Monday 14 March 2011

Red red wine

The table is already set for the lunch when we come in. We are not the first to arrive. I get a glass of red wine. I don’t like red wine. I don’t like wine at all. But I am in the country that doesn’t recognise the existence of people who don’t like wine. Everyone assumes that if I look, talk and walk like a human being I must love wine. Red wine.

Realising that asking for the white wine isn’t an option and not wanting to invoke an awkward silence by asking for water I take a sip from my glass. I feel the heavy astringent taste in my mouth - one of the things I strongly dislike about red wine. After the second round of clinking glasses when the rest of the guests come in my head starts feeling unpleasantly heavy. After the third round I will feel slightly dizzy. Ugh! Luckily there’s water during lunch and nobody seems to notice I don’t take refills.

Once, when someone offered me wine, I refused and said I didn’t like wine. “Ooh, you miss so much!” – they exclaimed. Huh? Imagine a convinced coke addict offering you a dose and telling you that you miss a lot when you refuse?

Why is alcohol more acceptable than (other) drugs? Why is alcohol more accepted than cigarettes? When will alcohol be banned from the Dutch cafes just like cigarettes are now?

UB40 - Red Red Wine

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