Imagine my surprise today when the signs (Thai and English) in the local supermarket declared a mid-afternoon ban on the sale of alcohol. “Between 2 pm and 5 pm”, according to the sales assistant, “beer, wine and other alcohol cannot be sold, it’s the law”. I could, however, have my bottle of celebratory, imported booze wrapped up, in a showy bag with a golden ribbon.
This transformed the bottle of mid-grade Australian bubbly from “alcohol” to a “present”. According to my helpful sales assistant, “there is no problem selling presents”.
I couldn’t hide my smile.
You were not around in the 1960s when Australian Sundays were ‘dry’ but as long as you had driven at least 30 miles, you were considered a ‘bone fide traveller’ and entitled to quench your thirst at the pub. A boon for the village pubs which did a roaring Sunday trade ( no doubt sadly reflected in the accident statistics from the 30 mile home trips).
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