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Hello, hello, and welcome to your mindful drinking audio advent day nine with me, Denise Hamilton Mace, here on the Mindful Drinking and Moderation in Midlife podcast. Today we are talking about the long lunch survival guide because the festivities start early on December days. It is late lunches, early dinners, cheeky midday tipples, and you might not see your desk again for the rest of the day. There is something beautifully dangerous about a December work lunch. It always starts off innocently enough, well, sometimes innocently. You go out for a working lunch with a friend and you think, well, why not get a bottle of wine? It's Christmas. Or perhaps your boss is trying to be clever and thinks they can save a few pennies if they take you out for lunch rather than for dinner. I can tell you that after decades of throwing Christmas parties in various venues around London, you usually end up spending a lot more than you think you would at lunchtime, bosses, so don't be fooled. But suddenly it is five o'clock, it is dark outside, you're in some random pub or bar that you don't remember getting to. There's another shot in your hand, and you are writing off not only the rest of the day, but quite possibly all of tomorrow as well. Christmas lunches are one of those times when it is okay to have a hard out. You can be that person that says, Alright, I need to head off before another bottle appears, before another round of shots appears, because it is a relentless day. I can't tell you the amount of times that I started, or I witnessed people starting at one o'clock just to have a nice relaxed lunch with the goal of being home by six o'clock, maybe seven, uh, and then at midnight they are still rolling out of the door trying to figure out which way is up. So, like I said, you can have a hard hour at Christmas for lunch times. It's one of those times when it works in your favour. I don't want you to count the minutes and miss out on actually enjoying your time in the place and with the company that you're in, but do know when it's going to be time for you to leave. What's your usual cutoff point? When do you think you're going to be starting to head towards the moment when you could tip over and leave before you get to that point? Uh, eat properly. I have said it before and I will say it again, but food is your friend. The more you eat, the slower it takes for alcohol to be absorbed into your system. Don't just pick at starters, but have a full meal. If you're not sure if you're going to like what's on offer at the restaurant or wherever you're going, make sure you eat beforehand. Plus, the more you eat, the less space you have for drinking. It's very uncomfortable to drink lots of liquid on a full stomach. And finally, this is a slightly alternative motivation technique, but leave some really important work undone back at the office and give yourself a reason to uh stay sharp and to exit quickly. Now, obviously, I don't mean anything that's going to put your job in jeopardy. If it's really important you need to get it done, get it done. But if you know that you might need a little bit of extra inspiration, motivation to push you out the door, make sure you leave something important undone so that you've got a reason to not only to leave but to stay clear-headed, go and get that done, and then you can get home early, and then you can make your own choices about how the rest of the night is going to go. Today, behind today's um Advent email, you will see my personal selection of soft drinks. It's lunchtime. It's okay to not always have an alcohol-free alternative to a full-strength drink. Sometimes we just want a nice soft drink. So I've got a selection for you of some of my favorite soft drinks and mixers that you can use. Uh, you'll find be able to find most of these in uh most pubs that put some effort into their drinks list, and of course, at online retailers like Wise Bartender and Dry Drinker and the Alcohol Drinks Company. So, check those out, and I will see you tomorrow for day 10. And until then, cheers to a Christmas less intoxicated.