The right brew

It has been great to have the queen here in Ireland. The visit has been wonderful, uplifting, healing and magnificent. It has felt like growing up, leaving home after years of rows, and then visiting the family home as an adult, and not a child. The relationship is now of equals. But whay did she have to visit Guinnesses, and make it look that drink was the major part of Irish culture she could not miss. There are many more things that that to Ireland, and yet that is the message going out to the world, alcohol is a vital part of being Irish. There should be more to us than that, and at least she didn’t touch the stuff. We have so much more to celebrate than booze; maybe she should have visited the best rehabs in the country instead. We may have grown up in our attitude to our neighbour, but we have yet to grow up in our attitude to alcohol.