The UK Culture and Alcohol

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Yes ok, I admit, I am bored. I wondered into the living room and found Question Time on the box where they are discussing alcohol issues, so rather than listen to various opinionated politicians spout from their rear orifices that taxing it even further is a good thing, I thought I might pose the question somewhere a little more intelligent....


....sadly, I only had here... :lol: JOKING!!!


seriously though, the membership here is mainly British but with a fair chunk of overseas membership, so looking for opinions not just from these shores but others too where peraps the problem is much less prevalent. Why does Britain have such a problem with its relationsip with alcohol? I imagine other countries also have problems, yet you hear a lot less about it. Why? What is it about the British culture that finds so many people out on the town on a Friday and Saturday night with the apparent sole aim of getting out of their gourds on booze? :shrug:

I am not talking about rabid alcoholism here, I think that is another thing entirely, I am thinking more about the 'social' drinkers that have to start the night as perfectly normal people and seem end it plastering the pavements in the booze they have paid so much to consume, or punching the nearest object, animal, mineral or vegatable, or even just falling asleep in a bush somewhere.


Oh and please, no personal attacks or anything the mods and others won't like or be offended by, just a straightforward discussion and views please, :D
 
I don't know why this country has such a problem with alcohol. I'm 24, and go out and get plastered on a Friday or Saturday night fairly often. I've never been in a fight, never thrown up on the street or anything like that. Me and my mates can go out, drink a frankly huge amount of alcohol and cause no trouble. The majority are like us, but a small but significant minority go out and behave like morons and lead to 'binge drinking' being a national news story.

As you say, other countries don't seem to have these problems, yet alcohol is both cheaper and, in the case of places like Belgium, largely stronger than the stuff we get here.
 
Like you Richard, when I was in my late teens I did pretty much the same thing, could get very drunk indeed without generally causing any trouble. What I can't really recall now is why I even wanted to get so drunk. Maybe because my freinds were doing it? I don't know, its 20 years ago and whilst I know things were not totally good then on the town and city streets as the pubs closed, I wonder how much worse they have got or if its media hype? Either way there is still a definate problem that repeats itself generation after generation.... :thinking:


Still, these days a few small glasses of a nice malt in the comfort of my own home, or with a few friends is quite enough :lol:
 
The drinking culture is possibly one of the biggest problems Britain has. It's a cultural thing and because of that I can't see it changing in my lifetime. It's a pity.
 
Although I rarely even have a glass of wine, when I have been abroad I noticed that its more normal families will go for a meal and the children will be able to have a glass of wine (watered down if they are young) with the meal, so they are taught from a young age that a glass of wine is fine with a meal. They grow up knowing that its ok to have a drink, its not a forbidden thing that they do behind thrie parents backs so they tend not to binge drink or go out of a weekend and get plastered. I know some do but not as many as over here.
Perhaps if people in this country went out more as families and children could learn to drink responsibly things may improve?
 
It is a big problem and i think its British people in general made worse by drink. The kind of people who end up in fights, vomiting on the street and causing problems are the same people that expect something for nothing think the world owes them and have no respect for anyone or anything. Add in a few pints and they become more willing to share the opinions with others who may disagree that Sharon is the best catch of the night and when wane wants his girl friend back it all goes pare shaped.



no offence to anyone called Sharon or Wane :)
 
Yv said:
Like you Richard, when I was in my late teens I did pretty much the same thing, could get very drunk indeed without generally causing any trouble. What I can't really recall now is why I even wanted to get so drunk. Maybe because my freinds were doing it? I don't know, its 20 years ago and whilst I know things were not totally good then on the town and city streets as the pubs closed, I wonder how much worse they have got or if its media hype? Either way there is still a definate problem that repeats itself generation after generation.... :thinking:


Still, these days a few small glasses of a nice malt in the comfort of my own home, or with a few friends is quite enough :lol:
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We're calming down now as we all settle down a bit. We tend to just go the local for a few pints now instead of out on the town and all that.
 
The West of Scotland is, I'm ashamed to say, one of the worst areas in the whole of the UK for alcohol abuse. There is a culture, particularly in working class areas that to go for a drink (or a "swally" to use the vernacular) means to get blind drunk.

Underage drinking, particularly in the schemes is rife, it speaks volumes that the West of Scotland is biggest market for Buckfast Tonic wine, the favourite tipple of the ned.
 
