This might arrive too late for you to pay any attention towards it, or you simply might not care. But I’m going to say it anyway. Tonight is New Year’s Eve and it’s more than likely that you’re about to play up. In my case, this means exposing myself to what might be described as a wide range of alcoholic toxins, each of which has the potential to do me harm. Put them together as I will surely do, and the chances of me escaping tomorrow morning without what the Germans refer to rather accurately as a katzenjammer are virtually negligible. It’s my own fault of course, so I can’t complain. But I can offer you some sound advice, unless of course you’re a cat lover of such sufficiency not to mind waking up on New Year’s Day with a tribe of the tuneless creatures wailing between your ears. Keep things simple. Stick to one or two types of drink. Each type contains its own particular impurities or ‘congeners’, and the broader the range of drinks you imbibe, the greater the chance that one will shoot you down. In my case, I’d stick to the 1949 La Tache, but somebody forgot to send me a box. So instead I’ll probably be as scattergun as usual, and I’ll suffer the consequences. Take care. Be safe. And do your best to follow my advice, even if I’m hardly likely to do it myself.
