Like millions of others who like a tipple or two, I had only one thought when I read that scientists were developing a ‘stay sober’ pill to minimise the effects of alcohol on the brain: what’s the point?

I mean, let’s be realistic. Most of us grown-ups have long stopped trying to fool ourselves that getting woozy is an unfortunate side-effect of the enjoyment of fermented barley or grapes.

On the contrary, we recognise it’s an intrinsic part of the pleasure of it.

Without its influence on the mind, we’d miss out on the full sensual experience of drinking alcohol, just as Pride And Prejudice would be a far lesser work, for all its wit and elegance, if it failed to deliver that lump in the throat when Darcy proposes to Elizabeth Bennet (second time round).