline imposed by those running the bar , the same as any bar ashore, without sounding too daft , he or them were barred from the bar and told to take their business elsewhere . As regards my wife she probably still thinks of me as an alcoholic , those who don’t drink know very little of the drinking world , after 58 years of marriage nothing has changed regarding our seperate thoughts on the subject. Cheers JWS

My Sister divorced her first husband after 18 years of drinking his way through life, But he was a Shipwright Joiner and always a good provider, She has told me on many occasion if she understood what an alcoholics life was all about and why he used to fall in at home after work, She would never have divorced him he drifts in and out he can go weeks and then falls of the wagon. She recognizes it as a genetic illness both his Mother and Father where alcoholics and in her words f i could turn the clock back i would have tried to get him help. They are still the best of friends but cant live together you never know when he will slip. Terry.

I think I was married for 10 years before my wife would ever enter a pub. The only reason she did was after pubs started serving meals. Her mother used to have a half bottle of whiskey in her china cabinet and it was there for years , think someone had left it there for emergencies. Went back to the UK once after being here about a further 10 years and asked her where the bottle of whiskey was. Oh she said I poured it out I. Thought it would have gone off.Their limits of drinking was home made lginger wine at Xmas . She failed to convert me but by the same token she still sticks to her own principles. We must be like the laws of magnetism , unlike poles attract, like poles repel. JS

My earliest recollection of seeing drink was at the tender age of about 4.
My grandmother liked a drink, just a small tipple you understand, small one for breakfast, then lunch in the local and an evening in the same.

But in her kitchen was the Welsh dresser and along side were the essential supplies.
On one side a few crates of Guinness, care of my father manager of the Park Royal branch.
On the other side crates of Bitter Lemon.
On the dresser several bottle so Dr. Gordons elixier.

To some extent I followed but with Tonic water.

When I met my wife all she drank was Port and lemon, but I soon fixed that, now it is Brandy or wine.

Victoria, the good old Duke of Boots, spent many a great time in there with my mate and his wife, been kicked out a few times as well.
The landlord could be a little obtuse at times.

When going For an interview in London with a well known shipowner, there was a friend of mine an engineer down as well , when he came out said to me be careful how you answer their questions. One of the questions was Do you drink ? And like the press he took it in the wrong context and replied , yes I’ll have a small whiskey please. So not be outdone when they asked me , I said no, I spill most of it. We both got the jobs. JS