Karen's Blog 09/11/2021

Looking forward to Christmas                                               9th November 2021

I’ve been stuck at home these past two weeks with the Super Cold and the Cough from Hell.  Not a lot one can do about that other than dose oneself up with cold-cure, mop up the snot with tissues and consume copious amounts of hot drinks.

But, being November, it has given me plenty of time to think about the coming ‘festive’ season.  Not that I had much choice in the matter (I have a TV addict for a husband).  Have you seen this year’s adverts??  Have you seen one that doesn’t portray alcohol in some form or another??

That set me to thinking about my alcohol-free journey.  This will be my second A.F Christmas.  December 2020 passed most of us by in the most unusual of circumstances.  Like many others, our Christmas was a quiet, ‘needs-must’ affair, in my own case accompanied by strong pain-killers after my tumble down the stairs.

This year however, if we are to believe the advertising, we are all to make merry.  Eat Tiramisu, Sherry Trifle, set the pudding alight with whisky and douse the Christmas Cake (you know, the one you have already made) regularly with a tablespoon or two of brandy.

And that’s before you get to stuff yourself with liqueur chocolates, champagne truffles, drink copious amounts of wine and cocktails.

But what about us?  

I don’t know about you but my sober life is much, much too precious to me now to become bewitched by the advertiser’s trickery.  Better to put plans in place in advance than to get caught out.

So, I will make sure that my favourite tipple is in the cupboard (Sheppey’s 0.5% Cider, Freixenet 0.0%) and I will make mulled wine with a Spice Sachet and a non-alcoholic bottle of red (Sainsbury’s apparently sell a non-alcoholic Merry Berry Mulled Wine at £2.50).

And I might even make a pitcher of A.F Pimms (2 litres good quality lemonade, 2 Tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar, half a bag of frozen fruit, 2 x clementine’s, peeled, segmented and cut in half and some mint leaves). 

As for desserts, by the time I’ve catered for an age range of 5 – 73, a dairy allergy, one who doesn’t eat ANY vegetables and made a minimum of 36 pigs in blankets, I might just leave that for someone else to think about!!  

Karen Brown