Bond's Drinking

CmdrAtticus · December 2013

In relation to other members' mentioning the report put out by the British Journal of Medicine (http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f7255), I want to add that I thought it interesting that BJM published the study in order to further warn the public to the abuse of alcohol and that using Bond was a slick way of attracting readers to it the way advertisers use models (sex appeal) to sell autos at their trade shows.

It's just funny to me that to point out Bond's excessive drink consumption the report's authors only showed how ludicrous it was. Of course a real life 00 could not perform at the level Bond does - it's why the whole thing is fictional and highly exaggerated. It's also why the villains and plots and the heroines with the tongue in cheek names are exaggerations!

It would be like Popular Science explaining why it would be impossible for some of Q's gadgets to work in the real world. It' just like a bit of stage magic equivalent to letting people know why they should never really try sawing someone in half.

I also noticed they mentioned Bond' drinking habit was because he "was, first and foremost, a sailor, so his drinking habits might have their root in his original profession."
The problem with this statement is it gives readers who are ignorant of Bond's bio the impression he had been a ship sailor and that he had a commander's rank because his previous career had been on naval vessels It would be like stating Fleming began drinking because he had also been a sailor in the navy.

always shaken · December 2013

Exactly ,you've hit the nail on the head here, its all fiction ,all make belive ,it reminds me of a time when I went to a specialist regarding an old rugger injury,asked usual questions do you smoke drink, blah blah blah oh you are so naughty MR xyz ,my god if any one had found that letter he sent me you would think I was a raging chain smoking alcoholic, not once during my exam did he ask if I took drugs, or took it up the chocolate whizz way,

Thunderpussy · December 2013

Bond liked a drink ? This is news to me. A small sherry at Christmas perhaps.

)

always shaken · December 2013

Thunderpussy wrote:

Bond liked a drink ? This is news to me. A small sherry at Christmas perhaps. )

perhaps a manzanilla pasada -{

Charmed & Dangerous · December 2013

Thunderpussy wrote:

Bond liked a drink ? This is news to me. A small sherry at Christmas perhaps. )

) As long as the original vintage was 1851. Unmistakeable

)

Thunderpussy · December 2013

) Precisely.

Gassy Man · December 2013

I don't know that it is entirely fictional. My grandfather would put away five or six beers easily every night after work, and goodness knows how much on the weekend. By today's standards, he was an alcoholic, yet men of his generation by and large drank just like that, and my grandfather lived until his mid 80s, and that was 20 years ago. Cary Grant drank so much he was expected to die of liver failure in his 40s, yet, he, too, lived to be in his 80s. I'm not sure some people don't just have a natural resistance to the effects of alcohol. I've inherited the gene my grandfather apparently had -- I can put away the booze like no one else I know, though I only drink once in a while and socially. The only people who ever could keep up with me were Japanese, and I thought they were going to kill me. One last thing. Though I'm not of Irish extraction, I've been made an honorary Irishman by a friend of mine who is from Ireland -- his words, not mine, but he bases this in part on my ability to put it away and keep functioning.

Kabraxal · December 2013

Gassy Man wrote:

I don't know that it is entirely fictional. My grandfather would put away five or six beers easily every night after work, and goodness knows how much on the weekend. By today's standards, he was an alcoholic, yet men of his generation by and large drank just like that, and my grandfather lived until his mid 80s, and that was 20 years ago. Cary Grant drank so much he was expected to die of liver failure in his 40s, yet, he, too, lived to be in his 80s. I'm not sure some people don't just have a natural resistance to the effects of alcohol. I've inherited the gene my grandfather apparently had -- I can put away the booze like no one else I know, though I only drink once in a while and socially. The only people who ever could keep up with me were Japanese, and I thought they were going to kill me. One last thing. Though I'm not of Irish extraction, I've been made an honorary Irishman by a friend of mine who is from Ireland -- his words, not mine, but he bases this in part on my ability to put it away and keep functioning.

Same... takes a lot to get me feeling a buzz and I'm lucky enough to never feel hung over unless I either mix drinks or drink 2 litres in 3 hours... that was a bad day.

Jag · December 2013

I really enjoyed reading the report, even though it was quite predictable.

In general, Connery and now Craig have enjoyed rather good opinion amongst Bond fans for being realistic and more life-like than Moore or Brosnan. But now people are saying that Bond should not be realistic, but fantasy-like.

