The Zeitgeist
IF YOU EVER have the misfortune to pick up a copy of The Mirror or The Daily Mail you would think that the country was about to drown in a torrent of vomit caused by gangs of rampant binge drinkers. Given the normal reliability of these august journals there is perhaps some question of the accuracy of their statements, but compared to their forbears, the binge-drinkers of today are really rather pathetic.
Consider the Mohocks: this gang of Rakes would assemble in the Devil’s Tavern, get stupefyingly drunk and would then engage in practices such as the Dancing Master, where men would be forced to dance a jig to avoid the swipes of their swords.
The mantle of incredible drunken feats was taken up by the Irish branch of the Hellfire Club who, at every meeting would toast the devil with scaltheen, a mixture of rancid butter and whiskey,and then pour the rest over a specially provided cat and set him ablaze. Their leader, Richard Chapell Whaley died aged thirty-five of sclerosis of the liver, but not before he had had ‘Buck’ Chapell thrown out of a third floor window for cheating at cards.
It rather makes the Bullingdon look like a bunch of juvenile amateurs. Yet binge drinking and excess, as well as being a boon for raconteurs, can also create great literature. We only need to think of the John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (Wadham), who as a key member of the Merry Gang was infamous for having “voided his bowels” onto a London crowd eager to see his pranks.
He was not averse to being lewd in his poetry either, his The Disabled Debauchee being among the finest works of early English Pornography, wit and style included: “Nor shall our love-first, Cloris, be forgot / When each the well-looked link-boy strove t’enjoy / And the best kiss was the deciding lot / Whether the boy fucked you, or I the boy.
So go to the Purple Turtle or the KA and get hammered, vomit in the street, have a Hassan’s and you never know, history may just repeat itself, and in the puddle of vomit, we will find a cultural gem.
11th May 2006