Guinness, and too much of a good thing
Gerald Durrell’s 100 year anniversary was a few days ago (DOB 7.01.1925). His book, My Family and Other Animals, was one of the very few books I read as an early teen and loved. Later, I went on to delve into some of his brother Lawrence’s very different oeuvre. As I scroll through their Wikipedia entries it is hard to think about Empire, and think about the effects of Empire on so many people (even my wife). How narrow the times we live in have become. Perhaps. But this made me laugh out loud.
In January 1964, [his mother] Louisa died. Durrell was devastated. He began to drink more: he had been advised to drink Guinness to combat anaemia, and began drinking a crate a day, and gaining weight.