I have been living in England for over a year now and have had a pleasant time here, having met great people and seen some interesting places.

However, one thing still mystifies me and that is the level the general public stoops to when drunk. I don't get it. People drink a lot in Canada but you would be hard-pressed to see so many people pissing in the streets, intimidating strangers, singing at the top of their voices, puking and generally acting like asses. I would like to get the British insight on all this. People have told me its the minority and while that may be true; it is quite a large minority nevertheless.

I think I have two theories on this:

1) The bar closing times. Mediterranean people (same goes for Canadians) drink just as much (if not more) than the British but because bars and clubs close so late at night (past 2 am and some well into morning) people get to drink more over a longer period. Going out to get drunk becomes secondary in nature. I find that's the main aim over here: to get drunk as quickly as possible.

2) Generally speaking, I find British very reserved in public over the course of the day. They force themselves to be polite and put up with any difficult situation whereas if you go a little south of Europe (even if you go to Canada), people tend to speak their minds more often. And not necessarily in a rude manner, mind you. Anyways, I think this "day time repression" builds up and explodes after a few pints and that may be what leads to all the pandemonium.

Anyways, so whats the deal? Either way, the closing times for bars and pubs in England are a joke.

Hey good post, definately agree with your two theories, getting blind drunk is no longer socially acceptable among (generally) young people , it's often a social requirement.
I guess it all depends on the person as to how they act when they're drunk, but you're right, alot of people get very rowdy/threatening/violent. I've found that this is 'just how some people are', whereas the rest are spoilt rich kids (there's no shortage of these around) who soon shut up when someone who is 'just like this' gives them a good kicking.

If anybody seen the recent money programme specials(last one was 2-3 weeks ago)on BBC television..they were on early evening so many may not have seen them..basically they examined the drinks industry and the recent upsurge in drink culture and its associated consequences on the towns and streets of the uk..it was a major eyeopener but something i think most of us knew all along..basically the bottom line was that they minipulate you and me and everybody else but particularily people with the most disposeable income ie young people..hence the phenomena in recent years of the surge in sales of alcopops..shots..bacardi breezers etc etc as sales of more traditional largers bitters etc have fallen..basically given that shots are spirit based drinks and stronger to boot and given that they are presented in easy to drink formulas..people drink more of them..and u walk down any highstreet in the uk or ireland for that matter because the problem exists here as well..and u will see special promotions happy hours(which have been banned in ireland in recent months )etc and its a no wonder the problem exists..the drinks industry denies all of this of course..bottom line is most drinks companies are publicly quoted and hence are driven by profit

another thing they looked at was the rise in the number of drink licences given out by local authorithies in recent years basucally they hadoubled in some areas in a few short years and the police blame this expotential rise in licences with the rise in drink related incidents..

these are only some factors but i would say they go a long way in explaining the issue...

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Originally posted by razmataz bla bla

hmmm, this is actually very much contrary to my experiences, thats interesting. I think canadians are very bad behaived when drunk, and drink a lot ONLY to get piss drunk and puke. also i think most candian clubs close at 2, and i thought the english closed later than that?

In scotland the clubs close at 3 normally tho it is variable(think there are some 24hr cafes).

I think it all depends on what you view as intimidating, most people are fucked but arn't really out for fighting unless you give them a reason really. I'll be honest I've pissed in the street but when your drunk, dying for a piss, and everyone else does it your going to arn't you (round a corner or something, tho a mate of mine one did it against our unis front door with girls and stuff walking by lol).

Basicly people can seem intimidating when it's only something your inventing in your own head because they are having a laugh and a bit fucked.

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If you can read this, I'm seriously fucking bored.

Well by "intimidating" I mean having people barge into your own group of friends looking to pick a fight, having people shout at you while following you, etc. etc. I'm not saying everyone's got to be goody two shoes- but to have to deal with it every single time you go out can be tedious after a while. The worst it ever got to was shoving and headlocks (that's what you'd expect anyways when there is no real reason to fight) and its just a pain in the ass. There is no real *style* in fighting when you're drunk anyways.

I'm just contrasting English drunks to say Spanish or French drunks and it seems to me a lot of kids are angry about something in this country.

St_Andrew: Well, I've only lived in Montreal so perhaps its an Anglophone thing if you are refering to anywhere else. Also, the standard closing time in Montreal is 3AM but I've been in places ordering drinks until 4 so it depends on where you go. None close earlier than 3 though.

quote:

Originally posted by Dervish In scotland the clubs close at 3 normally tho it is variable(think there are some 24hr cafes). I think it all depends on what you view as intimidating, most people are fucked but arn't really out for fighting unless you give them a reason really. I'll be honest I've pissed in the street but when your drunk, dying for a piss, and everyone else does it your going to arn't you (round a corner or something, tho a mate of mine one did it against our unis front door with girls and stuff walking by lol).

haha, i did it on a church's garden once, in the midle of the city not too late in the night

oh well

quote:

Originally posted by razmataz St_Andrew: Well, I've only lived in Montreal so perhaps its an Anglophone thing if you are refering to anywhere else.

then it makes sense to me quebeck is much more like alcohol liberal southern europe

i find british closing times to be the biggest problem. All the pubs close so early, you end up with masses of pissed blokes all kicked out at the same time with nowhere to go and nothing to do other than kick the shit out of eachother. If you let them stay open until 2am you'd find the crowds disperse gradually as people get tired and head for bed.
it's some kind of logic that the establishment cannot grasp, that if you give people more drinking time the result would be less drunken violence, and possibly less consumption as well, as you have enough time to drink what you want, rather than working to get as drunk as possible by the midnight deadline.

The solution is later closing times for pubs and bars, and the police and government know this. The problem is pursuading the voting public this because they (especially the older generations) think later closing = getting more pissed. It is a big problem here and every time I go out, at closing time there is fighting and police everywhere.

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Originally posted by Kato The solution is later closing times for pubs and bars, and the police and government know this. The problem is pursuading the voting public this because they (especially the older generations) think later closing = getting more pissed. It is a big problem here and every time I go out, at closing time there is fighting and police everywhere.

Most bars in the cities open til 2am...(giving you exactly the same problem as people just stay til 2 instead of 11)