London Happy Hour Ban
Anyone who’s been on a night out down in Leicester Square on a Saturday night will have seen, first hand, exactly why Britain has such a bad reputation as far as drinking goes. I personally often have to deftly step across a pile of sick when walking around certain areas of Central London – it really makes for good times! However, are the new proposed government reforms to stop binge drinking for the common good or just another example of the UK morphing into a nanny state?
I only had to pick up a paper a couple of months ago to see splashed across the headlines that there were calls from MPs to introduce a London happy hour ban. More recently, however, reports have been released about proposals that include stopping free beer and wine tastings, cigarette-style health warnings, and even wine in restaurants being offered in clearly measured out glasses. Oh and it’s laughable that MPs wish to scrap cocktails with ‘sexually provocative’ names like Sex on the Beach – get a life, I was giggling over that when I was 18!
I do feel a bit depressed about the whole London happy hour ban. Londoners are being hard hit by the credit crunch, and I know if it wasn’t for Happy Hour deals, many of us wouldn’t be able to afford a good night out. Luckily, for now, Happy Hours at London Bars are relatively safe and there are always cheaper Credit Crunch Bars to check out.
It’s a sad state of affairs when you can’t even drown your sorrows in peace. Still, when I stumble over a drunken twat threatening to puke all over my Jimmy Choos (yeah, I wish but go with me on this one) I do think there may just be some sense to a London happy hour ban.
So, for now, I hope you’ll join me in the London bars between the hours of 5pm-7pm to enjoy half priced drinks. We’d better make the most of it whilst we still can!
Comments
by 21/10/2008 @ 14:26
Kelly, I don't know what your point is. You appear to be arguing both sides and it looks like you are either very confused, or you are sitting on the fence.
For me it's quite simple, and the analogy I would use is that the banking world were allowed to be self-regulating and look at the mess we are in because they didn't put their house in order. There were always those who took things to extremes and screwed it up for the majority. So I think we can expect rules to be imposed when we don't act responsibly. Many of us can enjoy a drink or two (sometimes one or two too many) but know where to draw the line, but we need to think beyond that and encourage our friends who don't know where the line is, to be more responsible. If we can't do that we can expect laws to be passed.
As for health warnings similar to cigarettes, so what? A little bit of education can't hurt. And as for clearly measured glasses, fine. Maybe we'd get measures that had not been tampered with and would appreciate quality rather than quantity. God forbid, we may even become as responsible as our European mainland counterparts one day...then again :-)
by 11/11/2008 @ 10:18
Binge drinking is somewhat ingrained in our way of life, and we're resourceful enough to find ways around any happy hour bans that might come about (eg having a couple of cheeky glasses of wine at our desks when the whistle blows before heading out to the local bar). Just look at the smokers who persevere by popping outside in the pouring rain for their nicotine fix.
Besides, not all bar-goers end up puking on the streets - most are fairly well behaved. How about cracking down on the people who do spoil the fun for everyone else rather than punishing the population as a whole?
by 13/11/2008 @ 11:04
My point was, that although I DO get fed up with drunken idiots and sick on the floor, I don't think heading into a nanny state is the right way to go. Perhaps better education when it comes to alcohol and stronger penalties for criminals may help. You'll always get drunken idiots, but I do appreciate happy hours in such cash-strapped times.
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