Non drinkers are more dangerous drivers – official

As we are now fast approaching (spiralling downhill?) towards the Christmas period, I want to present you with a sobering statistic from the Department of Health in the UK. 23% of accidents occur where alcohol consumption was a factor.  This is staggering, that means that 77% of all accidents are caused by people who drink water, coffee, tea, carbonated drinks or other dangerously nonalcoholic substances.  You have been warned, but let me put it in perspective, if there is someone at a party drinking anything other the an alcoholic beverage then they are nearly three times more likely to be involved in an accident.

My piece in Riviera Woman has elicited some interesting responses.  If you remember, I wrote a piece for the at on-line magazine suggesting that women where crap at business because they were more interested in what a person was wearing or how the smelt than the business details. It is far to say that I had my tongue fairly well inserted in my cheek, but one of the comments suggested that I should get out more, so clearly she  never reads this missive!

When walking on Sunday up above Chateauneuf de Grasse I took this photo of the view down to the sea from the ridge.  Sadly some oaf decided to get in on the act and it was only when I got home I realised that the composition of this picture had been somewhat compromised.

A will buy a drink for the first person other than the subject who recognises this man ruining my artistic picture of the sea as viewed from the ridge above Pre Du Lac

We were sadly saddled with taking the monstrous maniacal mutt Banjo with us but it almost turned out very well.  We can across a hunter with an enormous shotgun.  Perhaps I should not have thrown the ball into the bushes for Banjo at that very moment, but impetuosity overcame me at just the right second, anyway in the event no shots were fired, at least not in his direction, however a few verbal shots were fired at me by that nice lady decorator.

Last night to the first of the many Christmas gatherings, I am not at liberty to reveal the names of our hosts, but who else serves Chateau Gloria as if it was a house wine? As a result an already very convivial evening was underway and was then further enlivened by the first Montecristo No 2 of the season, but I should not have danced.  I don’t dance, St Vitus Dance would be a fair description of my movements on those infrequent occasions when one of my dwindling number of female admirers manages to persuade me it is a good idea to dance and drags me onto the dance floor, hence this morning I shall not be partaking of my customary walk having pulled a fetlock or something similar.  If I told my ill educated fridge magnet salesman friend Paul North I had pulled a fetlock, he would assume that I had met a woman from Essex.  I do hope he doesn’t read the column today…

Chris France

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