susie said:
Although I rarely even have a glass of wine, when I have been abroad I noticed that its more normal families will go for a meal and the children will be able to have a glass of wine (watered down if they are young) with the meal, so they are taught from a young age that a glass of wine is fine with a meal. They grow up knowing that its ok to have a drink, its not a forbidden thing that they do behind thrie parents backs so they tend not to binge drink or go out of a weekend and get plastered. I know some do but not as many as over here.
Perhaps if people in this country went out more as families and children could learn to drink responsibly things may improve?
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I do wonder about this - its certainly a culture thing. Personally I see no problem allowing children to get used to the idea of drinking socially and responsibly from a much earlier age than UK licencing laws allow. I had a conversation with a group of people whilst on holiday where we were discussing this particular point, and it was quite odd, unexpected. The older retired couples all agreed it was fine and acceptable to do that, especially if combined with seeing parents drinking for pleasure and enjoyment, responsibly rather than pished. It was the couple that were my age, perhaps a few years younger, in their 30's, that were dead against it, almost horrified at the thought. My expectation was that it would be the other way round - but what it brings us down to is whether its the kids or the adults that need educating here. As kayjay says, it will take several generations to change cultural habits of many lifetimes and I am not sure anyone has the will to stand up and make the point and maybe the british psyche is too far gone down the dont drink till 18 then get shoite faced route to advocate drinking sensibly from an earlier age rather than stupidly from a later one :shake:
 
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Playing rugby meant a lot of nights out, and often it was roudy but I don't remember there ever being a problem started by the team.

A lot of the locals would try to prove themselves by starting fights, thinking that the rugby team were obviously the biggest and strongest, but most of the time everyone managed to walk away without any problems but occassionally there had to be a pasting handed out, normally about 3 times a year when they got too confident/aggressive/wasted and then it would be fine for the next 3 or 4 months until it built up again.

A lot of problems are caused by two people having a misunderstanding but before they can sort it out amicably you get everyone else in the vacinity hyping both people up into a frenzy until there is no simple way to back down and walk away
 
I think the excess drinking is just the catalyst for allowing the underlying things to emerge. "Joe Average" now seems to have more agression, less self respect, less respect for others and more money than in years gone by. The alcohol simply removes the inhibitions that exist to keep all these personality traits in check.
I don't drink alcohol and used to think I was less tolerant of drunks because of this fact, but I now realise that it's "people" that I've become intolerant of....their level of inebriation only heightens the feelings.

Bob
 
I think there are many factors at work, but one that does not seem to have been mentioned is that the "family" is not nearly as strong as it once was here or as strong as it is in many Eu countries.
That has allowed all sorts of bad behaviour to develop in this country (not helped by inadequate law enforcement/criminal justice system.

Pubs no longer seem to lose their trading licence if they sell booze to people who have already had too much.
At one time lanlords lived in fear of that or being caught selling to anyone under age.

I doubt if the trade price has a bearing on it. Plenty ways of getting cheap booze.

As far as street drunkeness is concerned, it is estimated to have got worse by about 25% from the times the licensing hours changed.
 
I don't think people drinking is the problem per se. Problems are caused by those who don't know when to stop drinking. I like a drink, and to be honest, there's nothing I like more than getting s***faced once in a while. But I'm talking a couple of times a month tops, certainly not every Friday and Saturday. I have an off-switch, but it would appear that many don't.

As for the recent proposals for heavier tax on alcahol, we all know this won't solve a thing, but apparently our intrepid leaders seem to think it will...either that or they're after another way to milk us dry...but they wouldn't do that....would they? :suspect:
 
ChrisMClark said:
I don't think people drinking is the problem per se. Problems are caused by those who don't know when to stop drinking. I like a drink, and to be honest, there's nothing I like more than getting s***faced once in a while. But I'm talking a couple of times a month tops, certainly not every Friday and Saturday. I have an off-switch, but it would appear that many don't.

As for the recent proposals for heavier tax on alcahol, we all know this won't solve a thing, but apparently our intrepid leaders seem to think it will...either that or they're after another way to milk us dry...but they wouldn't do that....would they? :suspect:
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To be fair Chris, our leaders look like not accepting this proposal which came from the Chief Medical Officer.

Anthony.
 
That's good to hear. I've been working away for a few days and haven't been watching the news etc.
 
still won't change a thing though, chief medical officers tend to say a lot...........

I think as the voice of one of the supposedly questionable youth that alcohol isn't the problem, nor are most of the people the problem. The problem is a minority that like to get lairrey and fight (mainly but not only chavs) this then becomes national news, which means it becomes popular television which means people think about it more which means it happens more often.

Saying that I have never been in or seen a fight and I am an 18 year old student in halls who goes out on the town every now and again.

I was walking down the street at about 7-8ish on a Friday night and a local (chav with 2 other chavs) walking the other way shouts into my friends face, we had no idea why he didn't seem that drunk (though coulda been under the influence of something more 'interesting') nothing happened at all we just kept walking and so did they - the problem here I think is more that he was an ******** who thought that was how men were meant to behave not that he was ****ed (though alcohol would certainly exacerbate things)

On another occasion I was in a club with another friend who had had too many and needed to be taken home, as such he was dancing with anyone and quite upsetting two blokes who first asked him to stop reasonably, then tersely, then asked me who just decided to call it a night and walk him home. Everyone here was beered up (some more than others) but the situation remained perfectly reasonable and an amicable solution was reached.

Sorry for the immensely long post but to conclude I think that alcohol isn't the problem people are the problem, especially chavs (no offense meant to a secret chav population TP may have - please find and ban them when they complain mods :D)
 
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