I had no idea that out antipodean cousins of the British Commonwealth, now looking forward to Christmas on the sunny beach rather than in a snowdrift as the Good Lord intended, were facing a holiday time pitfall beyond the North American tests of the office party or that least liked cousin discovering your beer stash:
Etiquette expert Patsy Rowe believes most people should devise a plan to ensure they don't drink and text, and end up with more than a hangover the next morning. "Very rarely do people send an inflammatory text when they're sober. It's usually the alcohol that gives people the courage to tell their ex-mother-in-law or ex-wife what they really think," Ms Rowe said.How to know you have a wee issue with the clinky-drinky at Yule: paying a telco to take a level of service away from you, no doubt for a fee. And...err...wouldn't that buddy system idea trip up on the fact that your buddy is likely also your drinking buddy, not without his own ex-mother-in-law to insult?"Put some self-control techniques into play. Promise yourself that you won't text anybody after your third drink." She added that another technique is to have a "buddy" who can keep an eye on who you're texting when you've had a few drinks. Some mobile phone carriers, such as Virgin Mobile, also offer a blocking service, which prevents the user from texting predefined numbers until 6am the next day.
Ah, well. Something has to compensate for the ability to get a sun burn rather than frost bite on Christmas Day.
