Potting In The Potting Shed

The jury remains out on whether alcohol is good or bad. Drinking it in excessive quantities, that is.

“In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is Freedom, in water there is bacteria.”  So said Benjamin Franklin.

Viscountess Nancy Astor (non-drinking Winston Churchill colleague)  was a lot more serious, and probably more correct factually, when she said “One reason I don't drink is that I want to know when I am having a good time.”

In recent weeks I have come across a strange phenomenon whilst messing around in the garden, especially while I was tidying the “natural” undergrowth along the boundary fences. On three different occasions, I encountered small glass bottles, what I would describe as “half jacks.”

In South Africa the term “half jack” is used to describe a small flat glass bottle of spirits, usually brandy, vodka, or cane spirits. Its shape is ideal for concealment of the liquor in a jacket pocket. From my discoveries, I arrived at the conclusion that one of the earlier property owners must have been some sort of “secret boozer.” The idea was further cemented when we found yet another bottle of the same brand at the back of the animal fodder shed, a place that no-one really frequents.

(Above): Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, sour mash. The Beam Formula, a standard since 1795. Non genuine without my signature, signed James B Beam. Distilled and bottled by James B Beam Distilling Co, Beam Clermont, Frankfort, Kentucky USA. 375ml 37.0% Alc/Vol

Others in the family have been pulling my leg about my “secret drinking problem”, and as a tribute to our Mystery Half-jacker, I have decided to display the latest find, which is still in a brand-new condition, as a decoration in the potting shed, which we plan to refurbish and re-construct on the outskirts of the planned veggie garden.

An old Scottish proverb goes: “You speak of my drinking, yet you don't know my thirst”