Everyone loves a good proverb and for the most part the darker ones are the best. I mean is it really true that “1 in the hand is worth 2 in the bush”? From my experience a bush is quite a nice place to put things. And what’s all this about leading a horse to water but not being able to make it drink? Duh! How about filling up a flask and saving it for later when the stubborn bastard wants to have a drink?
These hairy-fairy proverbs are for kinder garden, I much prefer the ones that put the shitters up you. Like this Yiddish proverb; “Lovers and thieves always look for darkness”. Naughty, naughty, very naughty 😈
And what about this Bantu proverb; He who suffers from diarrhea, is not afraid of the dark” HA! I’ve been there before, and what I wouldn’t have done for a dark place to hide!
Both these proverbs are worth saving in your memory bank and I guarantee the last one will come to mind the next time you receive a collect call from Mr. Brown. However, it’s the proverb featured in my title that I like the most as it has a more sinister edge, the kind of edge that digs out your darker side for all to see…
The Devil makes work for idle hands
Many times I have thought back to my youthful, foolish, and, more often than not, mischievous days and recalled this proverb with a cheeky grin. Oh the devil certainly did make use of my idle mind back then. Nowadays, however, I’m much less inclined to cause any kind of mischief which would require me to be chased away. Running is something I avoid at all costs these days. So much better I opt for the quiet life. Still, that doesn’t mean the devil is done with me yet, it just means he has to find other ways to get me into trouble. One of his tricks is to force me to the micropub whenever there’s an idle moment, which of course I try to resist. Anyway, who am I to challenge something so biblically powerful as Beelzebub himself. I know my place in this world and if it means I have to endure the torture of visiting the devil’s tavern then so be it.
It was during the most recent possession that I was steered not only to the pub but also to the fridge too! And as it turned out, the barmaid had also been taken over by the dark lord himself. I know this to be true as it was her/him/it who insisted to me that I buy this particular beer. And it was at this very moment when I realised that I was powerless and that resistance would be futile. So, under absolute duress, I plucked the can from the fridge and paid my dues.
Oh, it seems the devil does have a good taste for beer 🍺
If you were to cut the devil I imagine the blood that runs through his veins would be the same colour as this beer. As described on the can, this beer has a burnt orange appearance. The sharpness and bitterness are perfectly balanced so you keep coming back for more. One taste of this beer and you’re in a world of temptation. But would expect anything else from the devil’s cellar?
As is customary with a #beersaturday post, and I try to do this as much as possible, I would like to invite 
And so to end this post I will leave you all once more with an exert from the good book of beer, written by Mark Dredge.
