Worrying Signs I

Rummaging about in a kitchen drawer the other day I came across some objects I hadn't seen for ages - they are corks with wooden Hungarian men in traditional costume stuck to the top. They are supposed to be used to seal up half-finished wine bottles, for drinking another day. I can't remember when we last had a need for them. I'd forgotten they even existed, to be truthful. It's a long time since a bottle of wine that was opened in our house didn't get polished off that same day - that same hour, in fact.

It could be a good sign of course. It might mean that our wine consumption has gone down, not up. Maybe once upon a time we drank one bottle and then started on a second - or even a third, which we didn't quite make it through. Yes, that's a possibility. Perhaps we're actually becoming more moderate in our old age (I can hear that hollow laughter, and, you know, saying, "If you believe that, you'll believe anything," could be considered rude.)