Hold All Tickets

My drinking habits have been well documented on these pages.

No snide remarks needed. Everything in moderation, and all that.

This time, however, I am referring to hot beverages. Not the cool ones that some of you enjoy so.

It is my duty to inform you that there have been changes. I have been converted. I am now a coffee drinker.

In fact, I may or may not be scribbling this, with a latte at hand. Who would have thought.

For years, I avoided the stuff. Decades actually. As the owner of a Woolies-brand bladder, the last thing I needed was a caffeine hit.

It wasn’t always so. When I started in radio, I would gulp down cup after cup. No, that wasn’t in the Menzies era. But thanks for asking.

As the industry’s worst ever midnight to dawn announcer, I needed something to keep me awake. Unlike my handful of listeners, who would doze off as soon as I began mumbling into the microphone.

I would take a double coffee, no milk, no sugar. That would keep my eyes open, until around midday. When I would fall in a screaming heap.

Eventually, it took a toll. I swore off the coffee beans, and thought little more of it.

That is, until surgeons started tinkering with my organs. Minus one, the issue resolved itself. And at the same time, I realised that all my friends had developed into coffee nuts.

They have one each morning. And then some. They love it. Starts their day with a zing.

One or two could be classed as coffee snobs. They cheerfully admit such. Others add a dab of this or a mix of that. It all seemed rather exciting.

So now, I’m part of the gang. I have my own favourite brew. Yep, the latte. With one thanks.

And there’s more. Proper coffee drinkers have their own hangouts. Places where the bloke with the apron knows your order as you walk in. I’m proud to say, I have progressed to that stage.

It’s a rustic, unusual hole in the wall, with less than comfortable chairs. But the coffee is to die for. See, that’s how we aficionados talk about our morning brew.

I go there most day. Have brekky sometimes too. There’s always laughter. Great way to start the day.

So there you have it. My new hot drink of choice. We might share one soon. My shout.

Oh, did I mention I’ve changed my cold drink as well? Beer has been replaced with champagne. Did I just hear the sound of old mates falling from their bar stools? Anyway, that’s another story.