Wine shop + Gambling

Bayswater is allowing me to fulfill a lifelong desire to live directly above a liquor store. For my mom's sake--as it is Mother's Day in some countries--I haven't always harboured this desire. For some time I wanted to live directly above a shop on a busy street, and when I was in college I further refined that goal to live above a liquor store. I suppose that I was getting tired trying to find ways to return a keg the morning after hosting a party, finding transport via my bike and the bus rather difficult--though possible. Simply living above a liquor store would be much more convenient.

Now, I live above a liquor store called Nicolas. This wasn't what I had envisioned a decade ago. Nicolas specialises in French wines and offers no kegs, or even 6-packs for that matter. Though I can't regularly afford to shop at Nicolas, I feel compelled to occasionally browse the shop and ultimately purchase the cheapest bottle available, that is when I'm not too freaked out of being the only customer.

This is not the place where alcoholics come to find a cheap drunk. Instead, they just use the sidewalk outside. Directly next to Nicolas stands a branch of one of the bigger chains of sports betting shops, Coral. I have never entered, but I can get depressed by passing the always ajar door, held open by the "punter" taking a break from spending his non-existent money to have a smoke and to drink a ridiculously cheap, high-alcohol cider. While neither smoking nor drinking is permitted inside Coral, both are highly encouraged...Coral loves inebriated patrons.

Back in the States, I was very bothered by--and still make it a single issue vote--by some of the antiquated liquor laws enacted in some states, including Minnesota. I abhor laws created with religious undertones, yet I understand the state's desire to keep people at least semi-sober. While everything is more expensive on London, getting drunk can be done extremely cheaply...assuming you don't go to the W. Here, cider is not consumed by teenage girls looking for an easy drunk. Instead, it is downed by the biggest drunks as it serves as a loss leader at the local grocery chains which stand on every corner. Cheap cider is ubiquitous in Bayswater, except in Nicolas.

As part of my desire to learn my neighbourhood, I will continue making the occasional purchase from my French neighbours below. However, I will not be frequenting Coral.

Photo: taken from the street of me having some whiskey in my window above Nicolas, courtesy of Christine Ding Huang.