AOL news: Boozy Britain

[Galant]

An American friend of mine just tossed me this link

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/arti...25210509990012

She wondered what I thought. Whatever your views on the new opening hours, would you agree or disagree with this opening statement:

"Vomit on the pavement. Scantily clad teenage girls staggering into oncoming traffic. Fights in the street as police sirens wail.

This is Britain on a typical Saturday night.

An explosion in binge drinking over the past few years has turned many town centers into arenas of drunken debauchery."

Also, what do you think about the general image of Britain these days?

[Stewart]

AVomit on the pavement. Scantily clad teenage girls staggering into oncoming traffic. Fights in the street as police sirens wail.

Ah, no place like home.

[Big RICHARD]

Yup, that's about the top and bottom of it. But it still seems that it is the few that spoil it for the many.

[Steve]

what do you think about the general image of Britain these days?

I think it's a little like this:





Moving on... I wish people had more self control. I can go out and have fun without being a total idiot. Plus it's hard to predict how some people will behave when drunk, which can lead to a few tricky situations walking down the street.

[Galant]

Well, when moved over here almost 4 years ago (USA) yes there were the louts but ot wasn't an epidemic. that report makes it sounds as though you can't move around town in the evenings without stepping in puke or running into a drunk nutter.

Please say it's not so!

[RVF500]

Nope, that's about it.

[Steve]

Yeah it's not actually THAT bad. You know what the media is like. It's only the extreme stuff that is newsworthy.

[RVF500]

Actually that's true, Monday nights are generally pretty quite.

[Stoo]

It's not so?

As far as I can see it's just the same as it ever was really..

[malfunction]

Depends on where you live really. Drinking is a part of the UK culture for many (most?) people but the whole place isn't packed with drunks and yobs. It's the same kind of thing as assuming that all Americans are gun crazed, fat, dumb and bible bashers

[Stewart]

Where I live, its pretty much as you said - Vomit on the pavement. Scantily clad teenage girls staggering into oncoming traffic. Fights in the street as police sirens wail.

With a few stab victims, gang wars and angry taxi drivers throwing kebabs at non-paying customers.

[malfunction]

I used to live in Reading and to be fair large parts of that are not nice places to go drinking unless you're in a large group (and as such are pretty much insulated from most of the problems). There are still nice enough places to go though (just avoid Friar Street , Brannigans and The Matrix)... It tends to be larger towns / cities really - and even then there are usually bad areas and good ones. There are 2 separate issues as far as I'm concerned. Binge drinking is one of them (and probably something we're all guilty off from time to time) but the bigger problem are the violent idiots who only go out to start trouble. Yes the drink probably fuels them but it deffo isn't the cause - I've been 'legless' many many times and never ever had the slightest urge to start a fight with anyone.

[Stewart]

I go out with my Dad and his Brothers if I want to avoid trouble - as they are are retired criminals, and no little group of chavs who have had one alchopop too many is going to so much as glance at them.

But then - its my Dad. A pint in the pub is Ok, alas, my own mates will have to do when clubbing.

I must go to Subhuman one time, see if its as good as Knox reckons.

[Galant]

If it's just the odd few though, why does Britain get such a bad rep?

[Tumble]

it's the same here... North Quay is littered with drunks at about 9 o clock... the swell just moves north up the promenade as the night wears on...

I'm here btw:


/exit IOM pimp mode

[Flash]

Isnt the 24hr law in reality gonna stop drunkeness and related crime.....

IIRC I read somewhere that most people get drunk in the last two hours and if there was no reason to drink up quick for closure then people could pace themselves