Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.
Well Euro 2016 has taken a break for the next few days. The last couple of games were great with Hungary beating Austria and Iceland drawing with Ronaldugal. Underdogs doing well. That's what I want to see.
As you can guess by now I'm back at work. And I'll be at work today for THAT game. Must admit glad to be missing that one and that work will distract me. That said, not sure will be feeling the same way when it actually happens.
Well have finished Sundog by Jim Harrison. As you may know I try my best not to talk about the plot of the books I read,especially fiction, as not to spoil anything for the reader. But this is a book not easy to describe if I did tell you.
Having read my first ever book by this author I'm clearly now a world renowned expert and was trying to think of a perfect description of this novel, which I liked. The first thing that came to my mind that he was an acquired taste. That though suggested snobbery. As if to say I can reach literary Nirvana but you just have to settle for James Patterson (plus 1 other) but I'm that type of guy. It's that type of person who says they can appreciate a particular wine from a remote region in Bolivia that you can only reach by Llama.
That though was quickly discarded.....what do I know about wine? I don't drink.
Rather like my position on poetry my attitude to alcohol is based on a very mundane reason. Not for me any moral/religious issue. And I don't mind moderately letting myself go. No. it's quite simply that from beer to brandy,wine to whiskey I just don't like the taste.
I get it from my mother. She didn't drink for exactly the same reason although she does like to put vino in her minestrone soup which would make me remark that she liked being drunk in her food (untrue but it raises a smile).
Though not being the most sociable of people I do know that if I would've made many more friends had I been more partial to drink. I could have spent my Saturdays slumped on a wall telling some stranger I really loved them.
I remember once going to a pub in Cardiff watching a (then) five nations rugby game in the late nineties with my wife (then girlfriend) her brother his partner and their friends. Wales was playing ...somebody else ...but not England and it was as I remember an unimportant game in terms of the championship. Wales I seem to remember were at their lowest ebb. It seemed to have been personified by the fact that their poster boy was a man called Arwel Thomas. Small, with an angelic innocent face he was always looked like a man who joined the game after a spell of choir practice. All very laudable of course, but when linked with rugby just seemed out of place.
As I recall Welsh rugby was not impressive at that time. The one exception being Llanelli, (not the Scarlets you understand. This was before WRU decide that teams should go all NFL). If you listen to English coaches and players interviewed you'll hear a tone about that team which you wouldn't hear if they spoke of any other aspect of Welsh rugby at that time. That tone was one of respect.
Anyway back to the pub. I don't remember the result and wish drink was the cause. All I remember was my future brother in law prending to take off his trousers and everybody having a good time...except me.
The year after the group (including me) went to a Wales / Ireland game (behind the posts too far away to appreciate anything). Afterwards at a pub I was approached by a tall bearded irishman who saw me nursing a glass of orange juice and said in a friendly tone. "Why don't you just get pissed?". And of course he was right. I was at the wrong place and definitely at the wrong time.
Being an athiest the social circle for the teetotal (religion) is also out of my reach.....ah well.
Until recently I would drink any soft drink going instead. The one exception was Doctor Pepper which my tastebuds would react to as if it had tasted bleach. Their advertising slogan seemed odd too. "Doctor Pepper. So Misunderstood." What sort of slogan was that? That's a slogan for a disgraced politician trying for a comeback.
This book then is a ramble (like this post) but nor rambling (which I hope this post wasn't). Perhaps then the best thing to say is that you have to be in the mood to read it. That although I liked it. I would understand and not criticise those who didn't.
So to the next book.
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| A28 - Clive Bell - Civilization |
Until the next time.
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