The day began in a thick fog, both of the meteorological sort and of the mind, the former being a seasonal feature while the latter was as a result of the consumption of an excess of the local brew aptly known as brain damage and although the autumn sunshine very quickly burnt off the fog it had little or no effect on his alcohol induced mussiness.
His mouth was dry and furry and his eyes itched and he felt as if something was
alive and crawling through his intestines and his head throbbed with every beat
of his heart.
When he looked at the stranger with the bloodshot eyes staring back at him from
the bathroom mirror he uttered those immortal words "never again”, and he
meant it then, most sincerely because he felt so awful but by the day after
next it would just be an unpleasant memory.
When he was a teenager he would get bladdered and next morning his hangover
would only last a little over an hour and then he would be back in the pub at
lunchtime.
When he was in his 20's it would last an hour longer, in his thirties he would
forget the lunchtime session but be banging on the Pub door at five.
Now he was in his late forties his hangover lasted all day and sometimes even
two, but they would go eventually so even when he said "never again"
at the time he knew that he would still have the over indulgent fun and face
the consequences.
