Chef cleared of rape

I have been following the story of Peter Bacon, the student accused of raping a 45 year old woman who claimed she was too drunk to have consented to sex.

I am 45 and I felt grave concern when I was reading it. Sometimes, when I go out with the girls, or indeed with my husband and friends, I like to have a bit of a drink. So perhaps I , too, could be described as a "recreational binge drinker" I also suffer from memory blanks - worrying I know, but it only happens from time to time and it happens to lots of my friends too - it's not every weekend and probably not even once every six months, but it can happen.

Take for example, the night out with the school Mums when I snogged one of the other Mums and her husband took a photo of us. I was mortified!!! I had no recollection of it whatsoever!!! It took the photo to bring the whole sorry affair back to the forefront of my mind - THEN, and only then, could I remember it and the events which led to us being in that situation.

I know that if I went out and had a few drinks at the time of the event I would know exactly what was happening to me. I know that if I had sex with my husband when we got in from a drinking binge that I would enjoy it and we would both be up for it - whether I remember the ins and outs of it the next day is another matter - sounds awful from a responsible working mother of an eight year old, but ask any 45 year old women who still have a life and you will probably find quite a few with the same view.

Therefore, I do wonder if this woman that accused the boy of rape was fair in doing so. If she couldnt remember whether she had sex or not, should she have even started the proceedings?

If she claims that she was too drunk to have said yes to sex perhaps she should be more honest with herself - I bet , like most women, there have been times when she was drunk that she has turned into an adventurous sex goddess with inhibitions thrown to the wind - I know I do!

Me and my girlfriends laugh - when we are drunk we either get into bed and crash out snoring with bits of clothes still on, the rest in a pile by the side of the bed and full make up on, waking up in the morning with foul breath and remnants of red wine still round your mouth......or you turn into a sexy animal and the Ann Summers supplies come out for an airing from the drawers underneath the bed!!!

I am not suggesting that every 45 year old woman is like this, nor that the law should be changed. I am not suggesting that men should be allowed to get you drunk and rape you.

But - we have to be very careful about situations that we get ourselves in after a few glasses of sparkly Beringer - and we must never , never drag innocent people down because we can't remember the night before.