Through A Full Glass Darkly...

There is a truism about the Welsh that takes some understanding.

When I married d, we had some Americans over for the wedding. It was really something to see these fine, good, generally rather lovely people...meet the Welsh.
The Welsh, like most Brits...enjoy a tipple or twenty. The Americans' jaws slowly began to sag in amazement as they watched the Welsh at play and celebration, downing pint after pint of ale, and bottle after bottle of wine. Some of the Americans still look back on that day and shake their heads in a kind of bewildered admiration, wondering where the Welsh put all that alcohol. And of course, how they managed to do it again without missing their mouths.

Another part of the truism concerns this house. My folks' house. When d came over to live, she'd done her drinking decades ago and was by this time fairly abstemious.

Then she met my folks' liquor cabinet. It took a little experimentation - and I mean that in a vaguely creepy evil scientist way - before my folks found the drink that she would call hers. Madeira's the one. (Any Flanders and Swann fans, knock yourself out!). d has long half-joked that she daren't stay over at my folks' house any more, because she'll be absolutely rat-arsed for a majority of the time.

This week, I have to admit, the same has been true of me. Since discovering a new cider on the day of the Pontypridd walk, I have found myself more and more partial to a pint or two. This of course is godawfully catastrophic in Disappearing terms. I have to wear my Master suit on Wednesday, and perhaps oddly, we bought it when I was about 17.5 stone. My sole real goal this week is not to be entirely back to that weight by the time I slip into it Wednesday - for Dad's funeral...although somewhat sweetly, I remember pulling the Master suit on for the first time and think I looked like the bee's bollocks in it, so hopefully, it'll still look alright as we say our soooooo-not-final goodbye.

Here's hoping anyway. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a pint of cider with my name on it...