Don Gray wrote:
>
> Arri London > wrote:
> >
> >> On Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:24:46 -0600, Arri London wrote:
> >>
> >> And then there is 'scrumpy', which is homemade (alcoholic) cider.
> >> Powerful, often opaque and doesn't taste of apples at all LOL. And then
> >> there is the fictional 'scumble', which is even more powerful and made
> >> of apples. Mostly apples ;P
> >>
> > Scrumpy is a dialect word from the West Country in the UK; Somerset
> > (which is cider country), Avon etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrumpy
> > sums it up reasonably well.
>
> Arri. You've taken me back to the late 1950's. I was a corporal in the
> Territorial Army, R.E.M.E division. Our Yorkshire division spent it's
> annual camp at Tavistock, in Devon. One Saturday we were allowed a
> trip into Plymouth. Four of us tackled the local pubs.
>
> We'd heard of the strength of scrumpy, the local delicacy and being
> youthfully cocky, asked for four pints. A local, seeing the uniforms
> and noting the foreign dialect warned us to drink only halves. Three
> of us agreed but one of our bolshy pals ignored the old sage. The
> booze was drawn from the barrel and although cloudy, went down a
> treat. In less that an hour four had been sunk. We exited.
>
> On hitting the outside air the four pint fella went totally berserk.
> He swung round the nearest lamppost shouting and singing. Just as
> quickly he slid to the concrete and went out like a light.
>
> He had to be trucked back to the barracks. I've never drunk scrumpy
> from that day to this.
> --
> Don

ROTFL! That's what he got for being bolshy My landlord gave me a
one-pint jug of it to eat with my fish and chips. Drank a very lean half
*very slowly*, thinking the grease would sop it up and still felt it.