A Bottle of Wine and Patsy Kline



I cancelled my subscription to the Wine Club today.

I should have done it years ago, even when I was drinking wine.

The wine was interesting, in that I'd never heard of any one of the producers. Much of it was very good. I recall one time when we'd opened a bottle, my wife went into raptures about the stuff. It was French, which she usually hates: says it smells of cave floor. But even when I drank wine, the Wine Club was an unnecessary luxury.

The thing was five or six years ago, along with with my Nectar Card blurb, came an introductory offer from the Nectar Wine Club. A case of wine for £30 or some such silly price. So I signed up, thinking I'd got a bargain, not realising that I committed myself to a least four deliveries a year. If it had been a Book Club offer, I'd have thrown the stuff straight in the bin, but as it was wine...

I realised soon afterwards my mistake. The case of wine arrived with helpful tasting notes and a preview of my next case. But I didn't cancel. You know I felt too ashamed: to do so would have been to admit that I'd made a mistake. Something I like to think the super shopper in me wouldn't do.

Even though the wine would come regularly once a quarter I was always surprised; especially as it wasn't  scheduled into my financial accounts. It was as if I was too ashamed to acknowledge the existance of this shopping  faux pas, and wiped it from my memory.

I should have cancelled five years ago. The local Majestic Wine shop is a few minutes drive away and I can and did order on line. So why the need of Nectar Wines?

Anyway, this morning I cancelled. While the phone was ringing I was rehearsing my reasons for wanting to cancel. It had to be fool proof, how stupid was that.

The telephone lady expressed no surprise at the news that long serving customer - me - was cancelling his order. And when she asked if I would mind telling her why I wanted to cancel, I found I could honestly say "Because I'd stopped drinking wine." Couldn't get a more legitimate reason than that.

Then I immediately wondered whether she wondered why I'd stopped drinking. Was I an alcoholic, who'd been told by his doctor that another drink would kill him? Had I fallen on hard times and £90 a quarter was just too much of  a financial burden? Was I lying?

I've also stopped ordering non alcoholic beer on line. I don't drink very much of it now. A good strong cup of tea is as much excitement I can take these days.

It's good the wine arrived. My wife had drained the last bottle in the house a couple of days ago.

Comments

Steve said…
I was in a book club once. Lasted a couple of years because, like you, I didn't want them to think I was giving in early; that I'd made a mistake by joining in the first time. However, I did buy the occasional good book and, inlike wine, they never go off.
Anonymous said…
I'm praying for a rain in California
So the grapes can grow and they can make more wine
And I'm sitting in a honky in Chicago
With a broken heart and a woman on my mind.

I'll ask the man behind the bar for the jukebox
And the music takes me back to Tennessee
And when they ask who's the fool in the corner, crying
I'll say, little old wine drinker, me.
I came here last week from down in Nashville
'Cause my baby left for Florida on a train
I thought I'd get a job and just forget her
But in Chicago a broken heary is still the same.

I'll ask the man behind the bar for the jukebox
And the music takes me back to Tennessee
And when they ask who's the fool in the corner, crying
I'll say, little old wine drinker, me...
Marginalia said…
Dear Steve, books: the drink of the Devil, they snare you and give you licencious thoughts. Steer clear of drink and books and, of course, Dr Alice Roberts.

Dear Anon,

Red, red wine
Go to my head
Make me forget that I
Still need her so

Red, red wine
It's up to you
All I can do, I've done
But memories won't go
No, memories won't go

I'd have thought
That with time
Thoughts of her
Would leave my head
I was wrong
And I find
Just one thing makes me forget

Red, red wine
Stay close to me
Don't let me be alone
It's tearin' apart
My blue, blue heart
Anonymous said…
I got loaded last night on a bottle of gin
And I had a fight with my best girlfriend
When I`m drinkin` I am nobody`s friend
So please baby wait for me until they let me out again

I know the same thing has happened before
And each time it happens, I hate it more & more
When I`m drinkin` I am nobody`s friend
So please baby wait for me until they let me out again

I spent a whole lotta time sittin` & thinkin`
Sittin` & just thinkin` `bout you
If I didn`t spend so much time sittin` & drinkin`
We`d still have the love I thought we knew

I won`t promise the same thing won`t happen again
But I can promise, it`ll be a long, long time till then
`Cause when I`m drinkin` I am nobody`s friend
So please baby wait for me until they let me out again
KeyReed said…
Where has your post "I've got the power" gone?
Marginalia said…
Dear TS,

The missus, who acts as unofficial editor and the British Board of Censorship, had remarked that "toodle pip" was mis-spelt (she also queried my spelling of Hew, but relented when I pointed out that that was how the director of the wine merchant's spelt his name).

Anyway, I clicked on edit, made the changes but forgot to publish the edited text. Hence no show.

I appreciate your diligence!

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