#QuarantinedThoughts — Gin

It’s probably safe to say COVID-19 has changed my relationship with alcohol, and I’m probably not alone.

Many people are drinking more due to boredom or anxiety, but if you’re anything like me, that is probably evened out by the fact that you’re not actually going out.

Having lived for decades in England, the simple fact that going to the pub for a drink is no longer an option is nothing short of a cataclysmic cultural change. Here in the Pacific Northwest, it’s still a pretty big deal.

In fact, I was always taught that “problem drinking” was mostly the solitary kind, when you’re drinking for the sake of the drink more than the context. The flipside is that it makes it really difficult to not drink when you’re out with a group. Everybody just assumes you’re either pregnant or a recovering alcoholic.

Particularly now, with the weather suddenly turning all nice and sunny, my soul clamours for us to be sitting outside, with a cold pint of something nice, sharing snacks with the dogs under the table.

How quickly that idea has become almost unnatural, tainted by the fear and necessary caution of not spreading this disease that is — quite literally — everywhere (or so we have to assume). It’s nothing short of surreal.