Thou Shalt Not Binge!
This nugget of information was posted on 21/05/10 at 11:15 am by Lee and is filed under A View From The Bar.
As you may or may not be aware, the government has passed an order that concerns the legislation of the Licensing Act.
It includes a new ‘code’ which basically prevents any drink promotions that encourage acts of debauchery such as speed drinking, giving booze as rewards (perish the thought!) and pouring jager into customers mouths from atop the bar whilst playing air guitar to Led Zeppelin… you know, your basic Easter holiday…
The aim being to reduce crime and disorder by stopping your local neighbourhood ruffian having a round of shot sticks to himself, and then punching some teen for wearing tight jeans and having hair.
These steps may well have a positive effect but let’s face it, they’re short cuts at best. The real issue is deeply rooted in the everyday drinkers psyche. Respect for alcohol as a product is practically non-existent, partly because it was never taught in the first place. We all got institutionalised to the stringent 11pm cut off point that when we were given free range, our indulgences got out of hand.
It takes time to change to attitudes; bad habits are hard to break. There should be more efforts to educate the consumer on all fronts and that’s a responsibility as much for the bartenders in the industry as it is for teachers in schools.
We’re not aiming to eradicate all forms of tomfoolery because, (and this may shock you) alcohol makes us do stupid things sometimes (no really!). However, it would be nice to have measures installed that were a little more laid out and long term rather than feeling like a slap on the wrist and a telling off.
