24 July 2014

MUSINGS ON DRY JULY

Over the past three weeks I have had one only alcoholic drink. That was yesterday and it was a small glass of Dom Perignon 2004. It would have been extremely rude not to accept that as I was invited to an exclusive preview of the Dom Perignon Room, a new initiative at Clooney. (Very exclusive as there were just six of us.) But I am participating in Dry July so drinking anything much apart from water, tea or the occasional coffee is out for me.

My motivation was not to lose weight (I would go on a diet to do that) nor to wake up with a clear head (I always do that), and neither was it to support the Dry July charity (apart from my own generous donation, of course.) My reason was purely and simply triggered by the sign in the entry foyer at Auckland Hospital I spied while visiting my mother, inviting me to go a month without an alcoholic drink, and hopefully raise a little money to support the gifting of extra equipment and some treats that would make cancer patients lives more bearable. So, yes. I could be that strong!

I have been shocked and hurt by the response from the booze industry. Many who work in wine, spirits and associated promotion seem to have lashed out in wrath like a ton of bricks. It seems they believe their livelihood is threatened, despite the fact only 5,800 kiwis signed up which is a mere fraction of one percent of the two and a half million or more adults of drinking age in New Zealand. Some even suggested we could give up dairy for a month “The Cheese Freeze” or eat no lamb in September “Embaaargo” (sorry Rebecca, lambs of 4 weeks old are too young to eat in September anyway.) How silly. Yet there’s a huge movement called Meatless Mondays headed up by Sir Paul Macartney and family and I have never heard a single person bleat about that.

So I am completely puzzled as to why the poor souls who make our wine, sell hard liquor or produce drinks for public consumption believe their livelihood is threatened by Dry July and have even gone so far as to attack the Dry July Team’s administrative practices (“Do you know where that money ends up?” one critic asked.)

Dry July has not stopped me going to restaurants, not stopped me opening wine for friends and not stopped me buying wines to stock our cellar. But it has enabled me to make a couple of really important observations that I want to share, and believe me this month has really woken me up to:

• Never drive even after one drink.

• And never post anything on Facebook or Twitter after a night drinking, at home or out in the company of others.

(And also thanks to the one anonymous person who donated to DRY JULY in my name!)