The Demon Drink 4

If we want people to drink less, couldn't we stop this kind of thing?

Social media is going crazy, ladies. I have to ask – where do you keep the wine?
Nowhere – it’s a dry boat.
(News item on team of 40-ish women ("ordinary mums") aiming to row to Tenerife for charity.)

At 10.30 she drinks a Guinness with a packet of salt and vinegar crisps. Isn’t that wonderful? (About a 100-year-old woman)

Old lady: I don’t like tea – I like gin. (Aldi advert)

Here are some tips on drinking less from the Times:

1. Go cold turkey. Go somewhere where alcohol isn't an option.

2. Don't tell people you have given up. I usually nurse a glass of champagne. Nondrinkers make drinkers uncomfortable – better to practise some deception. (Maybe drinkers will grow up one day.)

3. Don't be purist. Drink a toast at a wedding, eat a sherry trifle. (But not if you're a recovering alcoholic.)

4. Invent a fabulous nonalcoholic drink that goes with food – iced tea... soda with a dash of Angostura. (What happened to non-alcoholic wine and beer, Amé and Aqua Libra? Cranberry or lime juice and soda is good too.)

You can call Alcoholics Anonymous on 0800 9177650, or email them at help@aamail.org.

More tips here from Dry July.

More here, and links to the rest.