I’m not surprised, because that’s how the prohibitionists will tell you how it works, but conceptually “we drink alcohol because we like it” really doesn’t seem to fall into the same category as “alcohol is there to turn to when times are hard”. Quite the opposite, in fact: people who grow up with alcohol being available but regarded as nothing special seem to be rather less likely than teetotallers to become alcoholics themselves. (Obviously there are always individual exceptions.)
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France has a higher number of alcoholics as a percentage of the population than England, apparently, and French families seem to regard wine with meals as necessary and introduce children to it (watered) quite young; so it doesn’t necessarily follow.
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There are other factors too. (And differing definitions of “alcoholic” for that matter.)
And of course if B+J are actually taking Alice into their home, then they will indeed have to have no alcohol in the place. But that seems to have happened after the sudden taking against the Demon Drink.
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Well, yes. Jennifer had some sort of sudden road-to-Damascus moment and forswore alcohol on the spot and for the entire household. Only rather later did Ruairi make his house-swap suggestion.
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I demanded it.
Just sayin’
Screw that, what happened to the (presumably) steak for the Stroganoff? If she slung that out as well as a perfectly good Rioja (ok, it MIGHT have been white Rioja but I hae me doots the scripties have a clue about cooking either) then sod Alice, it’s JD Brian needs to concentrate on having locked up.
Oh, and a chap burns the chops. How very original; what will they think of next?
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And why does throwing away the ingredients for one meal make Jennifer unable to cook a different one?
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Compulsory rest break?
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Ruairi being consigned to Honeysuckle Cottage means Alice can be moved in. But this idea seemed to come from Ruairi rather than JD, and certainly not from Brian, though he was surprisingly ready to embrace it (I don’t believe Adam & Ian, self-identified ‘great dads’ though they may be, would have been his first choice of Ruairi-wranglers, and anyway, do they have the room?).
No one seems to have asked Alice, though. It’s an absolutely terrible idea and will, I hope, end in tears, drunken stupors and significant damage to fixtures, fittings and family feelings.
She would be far better left at The Nest (spewk) with occasional visits IF SHE WANTS THEM, packing up/destroying Christopher 's possessions and demolishing the occasional bottle of wine.
24-hr surveillance by family does not work
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Looking on the bright side, it’ll ruin Jenny’s life. Alas, also Brian’s. (I may be biased but like Tony he always seems to me to get the dirty end of other people’s grand ideas.)
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^ This.
He’s going to get pretty fed up when the twittering fool uses single malt as kitchen sink unblocker.
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Yes, what is to happen to Brian’s very expensive collection of booze is another good question, isn’t it.
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Ruairi takes it away with him?
(But didn’t a lot of it go in the Great Downsizing, or am I misremembering a different Hilarious Incident?)
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It must have done since they no longer own a cellar to keep it in nor have room in the tiny kitchen for a wine fridge, but I don’t recall any mention of it being sold.
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I’m pretty sure Ruairi was hoping for some serious partying when he suggested changing places. No chance.
Not sure we ever learned what happened to Brian’s cellar (apart from Kate and Lilian).
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