Rebecca Tyrrel: Days Like Those

'The purchase of the Tia Maria tells me something catastrophic is going on with our finances'

Published: 25 September 2006

One of the many things that I have failed, over the years, to fathom about Matthew is his need to buy such eye-boggling amounts of alcohol whenever we hit a difficult financial patch. That one is imminent I know from the six cases of Sancerre in the kitchen and the five of Rioja that are being carried in. Ten minutes later it is impossible to reach the cooker without performing hopscotch (hop-Famous-Grouse-scotch to be precise), and finally, with much straining and puffing, a solitary bottle of Tia Maria is balanced precariously on the top of a very tall tower of boxes.

I have no idea what complicated issues lurk behind the purchase of this last item - Matthew has always regarded Tia Maria as the alcohol world's equivalent of the string-backed driving glove. But whatever they are, there is something sinister and possibly catastrophic going on with our finances.

Article Length: 840 words (approx.)