We hear a lot about the virtues of the Mediterranean diet - olive oil, fresh fruit and vegetables in quantity, fish rather than meat, pasta, salads and not just of lettuce and tomatoes, but also other sliced or diced vegetables. And wine, usually red. No wonder that after three weeks or so in those regions, you come back invigorated as much by the fare as by the sun and sea. As to the wine, medical columns in the newspapers of these islands have often recommended a couple of glasses of red per day, often as an aid to those with a tendency to heart trouble.
Yet a man came back from a holiday in France quoting an article he had read in a magazine there, in which a doctor modified the wine advice somewhat. The healthier way to treat alcohol, he advised, was to have three days per week in which none was consumed at all, while on the other four, a limit of four drinks was advisable, a drink being defined as a glass of wine or a small measure of spirits. Unfortunately he left the magazine behind and indeed, isn't sure of the title. Then to cap it all, a newsletter arrives from The International Centre for Alcohol Studies in Washington with the heading: What Is a "Standard Drink?", which requires some study.
All this is leading up to the fact that a tube of cardboard arrived the other day from the singing, film-producing man of many arts, Davy Hammond of Belfast. It contained a striking picture. Writes the same Davy: "If you were lucky enough to meet me in a pub and to get the opportunity of buying me a drink, I'd ask for `a Kit', ie a bottle of stout and a whiskey. Lately I asked Neil Shawcross to paint such a Kit and then I got copies made. Here is your copy. Hoping to meet you soon in the presence of two Kits." And there was a PS: "There is a version of this called `A Senior Kit', which is a glass of whiskey and a pint bottle of stout. This is a drink reserved for veterans of some standing." It is a wonderful picture, entitled simply The Kit and giving off a fine, unsteady rose-coloured glow, absolutely compelling. Now suppose that all Belfast went on to a Mediterranean diet?