17 November

National Hiking Day

Take a Hike

So we are drinking a...

Take a Hike

Also known as "Take a Hike Day", this American national day celebrates getting out in the wild and experiencing nature first-hand, and if you're not American, don't worry, you can still don your walking boots and join in.

Hiking has been around for millennia, essentially since the beginning of mankind, due to our legs being the only form of transportation back then. Now, however, hiking from A to B is a hobby enjoyed by millions rather than a necessity and may comprise a walk around the local park to conquering mountains. Wherever you choose to hike, the benefits include rushes of endorphins and serotonin (the happy hormones) and improvements to physical health that come with exercise.

Hopefully, National Hiking Day will be your motivation to go for a hike or just a leisurely stroll, and when you return feeling triumphant and replenished from the bounties of nature, sit back and enjoy a well-deserved Take a Hike.

Anniversary of the start of the coronavirus outbreak

A day cemented firmly on the global psyche due to the coronavirus outbreak that saw the world shut its doors for much of the following year. The 17th of November 2019 marks the first case of the virus, traced to a 55-year-old man in the Hubei Province, China.

But rather than dwell on the horrific consequences of the disease, we thought we'd focus on some of the positives from the pandemic.

  • Many enjoyed the lockdown! Gone were the diaries full of social commitments – instead, folk had time to focus on the important things; health, spending time with their families and developing new skills and interests.
  • Most lost the daily commute. No more being stuck underneath someone's armpit on the tube/metro. Covid brought us hybrid working; the daily drudgery of sitting on a packed train or a motorway was swapped for working on the dining room table, even if it's just a few days a week.
  • We marvelled at our scientific community's incredible speed and intelligence. Life-saving vaccines have never been developed so fast, and this pace and agility continue to help fast-track other vaccines. Science became sexy.
  • We lived in a cleaner world (if only short-term). Lockdown gave nature a break – factories closed, road traffic significantly reduced, and planes stayed firmly on runways. The natural world breathed a sigh of relief, and we thought about our impact on our surroundings.

The Pandemic gave people the time to explore new hobbies, and with bars closed, people started mixing cocktails at home. This trend has continued to grow, along with home entertaining in general. So we're drinking to the hundreds of thousands of home cocktail enthusiasts, and the scientists developing the vaccines that enable us to also enjoy cocktails in the atmosphere of a busy bar, with a cocktail named after one of the first miracle cures, a Penicillin, one of our Anti-pandemic Cocktails.

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