red750 Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 When I was a pre-schooler, back in the late forties (damn, that was a long time ago), my parents and Dad's parents lived together in the one house on the farm. My grandfather used to sit on the verandah and enjoy a beer and a smoke, sometimes a whiskey. When I was about 4 or 5, he gave me a sip of beer. I hated the taste, and never started drinking when I grew up. He also gave me a puff of a Havelock roll-your-own. Made my vomit. Never had another smoke. Gave me a sip of whiskey, and I hated that too. To me, drinking and smoking were like eating brussel sprouts or kale. I have never regretted not touching those things, but just wondered if you think he did the right thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 He did achieve the desired? result but whether that is why he did it is another question.. The same actions may produce a different result generally. He certainly wouldn't get ROLE MODEL of the year award.. Nev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 I also tasted beer at a very young age (my best friend's dad owned a pub) and found it disgusting. However at 17 I rediscovered it and haven't stopped since. The French tend to give their kids a very small glass of wine on special occasions, and I don't think they have the same level of adolescent binge drinking that we see here. Different strokes for different folks, really. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 (edited) I've never liked beer, but I can't recall when I first tasted it. As a result, I never drink beer. I do like an occasional whisky, but a bottle of whisky will last me at least 12 mths. I seem to recall Dad giving me a taste of wine when I was a young teenager. Neither Dad nor Mum drank much at all, but they liked a small glass of "aperitif" wine with their dinner sometimes. I was brought up in a religious household where pubs were deemed dens of iniquity and downfall. I have never been a pub drinker, I see little benefit in sitting on a bar stool and drinking glass after glass of alcohol, just to get some social interaction. I only drink when I'm thirsty, and mostly tea, water or fruit juices. I did drink quite a lot of Coke when I was younger, but I rarely drink any type of soft drink today. Drinking alcohol is expensive, too, and I'm amazed at the amount of money some people spend in drinking sessions. I have known lots of people who killed themselves with excessive alcohol consumption - and that includes a sizeable number of people who lived in the country, went to the pub, got boozed up, and ran off the road into a tree, on the way home. When I was about 11, I found a part packet of Turf cigarettes by the edge of the road (I was riding my bike and lived in a semi-rural area). Puffing on fags was starting to be discussed amongst my mates as an adult thing to do, because a lot of adults smoked. So I lit up a Turf and sucked on it. Now, it was fairly well known that Turf cigarettes were about the worst of a bad bunch, probably because they were made in East Germany. I spluttered and coughed, thought, "this is disgusting", and chucked the fag away after just a few puffs. I could never really figure out what the attraction to cigarettes was. I guess it was the nicotine addiction, which I obviously do not suffer from. I have never smoked, and I appreciate fresh air whenever I breathe in. I do believe I'm in far better health than many other people my age, and I reckon good simple food, a very light level of alcohol consumption, and not smoking, must have played a sizeable part in that. The mechanic bloke (Greg) opposite my workshop is about 6mths younger than me, and reasonably fit. But he disappeared for a couple of weeks recently. When he returned, he didn't look well at all. When I asked Greg where he'd been, he replied "In hospital for 2 weeks! I developed pancreatitis and it's the most painful thing I've ever endured!" When I asked the reason behind it, he simply said, "Too many years of boozing! I have to stop drinking beer, completely, right now! It's bloody hard to get adjusted to it! But if I don't stop, the pancreatitis will only return and get worse!" Edited May 19, 2021 by onetrack 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Koreelah Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 I too hated the taste of beer as a kid, but later drank socially. These days I have a beer on the weekend, but only if I’ve earned it. I try to keep drinking red wine for when eating cheese. Preservatives seem to give me a headache, so I prefer the PF varieties. I notice increasing numbers of my family and friends either never drank or are cutting back substantially for health reasons. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted May 19, 2021 Author Share Posted May 19, 2021 My dad never drank. He would go into a pub and order a squash or a sarsaparilla. I worked a second job as drink waiter/barman at a weeding reception centre. We could have a drink at the end of the reception after the guests had left, but I drank only soft drink. The only pub I go into is my son's pub, and I haven't been there since well before the pandemic closed pubs. I go to the bistro for a meal, not the bar, and drink lemon squash. My drinks of choice are sugar zero lemonade or flavoured mineral water, coffee or iced coffee. I have a bottle of weak lemon squash beside the bed in case I get a dry mouth, or to take my tablets which must be taken at least an hour before breakfast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yenn Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 I badgered my father to let me smoke a cigarette and he said I could, but if I started I would have to finish it. I have never smoked since. I found beer when I was in the army and nearly became an alcoholic, but that was a long time ago and a good woman managed to divert me form drinking. now I enjoy a small wine with dinner and a stubby occasionally. I find much more enjoyment from that occasional stubbie than I could get from consuming several at a time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacesailor Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 Has anyone else had their doctor, prescribe a Fag for the patients health? . It was the ' cure ' for bronchitis, a " woodbine a day to keep the cough away ". spacesailor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_Atrick Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 (edited) That is nuts.. Never smoked in my life (except for being forced to with second hand smoke). My mother used to smoke; the stench was foul; the haze was foul, everything was foul about it.. Never dated a girl who smoked, either. Didn't start drinking until I was about 26; my fiancee's father was Austro-Hungarian and got me into it (I guess, he, to, needed it to dealwiht his daughter :-)) Enjoy a tipple today... though in my mid 30s, I revelled too much in it... Late starter, I guess. Edited May 20, 2021 by Jerry_Atrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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