Only the once
My Mother takes a dim view of drunkeness, and the story goes that the first time Dad came home drunk after they married, she made him sleep in the shed. She was a little more tolerant of me drinking, but not much.

So, some time ago my Dad and I end up having a drink and a chat. He's just retired, he's taking stock of his world, and the two of us are having the kind of father/son chat we should have had when I was 18. Trouble is, naturally, that I wouldn't have listened then. We were staying in a sort of holiday cottage at the time, and had gone down to one of the nearby pubs. So we were out about, say, three hours, and drank four or five pints each.

This was back in the day when I drank, and could happily put away that much without getting too silly. Dad, however, hadn't got the tolerance that borderline 'problem drinking' gives you. We go back to the house, and Dad can't find the key. So I ring the bell. I have years of experience of presenting a relatively sober appearance to my Mother, my Dad is out of practice. When she opens the door he's still trying to get his keys out of his pocket with a typical drunken expresssion of confusion on his face. Sort of 'Why have the laws of phsyics gone funny right now?' puzzlement - we've all done it.

"You're drunk!" whispers Mother in a tone that leaves no doubt of the amount of sh!t my Father is in.
I am not to escape, though, as she rounds on me:
"And I *know* it's all your fault!"

Oooh. Serious doghouse.

So - in my entire life, this has been the only, only time I've ever seen a parent drunk.
(uncle whippity, Mon 28 Feb 2011, 17:13, Reply)