A Courageous Young Widow !

My last drop of nectar was a sumptuous glass of Wirra Wirra - the bottle had been opened early in the New Year and not fully consumed and as consequence I was late in starting my sabbatical.

I had made a vow long before Christmas festivities began to take an enforced break from the grape and the 31 day milestone will appear this Friday without a drop passing my lips.

But was it easy?  It seems now with the ‘date hurdle’ cleared, a piece of cake but the reality is I made stringent efforts to change my everyday habits so instead of a regular glass or two of vino in the evening, I plumped for one of the range of San Pellegrino sparkling beverages - lemon, orange or grapefruit to quench my habit. I limited my exposure to difficult social events that would put temptation in my path - avoided public houses, music venues & dining out - the latter of course was very high risk - & particularly disarming because as the evening wore on, the restaurant decibel level rose, forming a babbling cacophony that signalled that everyone was enjoying the relaxation and fun conversation induced by alcohol, that I could not participate in!

I missed my nightly book reading to son and daughter accompanied by a glass of chilled white in hand - the tale of Matilda by Roald Dahl was certainly dulled.

Oscar Wilde famously wrote “ I can resist everything except temptation” but temptation was just around every corner, so on taking my daughter to London to see the ballet I was confronted with the stunning vista of a dedicated champagne bar in the foyer where I would have only too happily taken up residence during the twin set of intervals. Life can be so cruel.

 

But in the end, the deed is nearly done. My bottle bank trips have ebbed to an all time low, my bank balance has seen a resurgence and this Long Good Friday evening will see a celebratory glass of cheer - a bottle of my favourite champers - a toast to the courageous young widow - Veuve Clicquot.  God bless her soul.

Veuve Clicquot was just 27 years old when she took over the reins of the Reims based champagne house after her husband died in 1805 -