The first time I had whiskey I loathed it. I had an acquaintance when I was a young boy. Let's call him Rodney G for that was his name. He lived across the road and a few doors further down from our shop.
One day I was at his and his parents were out and he decided we should try some of his dad's whiskey. I have no idea how old we were but Rodney was older than me and obviously a bad influence.
So he poured a nip and told me to drink it straight down. Being young and impressionable I did just that. "Blood and sand" I thought as I swallowed it. If you've ever drunk neat whiskey you will know what I mean. I think he topped the bottle up with some water so it didn't look as if any of the fiery liquid had been taken.
From that day I've loathed whiskey. When I was a journalist reviewing concerts for the Eastern Evening News, at Christmas we would get a bottle of whiskey from the manager of Norwich Theatre Royal, Dick Condon. It would sit in our drinks cabinet for years before we gave it away.
I've probably got a bottle in that cabinet now without any inclination to drink it. It exists just in case we have people round and somebody asks for a shot. To date nobody ever has.
I understand that whiskey can be a real topic of conversation. Some will discuss single malts for hours and owning whiskey is now an investment that brings healthy profits.
Friends of ours in Yorkshire were turning out a cupboard when they found a commemorative bottle of whiskey that they had been given and which they had never touched. It was to commemorate something like the 100th birthday of Private Eye magazine, although I might not have got that exactly correct.
Our friend thought he would check the Internet to see if it had any value. He found a whiskey auction site and ended up making a few thousand on something that had no value to him. He also had a half empty/half full bottle which was snapped up for a couple of hundred.
I've been round the Bushmills whiskey distillery in Northern Ireland twice. The first time was when I was on a national conference with the Police and the second was on a trip to Belfast and the Giant's Causeway where the tour was included in the trip.
On the second visit I was accompanied by the other threequarters. When we received our free glass of whiskey at the end of the tour we bought a milky coffee and chucked it in that. It was about the only way we could drink it.
There is another way I can just about put up with drinking it and that's something called a Whiskey Mac. This consists of whiskey and Ginger Wine and cuts through a sore throat nicely. But that's drinking for medicinal purposes.
I've probably mentioned before that my grandmother had a recipe for sore throats known as her butter sugar pills. It was a lob of butter rolled in vinegar and coated with sugar. Did the trick for all of 10 seconds but usually added feeling sick to the sore throat.
At my cousin's wedding when I was but a lad, there was a toast using sherry. I thought at the time that toasts had to be drunk straight down. Probably got this idea from watching war movies where the Germans always seemed to do exactly that. So I chucked it down my throat while everyone else had a sip. Got some strange looks for that.
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It's going to be a busy Bank Holiday weekend. Today we will be at cricket for most of the day as it's our club's final league match of the season and they stand a real chance of avoiding relegation which will be quite an achievement in itself.
Last year we were promoted to the Premier Division of the Norfolk Alliance for the first time. This is the top tier of Norfolk cricket outside of the East Anglian Premier League which has teams from Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
We have a young team and the aim this year was to consolidate our position and we are on the verge of doing that. Since entering league cricket years ago we have achieved numerous promotions and never been relegated. Long may it continue.
Then on Sunday we have a garage sale in the village and on Monday I'm going to see The Who at Sandringham in a gig that also features The Lightnin' Seeds and Richard Ashcroft.
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I mentioned recently the new newsreader on Look East who seems unable to read the auto cue. Yesterday just before 7.30 am she finished the bulletin with the words.
"Well that's all from me today I'll be back in shortly."
Obviously she hadn't read the auto cue which would have said something along the lines of
"That's all from me for now. I will be back in half an hour."
I now no longer listen to the news but listen just for her mistakes. Surely before putting someone in front of the TV screen the powers that be should check that they can effectively do the job and at least can read from what is a prepared script. On ITV we have an Irish woman doing the weather. She never started with a cheery hello and never smiled during the forecast. Obviously this was pointed out to her and she is now much more friendly.
Mind you if you are too matey it's just as bad. We have another man doing the weather who always starts with a beaming smile and something along the lines of "Hello and a very good afternoon to you." It seems false and needs at least to be varied.
Great interview though on BBC with a Donald Trump supporter who was interviewed by a reporter after Trump's latest charges.
"If President Trump was laying on a beach now playing golf this wouldn't be happening."
"How do you know that?" Asked the reporter.
"Because I know it for a fact"
"How?"
At this point there was a lengthy pause.
"Because I'm an intelligent man."
I think the reporter in a few seconds had proved exactly the opposite. As I always say. Let the subject speak and if they are an idiot they will soon prove it. This man certainly illustrated it. Even Donald Trump can't play golf while he is laying on a beach, unless he's in a permanent bunker of course.