I guess it all goes down to what kind of Bond you like. If you like the fantasy Bond, then I guess Moore is your favourite. Gotta love 007 in a clown costume too!

) -{

Peppermill · December 2013

They do make at least one mistake though. In the section Connoisseur or alcoholic?
they refer to the Prairie Oyster as an alcoholic drink, however, it doesn't contain alcohol. So no Eye Opener.

always shaken · December 2013

I did watch a documentary about an estate (landed gentry ,not council) and the farm hands where allocated 5 pints a day
7 days a week ,not the refined beers/lagers like we have today but the home brewed stuff with lumps in ,it was a sort of food
for them , so going back to my reply on post 2 there is a lot of hysteria in the medical world regarding drinking and smoking
you drink 5 pints a week oh you naughty, naughty, man, take drugs and take it up the a*se , well carry on then.

Peppermill · December 2013

always shaken wrote:

(..) take it up the a*se , well carry on then.

I'm sorry, but what has this got to do with drinking? I have seen the effects alcoholism up close and it is not a pretty sight. It is the most widely used drug that has a profound effect on the person who takes it and the people around him. Your sexual preferences do not have this side effect and usually stay in the bedroom.

always shaken · December 2013

the point I was trying to make , is that every one (medical people include) is as soon as you mention that you have a drink or two
they start to rant and rave hand out all the advice ,its always the first thing they ask you "do you drink" well I have one or two a week after work with the boys , then you get all the blah blah blah about drinking but they never ask or de-cry any other lifestyle choices ,and just for the record I don't take drugs and am not a member of Britains Olympic naked leap frog team either but have friends that do/are

Ammo08 · December 2013

My Dad liked his whiskey straight in a glass with an ice water chaser and often had a can of Busch beer as well every night. But he got up every morning at 0430AM and went to work, as did my Uncle Frank, who often drank more than my Dad.

Some can handle it, some can't. My dad lived be 97 and Uncle Frank lived to 78.

Bond is Bond...he's a sort of superhero..

JamesBondBlog · February 2014

I like that in the opening to the novel Thunderball, Bond is feeling the effects of having 11 whisky and sodas the previous night.

)

The Domino Effect · February 2014

I once met a doctor who loved a wee dram. He offered me a shot and I replied that I was on antibiotics and couldn't drink. He put the bottle down, looked at me and said "I have spent my entire medical career looking for the reason you can't have a drink or two when you're on antibiotics. And I've found nothing. There's no scientific proof that alcohol impairs the effect of antibiotics or that it's dangerous to your liver or any other part of your body. It's baseless." And then he handed me a shot of scotch. Being a doctor and a lover of scotch, I have to believe that he really did do his research. I'm not for a moment suggesting that alcohol in excess is not dangerous or that alcoholism isn't absolutely horrible, but I do agree that there are many in the medical profession who seem to have 'a thing' about drinking, even in moderation.

always shaken · February 2014

The Domino Effect wrote:

I once met a doctor who loved a wee dram. He offered me a shot and I replied that I was on antibiotics and couldn't drink. He put the bottle down, looked at me and said "I have spent my entire medical career looking for the reason you can't have a drink or two when you're on antibiotics. And I've found nothing. There's no scientific proof that alcohol impairs the effect of antibiotics or that it's dangerous to your liver or any other part of your body. It's baseless." And then he handed me a shot of scotch. Being a doctor and a lover of scotch, I have to believe that he really did do his research. I'm not for a moment suggesting that alcohol in excess is not dangerous or that alcoholism isn't absolutely horrible, but I do agree that there are many in the medical profession who seem to have 'a thing' about drinking, even in moderation.

thank you

Thunderpussy · February 2014

I was always told it depended on the type of antibiotic you were on, as to whether
you could have a drink or not.

) It never really effected me as I don't drink.

)

Blackleiter · February 2014

Thunderpussy wrote:

It never really effected me as I don't drink

Damn you, TP! Stop stealing my schtick!

) (Yes, I'm a teetotaler too.)

Thunderpussy · February 2014

I can't understand its use, the old crystal meth does me.

)

I'm as unBond as you can get, don't drink, don't smoke, don't use drugs, I'm Mr Boring.

Blackleiter · February 2014

Thunderpussy wrote:

I can't understand its use, the old crystal meth does me. )
I'm as unBond as you can get, don't drink, don't smoke, don't use drugs, I'm Mr Boring.

Never boring, my friend!

)

Bond's Drinking

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