Bitten by a bottle of Bollinger

This is very hard to admit, but a few days ago I was bitten by a bottle of Bollinger. Bitten. By an old friend.

Pride comes before a fall

That’s right, after  a perfectly admirable sabering attempt. You see, after you decapitate a bottle, the rim is very sharp. I know that. I am usually very careful. But this time, on a hot day, after pouring glasses from the sabered bottle to the gathered guests, as I was putting it back down on the table, it somehow slipped. And in a momentary lapse of reason, as it was slipping, I tried to grab it again. After all, you can’t waste a drop of Bollinger.

The result of trying to save the bottle was that it bit me. Pretty badly on the palm of my right hand. Quite inconveniently. This lead to a trip to the emergency room for a painful clean out to make sure no glass was left behind, and more than a week of dealing with a messy dressing in the blistering heat.

I don’t know why I have chosen to share this, because I feel pretty silly having injured myself doing something I have done hundreds of times before. But I thought it was a timely reminder as we move into the festive season, and the popularity of sabering takes off, to remind people that it is dangerous. And you have to be very careful when setting up your sabering position that no one is in the line of fire, and that both the bottle and the broken rim around the cork are very, very sharp. I was very lucky to have not cut through a tendon. I know of a lady who would have lost an eye were it not for her sunglasses.

The bottle that bit me

By all means have fun with your sabering attempts. Make sure you only saber standard shape bottles of champagne, and you have a clear firing line. Accidents are rare, but they can happen to anyone at any time.

As for me, I suppose I will have a permanent reminder on the palm of my hand of the day I came off second best.

At least is was Bollinger!