Engels revealed as a Woke, North London, Negroni swiller
Comedian Mark Dolan who also doubles as a commentator on the hard to far right social media site GBNews has added ‘Negroni-swilling’ to the range of epithets used to claim someone is ‘Woke’. These often include living in North London, eating tofu and reading the Guardian.
Mr Dolan was born and brought up in Kentish Town, North London and his father was a pub landlord so on this occasion it is possible that he some idea of what he is going on about.
What he clearly doesn’t know is that his inclusion of ‘Negroni-willing’ means that Engels was Woke.
Engels lived in Regents Park Rd, North London and he certainly read the (then) Manchester Guardian. Its unclear if he ate tofu related food but he certainly drank a Negroni variant on occasion
The May Day demonstration in Hyde Park on 3rd May 1891 was a landmark as it marked the first united march (the first May Day in 1890 had seen two marches). Engels writing to Laura Lafargue about the day noted how he, the Bernsteins and Tussys had celebrated in the evening at his Regents Park Rd residence:
When we came home last night, we wound up with a Maibowle, the Maikrauth of which Percy had sent us from Ryde. We put in 4 bottles Moselle, 2 claret, 1 Champagne, and finished it — we, Bernsteins and the Tussy’s. Late in the evening Cunninghame Graham came in and actually had two or three glasses of it — he seems to have left his teetotalism at Tangiers. There is a slight but rather agreeable Kater,J kept in proper bounds this morning by a bottle of Pilsener.
A Maibowle is a punch and Maikrauth is Woodruff used to make the punch. Kater is a hangover.
In 2023 there are Negroni’s based on the Maibowle but of courses adding gin (Engels was a brandy drinker). The drink is an aperitif to be sipped though Engels may have been more of a swiller…
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