Monday 18 January 2010

Would St Benedict Really Disapprove?



Click here for the story? "A whiff of sectarianism," says Mike, one commenter. It is hard not to disagree!

Here's the website for Buckfast Abbey. Ask for a list of distributers local to you in the UK and buy, buy, buy!

Or you can write to them at...

Brother Gerard, Buckfast Wine Sales, Advertising and Marketing Department, Buckfast Abbey
Buckfast Road...okay, joking...

If you have any queries relating to Buckfast Tonic Wine, please write to:

J. Chandler & Co (Buckfast) Ltd,
New Abbey House,
Fyfield Road,
Weyhill,
Andover SP11 8DN

Telephone: 01264 774700

Contact the Monks themselves to give them your support or to enquire after their amazing and delicious tonic by clicking here. Do you think its time I started advertising for real on this blog? I don't want to "sell out" but I'm one parking ticket away from bankruptcy.

9 comments:

pelerin said...

According to your link Buckfast wine will have 'people bouncing around all over the place.' Sounds just the tonic I need - where can you buy it?!

The Bones said...

Well, Buckfast Abbey for a start!

Mike said...

“The investigation reveals that the drink, known colloquially as Buckie, has been mentioned in 5,000 crime reports by Strathclyde Police in the past three years.”

“been mentioned” What exactly does that mean? Mentioned by whom? In what way? About what? And what are the statistics about the number of deaths caused by drinking Buckfast? Deaths linked to smoking cigarettes is fairly well-established. Do I hear the Episcopal Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney calling for the ending of sales of tobacco? In this very selective attack on one particular alcoholic drink do I detect the faint whiff of sectarianism? Does the Bishop really believe that the neds who end up in Polmont will be nice, well-behaved boys if they can’t get their Buckfast? The Episcopal Church of Scotland recently drew up a shortlist of three people to be the next Bishop of Glasgow. Two were men and one was a women. One, former Episcopal Bishop of Edinburgh admitted that well, frankly, he didn’t really believe in God. I don't think we need lectures from the bishops of that church thank you very much.


“54 per cent of “dangerous litter” found on Scottish housing estates is broken Buckfast bottles according to research by Glasgow Caledonian and Dundee universities.” Really. I would love to read this wonderful piece of research. In particular I would love to read about the methods employed in this research. I can just imagine the good professors of Caledonian and Dundee universities engaging in earnest discussion about the definition of “dangerous litter”. And even more amusing must have been the site of the same professors crawling on the ground in Easterhouse, Castlemilk, etc looking for ‘dangerous litter’. Yeah!

Meanwhile, back in the land of the sane, I walk about a mile (for exercise) from the railway station to the church I attend in the east end of Glasgow. I once did my own very scientific study of litter in the area. Yes, I counted a fair number of Buckfast bottles lying on the ground. But I also counted plenty of bottles and cans of other types of alcoholic beverage. Buckfast came nowhere near 54%. But maybe my definition of dangerous litter wasn’t the correct one. Maybe I should write to the good professors and ask for their definition.

When the critics of Buckfast start calling for an end to the selling of all the different types of alcohol which lead to the problems we see on our streets outside pubs and clubs then I might feel like showing some respect for those who pick on Buckfast.

pelerin said...

Yes Laurence I did imagine that that would be an obvious place but Devon is a bit far away! What I should have asked was 'Is there a shop preferably in London, where you can buy home made produce made by monks ?

I have googled around so far unsuccessfully to try and find a British equivalent of a shop in Paris which I have learnt sells produce such as cheeses, perfumes, wines, chocolate etc all made in various monasteries thus supporting these industries and their communities. It is popular with people looking for presents just that little bit different and I was hoping that there was something similar here.

The Bones said...

Pelerin

All we need to do is steal the recipe and get the homebrewing kits out. No, I don't know. Email the Abbey maybe and get a list of distributers?

pelerin said...

Thanks for putting that contact link. Have contacted them. Perhaps it is available at local off licenses - it appears to be on sale in Scotland by the article. My local Threshers has now closed so shall have to look further afield!

Crux Fidelis said...

Every so often there is a campaign in some section or other of the Scottish meeja against Buckfast. There is more than a whiff of sectarianism about it as we never hear of any campaigns against WKD, MD20/20, Thunderbird, Diamond White or any of the other get smashed quick beverages favoured by the ned community. Having said that, Buckie is vile stuff.

pelerin said...

Crux Fidelis - sorry to learn than you find it 'vile stuff.'I have never tasted it but am willing to give it a go - if I find some. Have actually had a reply already from the link given although all it said was they had received my query. No details yet.

pelerin said...

Received an email today telling me that the drink is available from both the larger Co-ops and Somerfields. Not being a habituee of the supermarket wine counters I can't say I have ever noticed it!

Saturday's Daily Mail had a two page article about the Abbey and its wine with a headline saying that 'it looks like gravy and tastes like Benylin and has the kick of a chorus line.' In the Caribbean some regard it as an aphrodisiac! It appears to be popular with elderly ladies here so may give it a try! The article concludes that the Scottish problem lies not in Buckfast but in Scotland.

Having learnt that all the profit goes on charitable projects I am glad that the negative publicity has actually been beneficial to the Monks of Buckfast Abbey.

The Pope Who Won't Be Buried

It has been a long time since I have put finger to keyboard to write about our holy Catholic Faith, something I regret, but which I put larg...