Beer makes a good servant but

Beer makes a good servant but a very bad master; a short story.

“Mr L, I’m sorry, but this pain in your sacro-iliac joint just does not present in the normal way. There is something very odd about it; tell me again.”

“Well it all started very suddenly and for no reason. I had not been gardening, or on a long journey. I have not turned the mattress this week, and the wife and I haven’t indulged.”

I nodded trying not to grin; it is amazing how often men have lower back trouble after sex. Then I know they’re not doing their exercises before going to sleep. “Describe the pain for me.”

“It’s severe; the worst pain I have ever had.”

A braggot is a beer make with honey.

This page was updated on 9th May, 2021.

“Now wait a minute, when you pulled a muscle in your right shoulder, um, let me look; oh yes, a year ago, just before Easter you said that pain was the worst you’d ever had.”

“That's true. And that pain in my middle finger was bad too.”

“Odd that was exactly two years ago. Well, anyway,” I said to Mr L, “this just doesn’t present like a spinal problem. So, I am not going to adjust the joint.”

“Oh, please, anything for some relief. Last night the only escape I could get was to lie on my hand on the other side, and lift that hip up off the bed.”

“Gosh and how long did you lie like that?”

“As long as I could, then I’d collapse on the bed again, the wife would bring me another ice-pack, or I would get up and roam the house; lying down, that was the worst.”

“Look, I hate to say this, but take a couple anti-inflammatories for three days, and let me see you on Thursday. We may need some X-rays.”

“X-rays! Why?” Mr L demanded.

I answered evasively. You don’t want to tell the patient he might have cancer, or something else bizarre, without good reason. “I just do not have a diagnosis, and this worries me. Is your prostate okay? How many times a night do you get up?”

“At least twice; occasionally three times.”

“Well, you may have to see a urologist too. That’s getting to be quite frequent.”

Three days later the mysterious pain had gone, just like the pain in his thumb and shoulder.

It was whole year later that I noticed Mr L’s name in the appointment book again. Oh damn, I wonder what he has got this time, I wondered, watching him hobbling down the corridor to my office, slipper on his left foot, obviously in severe pain again.

“Kicked the dog, this time, Mr L?”

“No! But my big toe, it’s so sore; swollen too.”

“Let’s have a look at it.”

Gingerly Mr L eased his slipper off, grimacing. If I’d switched the light off, I am sure I would have been able to see it glowing in the dark; red-hot, swollen and inflamed. In fact the swelling affected the whole foot, and there was inflammation beginning to stretch up his leg.

Bernard Preston's gouty toe.

 “What’s it this time, doc?”

“No doubt about it, Mr L, you have gout.”

“Gout! But I don’t drink wine. I am not much into red meat, and we do not eat that rich French cuisine.”

“What about mushrooms and beer?”

Mr L hung his head. “I’ve been drinking too much. You are right, and we had mushrooms this week.”

“How many pints is too much, Mr L? Is it only beer?”

He nodded. “Two quarts a night.”

“Mm, that is a lot. Every night?”

“Most nights.”

“During the day? Ever get drunk?”

“No, I never drink in the day. And I don’t get drunk but the good wife says I do get silly. I am usually in bed and asleep by eight-thirty.”

“Why so much, Mr L? You do realise this means you’re an alcoholic?”

“I s’pose but I do not get drunk. And I never drink in the day!” he added hotly.

I nodded. “But nevertheless, it’s obviously the cause of all these bizarre pains you have been experiencing.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not? Beer’s the major cause of gout.”

“Because I stopped three days before this began.”

“You quit?”

“Look, I know I’ve been drinking too much and, just to prove to myself, and she who must be obeyed, that my beer still only has servant status in my life, I quit every year for Lent.”

I knew Mr L was quite religious. “Mm,” I said, musingly. “So you quit for about six-weeks every year. That’s good.” Turning to my computer, I googled “lent” in search of the dates.

“By George, every year we have a pancake evening on Shrove Tuesday, and I always choose the mushroom filling.”

