Category: Drinking
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Do I Really Have To Give Up Drinking?
My choice to drink less has nothing to do with “seeing the light” in terms of my health, or because I’ve managed to avoid the dangerous lure of addiction that runs through my family tree. It is not even based on the advice of my doctor – although I’m sure she would back me wholeheartedly.…
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When There’s No Tonic On Supermarket Shelves, You Know The Civilised World Has Gone Mad
Here in Australia, we are not in full lockdown yet, but the system is already broken. A couple of days into any sort of meaningful distancing rules and not a drop of tonic water is to be found on supermarket shelves. Photo by Vlad Tchompalov on Unsplash I’m not certain where it all went wrong,…
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Losing Weight: Who Knew Salmon Was Such A Traitor?
I was listening to a podcast with Clare Bowditch on Conversations this morning (about her book Your Own Kind Of Girl) and it made me question exactly why I’ve started another diet. Like her, I came to the conclusion a while ago that weight is unimportant (as long as it is within a healthy range…
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20 Surprising Things I Am Thankful For This Year
Anger was the main topic of conversation during my last visit to my therapist for the year. Anger about stuff I can’t control, mainly, but also anger about the world stuff I talked about here in my last post, as well as some anger issues about the usual personal frustrations. Photo by Howard Riminton on…
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I won’t be getting sober anytime soon but I am “drinking smarter”
Photo from Damir Spanic on Unsplash I was a grown-up last weekend. The old man and I went on a date night to a swanky restaurant and I chose to drive. In my last post I talked about the necessity of making choices in middle age, and prior to last night, I would have looked…
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New Years Resolutions: Page 1 of 365
I didn’t begin page 1 of the next 365 with a run or yoga. Instead, I lay in bed for as long as I could, and when the pain in my head refused to go away, I was grateful for Berocca. On page 1 of 365, it wasn’t goals on my mind, it was food…
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How Do You Defrost A Turkey Quickly? Asking For A Friend
The red cabbage is out of the oven to the somewhat predictable retching noises from NC – proof that she is a rubbish vegetarian. The presents are wrapped and under the tree – apart from mine, which I have no doubt will be remembered sometime between the closing credits of Elf and bedtime. And the…
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Recipe For The Best Christmas Punch, (Or How To Get Your Friends Slaughtered At Your Christmas Party
So, this year’s Christmas party is done and dusted. More than thirty of us sweltered under the deck on what felt like the hottest day of the past month – as ordained by climate change or whichever God seems to take such personal pleasure out of fucking up my life as often as possible. And…
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Who Says Family Holidays Can’t Be Fun?
It was that time of year again last weekend. The family holiday 2018 had spun back around with all the promise of a mammogram. Admittedly, the word “holiday” is somewhat of an exaggeration. The kids will attest to the fact that the word “holiday” is something of an exaggeration. This year – at the old man’s…
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This Birthday, JOMO Replaced FOMO
It was my birthday yesterday. In some ways, it’s hard to believe that I am now 53, in others, it feels like it has taken me bloody ages to get here. The most important part, I suppose, is that where I am, feels right. The kids and a good bunch of friends came over for…
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Beware! Irresponsible Middle-Aged Drinkers On The Loose
Found on Pinterest. Four women dancing at the water’s edge. circa 1940 Picture #: 543H Copyright 2003 – Photographs Of Old America. Photosofoldamerica.com A couple of girlfriends and I have had a lunch planned in the diary for a while. It is a lunch without husbands, none of us are driving, and we are going…
Louisa Simmonds 