Tuesday 19 January 2010

Buckie-ing The Appeasement Trend


CAMRA, prick up your ears. This is how to deal with the anti-alcohol lobby, OK?

“The ­people who commit crimes are the ones who have to take responsibility. It is completely wrong to blame the knife manufacturer if someone stabs someone. Why just attack Buckfast?”

When asked to consider reducing the caffeine levels in the recipe,

"Why should we? It's been there for over 80 years. Why should we change the recipe just to satisfy somebody's whim?"

And also when it was suggested that the Benedictine monks that manufacture the tonic wine in their Devon monastery are to blame for the effects of Buckie,

"Why should they accept responsibility? They're not up there pouring any of their Buckfast down somebody's throat. People take it by choice because they like it, because it's a good product".

Ta to Rab for his transcription skills.

That Buckie spokesman has balls, right enough. Others who purport to defend the intake of alcoholic drinks should be taking copious notes. He was responding to a documentary from the BBC, which ... well, why not read this yourself. Honestly, it's worth waiting for. Ready? OK.

This investigation had no agenda.

Rather than start from the standpoint that this humble tonic wine was a "bad thing", we simply wanted to find out why it had acquired a reputation, particularly in the central belt, as Scotland's "commotion lotion".

No agenda. Did you get that? The BBC has been at the forefront of the rapid demonisation of alcohol for the past year, but this study was entirely coincidental and not designed to further that cause at all.

Right, when you have all picked yourself off the floor, let's continue.

We asked Strathclyde Police about the drink using the Freedom Of Information Act.

They told us that Buckfast was mentioned in more than 5,000 crime reports over the last three years.

So what was the question, Kenneth? Could it possibly have been something along the lines of "How many crime reports over the last three years have mentioned Buckfast"? You know, a stunningly neutral question like that, with no hint of an agenda for a pre-determined attack strategy ... course not.

Nah, can't be that. Cos I really trust that Kenneth guy, he's really straight up, he is. As are the BBC, obviously.

In stark contrast to the Buckie geezer, CAMRA, who have a history of playing dead when the bansturbators come knocking, choose to confront the temperance movement in an entirely different, and customarily blinkered, manner.

Iain Loe, Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) national spokesperson, said: "CAMRA welcomes the call by the Committee for the introduction of a minimum price per alcohol unit which will benefit community pubs by curbing the below cost selling of alcohol by supermarkets which can fuel pre-loading.

There's that talk of evil supermarkets again, which we know to be a steaming mountain of horse crap.

They claim now to be defending the 'community pub', despite being absolutely fucking useless in defending the thousands of community pubs which have closed since July 2007.

While the Buckie spokesman supplies steadfast resilience, CAMRA exhibit nothing but self-preservation and gutless appeasement.

Buckfast recognise the attack on the drinks industry, CAMRA cosy up to the bansturbators in some vain hope that they won't be next in line. As long as there is someone more unworthy, in their eyes, than them, they will point the finger and say it was nothing to do with us, Sir, it was the naughty kid over there.

Or, as Crampton puts it ...

It's like a bunch of folks on the scaffolds complaining that the other guy's noose isn't quite tight enough. Y'all might instead direct your attention to the hangman sometime and try helping each other cut those ropes.

This assault on all alcohol is real. The picking off exercise is into the back straight while CAMRA haven't even reached for their running shoes. They had an early gun, too. They could have fought the righteous before focus turned to their particular vice, but they not only refused, they wholeheartedly jumped on the side of those who wish to exert control over personal choices. In fact, they still do.

Within CAMRA membership, there are plenty who are already classed as binge drinkers by this rancid anti-fun crusade, but who blithely dismiss the danger. It's something which happens to others, not us, they kid themselves.

Yet they are in the crosshair, of that there is no doubt, but reality is as alien to them as a cool Peroni. They have ducked every fight so far and, with a pitifully few exceptions, don't even seem to recognise that they are under threat.

For every brave soul like the Buckie representative, there are a hundred or more holier-than-thou CAMRA members who truly believe that this health juggernaut will pass them by. Before yesterday, there were probably a few monks in Devon who would have agreed.

The difference is that the monks have decided that hundreds of years of tradition are worth fighting for. God bless 'em.




15 comments:

banned said...

Wonder how many crime reports in Strathclyde include the words anger, ned or knife.

I am Stan said...

Interesting post Mr P,

CAMARA truly are pitiful...but then they are probably pissed!

Curmudgeon said...

Ta for the mention :-)

I will have to do a post at some time attempting to explain why the Real Ale Twats (as the Devil's Kitchen calls them) adopt such a pathetic head-in-sand attitude.

Mr A said...

