Due to unfortunate circumstances such as the need to drive or the need to work, its not often I can sit down during the day and crack open my favourite drink – a can of Lager.

Therefore, what tends to fill the void is the boring yet socially acceptable can of Diet Coke or if I’m feeling extravagant maybe a can of Dr Pepper. For every hour I seemingly scrape through in work, five minutes is spent trundling sheepishly to the can machine in the corner to part with a hard-earned 60p in return for one of the Coca-Cola company’s offerings.

Something changed the other day. Rather than ruefully place my coins into the hulking machine and wait for that satisfying clunk to signify my cold, dull can is now waiting for collection I decided to brighten things up by taking the unusual step of leaving the office and try the corner shop opposite. It is probably just a small exaggeration when I state I was almost temporarily blinded by the exotic choices available outside the dour grey walls of our office habitat. Forget your safe choices of Coke and Lilt. Here was Lucozades, cream sodas, Powerades, Orange Juices, even Ribena’s!

I still remember the moment the small blue can caught my eye, the sunlight reflecting off the shiny gleam. Wow! Shandy Bass! Even though I was standing rooted to the spot facing the fridge in a small store, mentally I was instantly transported back to when I was a nervous 10 year old barely able to see over the counter of the local Chinese in my village. My mission was always to get a can of shandy without it being detected I was…shock horror…only 10 years old! Indeed, to my child mind shandy was a forbidden drink containing Lager, that old people’s poison, yet magically we were able to buy it from the chinese for reasons our young minds were unable to comprehend. There was something exhilarating, dangerous and grown-up in swigging the mysterious taste of shandy.

One other memory that was replaying in my mind at the same time was when I hijacked my father’s shandy from the fridge one night and retreated to my bedroom as though I was a rebellious underage alcoholic. It was with confusion I eventually found out a few years later it was infact very legal for young people to drink shandy as the lager content was negligible.

After stocking up from the shop that day, I now strive to have a shandy as often as I can. Partly for the sweat taste. Mainly because lager is banned in work and although Shandy Bass only has 0.5% ABV, one must embrace the small mercies in life.