Beer-drinking bride catches grief

It had to happen, of course. The beer-drinking bride, see post below, got into trouble. But she's not taking it lying down, basically saying that had she been drinking a glass of wine instead of a bottle of Tui, nobody would have made mention of it.

I like her no-nonsense attitude. Katrina Hayman, who was married last year, was taking part in a Bride of the Year contest in the farm country of Taranaki. She herself is a pig midwife. I'm not making that up - I don't have a fertile enough mind for that. Pig midwife? Really? Who knew?

Anyway, the picture of her enjoying a pre-contest bottle of beer ended up on the front page of the newspaper in New Plymouth. She did not object to the picture, saying it's just who she is.

"I don't like to portray myself as someone I am not," she told the paper. "A lot of females drink beer and it's just I felt more comfortable having a beer than having a wine."

And yet, according to the paper, organisers have called for an apology, many callers have expressed their displeasure and online commentators have slammed the photo as "disgusting."

Life is too short, people. It really is. Let it be. Let her be herself. She's kinda cool.

(Update: This espisode has gone into full scandal mode in New Plymouth, with the editor of the newspaper having to explain his decision. The organizer of the Bride of the Year show has complained, perhaps rightly, that she would like to have seen a photo of the winning bride on the front page, as opposed to the one that ran. A video of Katrina Hayman in the aftermath of the beer incident has also been posted.)