On Booze

I've written about my relationship with Alcohol before. But last night I maybe realised a couple of things. Last night was part of MiL's 70th Birthday celabrations. A 'girls' night out. Everyone started in Oscars for drinks and nibbles, Then a limo arrived to take them to Bingo in Deadend, I took Pen down to Oscars then up to the Bingo in our car (The Limo was supposed to hold 13 and there were 17 going so I was basically taxi) Anyway after Bingo, the plan was for the Limo to take everyone back to Cowbridge. But as is the way with these things, Almost everyone wanted to grab a couple of drinks in Deadend....the only pub worth going in is The Railway, so we trooped down to the Railway-this was at 10pm. Now there was a large crowd went down to the Railway, MiL, Pen, Est, Nora, Jean, Shirley, Maureen, Alison, Lisa, Marianne, Karen, Mel, Hanna, Deedee, Only Isobel and Sara didn't go. We left at almost 2am, taking Est, Alison and Lisa back to their respective homes. But this is about how I am and how other people behave, while in Pubs. I figured it out last night, why I'm so uncomfortable in Pubs, especally town center pubs on a weekend. First off its the atmosphere, a cross between a cattle market and a cage fight. There was trouble last night, We missed it, It happened in the Smoking Yard behind the pub. Every time I have been out, In the Northwest and down here in Wales there has always been that kind of atmosphere. Maybe its the alcohol makes people regress, strip away the veneer of civilisation back to a fight and fuck default, Compounded by the whole Fri/Sat night end of the working week release. When I was younger Pubs for me were all about the drinking, not places to cop off, and certanly not places to get into a ruck..I ritualised the agression through Martial Arts. Then there is the whole...Well the way that girls and women behave. From a sober point of view and 'maybe' I was getting the wrong end of the stick but everytime Al went to speak to someone then Lisa would swoop in all eyelashes a fluttering. Doing a version of Whatever the femail equivalent of cockblocking is. From a psychlogical point of view, I see it as jealousy, jostling for a place in the pecking order. Men do it, but in a diffrent way. And this is where I have a problem. Al and Lisa have been 'freinds' for 30 years, have they been vying for position for that lengh of time? I don't know, as a newcomer into that social circle I can only guess. (But of course it's one of many social circles, be it work, freindship, martial arts or even paganism. Same dynamics diffrent orginisations) Now I'm 40, and there are.....well kinda defficncies in my mental toolkit of how to deal with these type situation. I can 'act it' like I used to but these days I can't be arsed. Which is fine for me and Pen, I just wonder how its going to affect how others percive me. Again on one level I don't care. But it it has a negative effect on 'our' life then something will have to be done.