The last week of January.

Hello all...
I've been noticing your habits change this week and I'm guessing it's because it's the famous last week of January blues and money is running thin..until pay day...which is soon although I'm never sure, I get paid in milk and seed sandwiches everyday so I guess every day is pay day...sort of ! anyhow, back in the old days, gin was cheap enough to keep you going through tough times...

Being a pigeon I don't get to drink much gin but apparently Londoners in the 1700's drank more gin than they did beer!


The gin of the 18th century was very different from today.Originally a Dutch import,(Madame Geneva) it was very lethal and cheap and for a penny a dram you could get very drunk very quick.

London's gin craze was helped along by the government removing distillation regualtions, to the extent that one in 5 households was making and selling gin!


Well,one thing led to another and by the 1720's London town was spinning out of control.The economy relied on the hard work of the poor, who were now drunk most of the time,sloshed on the doorstep of a gin shop! Who wouldn't be?


In came the first gin act...1729, increasing tax on gin...then another gin act of 1736...increasing the tax to 20 shiilings per gallon...getting pricey this stuff...good old Londoners rioted in 1743 and the tax was reduced...this didn't last long..
In 1751 yet another gin act came in..(is this starting to sound familiar?) and massive restrictions were imposed....William Hogarth's etching of Gin Lane depicts the decay of London during this time.

So many gin acts later, times can be tough in London, sometimes, but Friday is coming...maybe celebrate with a nice large gin!

I would!

G'night all
Pepys