I shall always attribute my uncertain start in New Zealand to the fact that I was introduced too early to what is knows as the 'five o'clock swill'. The phrase has, when you consider it, a wonderful pastoral - one might almost say idyllic - ring to it. It conjures up a picture of fat but hungry porcines, all freshly scrubbed, eagerly and gratefully partaking of their warm mash from the horny but kindly hands of the jovial farmer, a twinkling eyed son of the soil. Nothing could be further from the truth. The five o'clock swill is the direct result of New Zealand's imbecilic licensing laws. In order to prevent people getting drunk the pubs close at six, just after the workers leave work. This means they have to leave their place of employment, rush frantically to the nearest pub, and make a desperate attempt to drink as much beer as they can in the shortest possible time. As a means of cutting down drunkenness, this is quite one of the most illogical deterrents I have come across. Gerald Durrell
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More Quotes By Gerald Durrell
  1. If naturalists go to heaven (about which there is considerable ecclesiastical doubt), I hope that I will be furnished with a troop of kakapo to amuse me in the evening instead of television.
  2. It's all your fault, Mother, ' said Larry austerely; 'you shouldn't have brought us up to be so selfish.' 'I like that! ' exclaimed Mother. 'I never did anything of the sort! ' 'Well, we didn't get as selfish as this without some guidance, '...
  3. My childhood in Corfu shaped my life. If I had the craft of Merlin, I would give every child the gift of my childhood.
  4. Gradually the magic of the island [Corfu] settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen.
  5. We all travelled light, taking with us only what we considered to be the bare essentials of life. When we opened our luggage for Customs inspection, the contents of our bags were a fair indication of character and interests. Thus Margo’s luggage contained a multitude...
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