Alcohol & daytime drinking now unfashionable & is judged?

[101cockerspaniels]

Met friends for lunch a fortnight ago & was excited to meet up for a catch up &, our usual glasses of wine.. All three had varied excuses for not drinking & I felt judged for having a couple of glasses of wine! One referred to me jokingly as the "daytime drinker"..
They drank non alcoholic cocktails & some type of flavoured bubbly water in fancy glasses..
Is alcohol in general & lunchtime drinking gone out of fashion? For the record all of us are early 40s..

No they're not weird...I hate this attitude towards alcohol and that people who don't drink at an occasion are seen as weirdos. I rarely drink...not totally teetotal but close to. I have various reasons. I'm scared to feel out of control..gives me terrible anxiety afterwards. I grew up with an alcoholic parent so associate drinking with misery rather than fun. I also love driving so prefer to drive home sober than get a cab. I'm also a tight git and think booze is a waste of money. Am I weird?

I work in hospitality believe me, it's certainly not dead! 😂

I rarely drink these days as I don’t seem to be able to tolerate it much any more, and can’t drink wine at all, but when I do drink it is invariably in the afternoon. I wouldn’t drink past about 9pm as would generally feel rubbish the next day. A sunny Saturday afternoon and some beer in the garden or on the beach is one of life’s greatest pleasures. I’ll have two or three and then call it a day. Maybe a nap and then a restful evening with some cups of tea and no hangover in the morning 😀 Also means I usually don’t drink at all from about September through to April/May because it wouldn’t occur to me to do daytime drinking indoors when it’s gloomy and cold outside.

I agree. Why are they "weird" just because they dont drink during the day? it makes me feel like crap and also gives me rebound anxiety, and many in this thread have said the same. Why should we do something that makes us feel like crap?

Today has been sunny and we nipped out for a couple after work. People are still loving an early drink.

On a sunny day a lot of people would rather have a few in the sun then go home when it cools down.

Not weird. You just don't enjoy a drink.

“Judged” can die a death, along with the heinous “shamed”.

I don't drink at lunchtime because it makes me horribly ill by tea time. Proper lightweight drinker.
When I go out for lunch it's to eat not drink. Which came as a surprise to someone I invited once. She invited her husband and son and proceeded to drink loads. Her husband did too. Nasty really watching people get drunk by 2pm.

I go out to chat not get drunk... Even in the evening I don't drink much.

I went out for a friend's 44th birthday lunch today. Half the table ordered something alcoholic, half didn't, including me. I love a good drink in the evening to help me unwind whereas if I drink in the day all I want to do is go to sleep and the day is written off. My friend, on the other hand, prefers a midday drink because she's clear-headed again by the evening when her kids need her most. Each to their own.

Ironic that all the comments are judging sober people.

Yes they jokingly referred to me as their "daytime drinker"..

I don't judge, each to their own, but drinking during the day (before say 5pm) is almost completely unknown amongst my friends, possibly because for the most part people have to drive. I'd be useless for the rest of the day if I drank then and always like to keep the option to drive later open I guess its the same for a lot of others. Daytime meetups are pretty well always in cafes rather than pubs.

I have noticed that my friends as a whole drink far less than they used to (we're in our 50s). Many have given up entirely. I haven't but can't take it as well as I could when I was younger.

Your pals sound like scintillating company. Do they wear sensible shoes and support tights?