BBC are impartial, alright. Arch-puritan Maryon Davies on "Today" yesterday, Ian Gilmore on "Today" AND "Woman's Hour" (for an in-depth interview) this morning. Again, much talk of alcohol pricing, "smoking ban being accepted" and "the public were ready for the ban" (before, insanely then going on about how community pubs must be protected as 5 a day are closing). Much talk of units, binge drinking etc and a tacit acceptance by the BBC that "a drinking problem" exists. From the intro - "What are the two main parties doing to address Britain's drinking problem?".

Oh, and further attempts at electoral suicide from Gove and the Conservatives as they continue to try and prove that they are exactly the same as Labour.

I'm getting REALLY angry now....

BTS said...

This was due to be part of a BBC series but in the second episode, focusing on Shaolin monks, the production team got their arses kicked..

Cooking Lager said...

Where would I buy bucky, it sounds great?

JJ said...

You have to smile, the timing of this documentary for BBC Scotland, just happens to coincide with all the hysteria about (nicely pushed along by auntie) so called binge drinking – at one time we just simply called it ‘drinking a lot’. Like a terrier with a stuffed doll…wagging its bitey head relentlessly from side to side until there’s nothing left to pull apart.

Looking on auntie’s site you see this laughable opening line. DPs link.

‘A BBC Scotland investigation into Buckfast Tonic Wine has uncovered new evidence about links between the drink and violence’.

Those few words ‘new evidence about links between THE drink and violence’.

Isn’t there a link between any alcoholic drink and violence when too much is consumed?

Is Buckfast any different from Newcastle Brown of the 70s and 80s when just about any young person who thought themselves cool drank it in copious amounts?

Apparently 43% of violent offences involving alcohol and young offenders can be linked to Buckfast. Well of course it can…Buckfast is cool amongst young kids…you wouldn’t dream of drinking anything different from your mates would you? So if a bunch of you went on to do some fighting outside the ‘Knobs & Knockers’ nightclub, then the chances of those arrested after having drunk Buckfast might be pretty high wouldn’t you say?

I’ll tell what is really frightening in all of this. We have an elite in this country that has a disproportionate influence over the rest of us – aided and abetted by a compliant left wing media – whose vested interests are well on the way to socially engineering the once unique character of this country into oblivion.

As for CAMRA…who gives a fuck!

Dick Puddlecote said...

Stan: Don't bait them, they're better than us, you see? The like alcohol which is immune from Alcohol Concern, apparently.

Curmudgeon: I look forward to it. :-)

Mr A: You and me both

Cooking Lager: Good question. I'm certainly going to look into that to show support.

Curmudgeon said...

Also see the comments here - to which I have made a suitable response.

Anonymous said...

It is NOT just the Buckie.

They baby miscreants are also popping as well to get completely lobotomised.

When the Polis arrive, long after the little fuckers have moved on, all they find are the empty Buckie bottles.

Political Polis, social engineering paths to follow, boxes to tick and photo opportunities to embrace ascending that promotional pole.

So it is the dastardly Buckie wot did it all and rotted the unwilling minds of the pimply angels.They have no self will you see, no responsibility for their actions.

Ban the Buckie and it will all go away; great 2 dimensional headline for a 2 dimensional false reality.

No it won't go away because the pimply angels will just switch fulltime to pills and better.

The Polis cannot admit that there is a real "soft" drug problem out there because they haven't a clue how to stop or control it and thus have none of them boxes to tick.


Polis castration by political intervention and objectivation.


My remedy is not to get rid of the Buckie, just get rid of the politicians.

It really is so simply 2 dimension if you are looking in the right dimensions.

Anonymous said...

Curmudgeon

I give you two words

James May

Tony said...

Why just isolate the Buckfast element in Scottish crime?

I for one would love to see another couple of partners in crime attacked too - I wonder how many criminals not only had Buckfast but perhaps a Burberry baseball cap and some Elizabeth Duke jewellery?

Close down Argos as well!

While you're at it, how many had M&S underwear! They're supporting crime you know (sorry for the pun)

Maybe they should focus on the fact that in general that sort of person gets drunk and commits crime. For some reason Buckfast is the drink du jour and if you banned it then they would simply buy another brand before getting tanked up and committing their favourite offences.

Tony said...

I've just realised that extending my comment further it could be argued I'm actually saying that all alcohol should be banned and I don't mean that!

If no drink was available they'd take another drug (legal or otherwise) to escape their harsh reality and then you'd be forever chasing new drugs to ban.

Curmudgeon said...

I will have to do a post at some time attempting to explain why the Real Ale Twats (as the Devil's Kitchen calls them) adopt such a pathetic head-in-sand attitude.

Now done, see here:

At the sign of the Ostrich

richard said...

myself will buy a bottle to reward the reverend gents for having a collective backbone, it's a fine drink in a way, and not the "commotion lotion" of legend (but then ah'm no' a Ned)