Beer

"The Tan Hill Inn" - England's highest pub

In my adult life, I have drunk countless gallons of beer - by volume,  the equivalent of an Olympic swimming pool. Beer has been a good friend to me - a faithful companion in good times and bad. Foaming pints have been sunk in pubs from New Zealand to New York and from Lands End to John O'Groats

I could always leave spirits alone. In our little drinks cabinet, I have two unopened bottles of whisky (Scottish) and two of whiskey (Irish). They have been there for a decade or more. Wine and cider are okay but beer was always my best buddy.

During the time of The Plague (COVID), there were two long spells when I didn't drink any beer at all but  we gradually got back together as old friends often do. Then earlier this year, I recognised that I had been drinking beer every evening for weeks on end and I asked myself why. I decided to give it a rest - only drinking at the pub quiz on a Sunday night.

That has been my pattern since mid-September. I am down to ten "units" a week. In October, I received the shock news that my blood pressure was far too high and I am now taking medication to bring it down. It appears to be working. What was 190/90 is now down to 165/75  and sometimes lower than that. It was pure co-incidence that I had already reduced my intake of beer before this new phase in my life began but now I am motivated to maintain the present regime for the purpose of longevity. I measure my blood pressure every day and my next  follow-up doctor's appointment is on December 2nd. Now I am living by numbers.

"The Rivelin" on the edge of Sheffield

Of course I have always loved public houses - the ambience, the unique character, meeting new people and old friends and acquaintances. They have been like homes away from home and it is there that I have sunk the majority of my pints and enjoyed lots of great times.

However, the English pub scene is now much changed. Many independent  pubs have closed their doors for good and lots that remain are "food led" and corporate. It is not the same as it once was. And pub goers have changed their habits too. Pubs are not packed as they used to be with regular drinkers conversing and laughing and sometimes singing. Nowadays, many pub customers meet up on particular nights and frequently go home long before closing time.

Maybe this is just a phase and I will climb aboard the beer train once again - guzzling like a champion - but I don't think so.  Those days are over. I do not plan to give beer up completely, it will still be there and I will still enjoy it. But it won't be taking me over. The majority of my nights will continue to be spent at home and there'll be more tea, water and hot chocolate in the space that beer used to occupy.

"The Strines Inn" - five miles west of Sheffield