“Shrove Tuesday?"

“That’s the beginning of Lent.”

Checking his file against the dates on Google over the last few years, sure enough, three to four days after Shrove Tuesday, Mr L was man-down. 

“But why after I quit the booze? Next year, instead of taking the damned pills, I’ll just start the beer again!”


Beer makes a good servant but a very bad master.


We laughed together, easily. “I think I have it. It is probably partly the mushrooms, but the major factor is that every year, at the beginning of Lent you drink two quarts less liquid every night. That’s what washes away those uric-acid crystals that are being embedded in your joints.

"I’m just not going to give up beer for Lent any more. It hurts too much; perhaps chocolates next year; and mushrooms," he added, jokingly.

I smiled. “Seriously, it’s good that you can give up your booze cold-turkey like that. But still it is far too much alcohol. So, between every glass of beer, have a shot of water, and try and stick to one quart.

“Right, I’ll start tonight,” he said with a wink.

“But it’s Lent!" It is indeed good to prove to yourself that beer is your servant, not your master. But do go on having a quart of water every night through Lent if you quit.

“And this toe?”

“Ice it, sleep with an icepack on it, in a sock, and take one anti-inflammatory every night before bed. Will you phone me in a week please.”

Mr L nodded, giving me a sheepish smile, and left. He phoned a week later, the pain in his toe nearly over. And added, “I don’t know if I told you doc, but I get severe heartburn at least two or three nights a week, and have to sit up for two hours. In fact it was so bad, I had to have a gastroscopy[1]. My doc was worried about a tumour. It also gave me a sore throat for two months.

Well, since I stopped the beer, guess what? I have just realised, in Lent I don’t get heartburn either! And I do not have to get up at night to pee."

“You writing another one of your damned blogs?”

I nodded, glancing up at she who is always right.

“Who are you writing about this time?” she demanded imperiously.

“Me!” I dared not mention that my heartburn was a matter of the past. "I told you so." She wouldn't let up for months.

Useful links

When browsing use right click and "Open Link in New Tab" or you may get a bad gateway signal.

Orange juice

I have one more little fact to add. These are only anecdotes but would provide interesting material for research.

When I gave up beer for Lent, I took to squeezing three oranges and drinking that instead of the alcohol. Particularly if the fruit is not quite ripe then it gives me a severe attack of gout. It's the acidity; one fruit is enough, and I now use the pulp too.


Newsletter

Our newsletter is entitled "create a cyan zone" at your home, preserving both yourself and Mother Earth for future generations; and your family too, of course. We promise not to spam you with daily emails promoting various products. You may get an occasional nudge to buy one of my books.

Here are the back issues.

  • Investing in long-term health
  • Diseases from plastic exposure
  • Intensive lifestyle management for obesity has limited value
  • A world largely devoid of Parkinson's Disease
  • The impact of friendly bacteria in the tum on the prevention of cancer
  • There's a hole in the bucket
  • Everyone is talking about weight loss drugs
  • Pull the sweet tooth
  • If you suffer from heartburn plant a susu
  • Refined maize meal and stunting
  • Should agriculture and industry get priority for water and electricity?
  • Nature is calling
  • Mill your own flour
  • Bake your own sourdough bread
  • Microplastics from our water
  • Alternative types of water storage
  • Wear your clothes out
  • Comfort foods
  • Create a bee-friendly environment
  • Go to bed slightly hungry
  • Keep bees
  • Blue zone folk are religious
  • Reduce plastic waste
  • Family is important
  • What can go in compost?
  • Grow broad beans for longevity
  • Harvest and store sunshine
  • Blue zone exercise
  • Harvest and store your rainwater
  • Create a cyan zone at your home

Did you find this page interesting? How about forwarding it to a friend, or book and food junkie? Better still, a social mead tick would help.

Address:

56 Groenekloof Rd,

Hilton, KZN

South Africa

Website:

https://www.bernard-preston.com