• Guest, The HibeesBounce invites you to enter our Monthly Draw...

    Enter our Monthly Draw Here

    GGTTH

  • hibeesbounce

Alcohol

MeanwoodHibee

Private Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
805
Reaction score
1,381
Points
104
If pubs closed, and never re-opened, would that really be such a bad thing? Everyone knows the harm alcohol does, to individuals and society. Maybe not in my lifetime but I think some time in the future people will look back and say what the fuck were they thinking.
 
If pubs closed, and never re-opened, would that really be such a bad thing? Everyone knows the harm alcohol does, to individuals and society. Maybe not in my lifetime but I think some time in the future people will look back and say what the fuck were they thinking.
I think the question kinda sums up the problem. As a society our first association with pubs is the booze as opposed to the socialising. Part of me thinks that after this is over I'll have a healthier relationship with pubs and they'll be more of a continental style experience with a few glasses of wine and some tapas. The realistic side of me knows that's bollocks and I'll still be ordering treble rums at last orders.
 
If pubs closed, and never re-opened, would that really be such a bad thing? Everyone knows the harm alcohol does, to individuals and society. Maybe not in my lifetime but I think some time in the future people will look back and say what the fuck were they thinking.
Alcohol harms very few people. I think like everything else we consume in moderation its great. As Rocky says its a flux for socialising and not just in pubs.

Its those that can't drink in moderation that can have issues with alcohol and quite often that has consequences, not just for themselves, but those around them. Without knowing the actual figures I doubt most of these drinkers do most of their drinking in pubs and in my experience drinkers in this category quite often come across as very reasonable in the pub!
 
Alcohol harms very few people. I think like everything else we consume in moderation its great. As Rocky says its a flux for socialising and not just in pubs.

Its those that can't drink in moderation that can have issues with alcohol and quite often that has consequences, not just for themselves, but those around them. Without knowing the actual figures I doubt most of these drinkers do most of their drinking in pubs and in my experience drinkers in this category quite often come across as very reasonable in the pub!
I don't know the actual figures either, yet I've reached the opposite view to yours, strange isn't it?
 
If pubs closed, and never re-opened, would that really be such a bad thing? Everyone knows the harm alcohol does, to individuals and society. Maybe not in my lifetime but I think some time in the future people will look back and say what the fuck were they thinking.
I rarely drink alcohol now. Doesn't taste the same for me anymore. I dont know if that is the result of the medication I have to take, age, or something else.
It has ensured I dont wake up feeling like shite the next day.
I'm too near the end to miss days due to too much booze.
 
I gave up alcohol 1000 odd days ago. Personal lifestyle choice, it works for me.

I do worry though about the current trends. One of which is really good - young Scots are drinking much less than the previous generation, but I worry about the impact that drinking at home is having. My mate the publican showed me a graph and the point around 10/15 years ago where pub sales were overtaken by off licence sales.

I hated the control the supermarkets have over alcohol - you are forced to buy not what you want to buy, but what they want to sell you. In that respect the demise of haddows and off bins has been very bad.

Also, pubs were social hubs. Growing up in Bonnyrigg there were many more pubs, and they were busy Thursday through Sunday, and even during the week. Now, not so, and I think we're missing something connection & human interaction. It's too easy to send a WhatsApp or a Facebook message where before you would have popped out to the pub to see someone.

The point to me though is, it is a personal choice. I still go out to pubs/cafe/restaurants, and I don't mind being with other people who are drinking. It's normal and its normal to be sociable. It's normal to be around people, some who might be drinking, some might not.

I think we should be doing more to make sure our social hubs stay open, even during a time of pandemic.
 
I think there's something to be said about round culture too. Going out with the lads involves being in a round and people tend to just say yes each time someone is going to the bar. I wonder if there's an opportunity to change that with the advent of apps you can order from. Prior to Covid I only recall seeing those in Wetherspoons but there's loads now. Wouldn't it be more civilised if we retained the table service culture and somehow apps were configured so that in each round every individual only ordered if they wanted to. Then at the end it was settled in the app so you only paid for what you personally consumed.
 
Tight ****.
 
Tight ****.
Clearly the @@$@ who orders the 30 year old malt on some other poor sap's roond
 
Clearly the @@$@ who orders the 30 year old malt on some other poor sap's roond
And demands crisps when his drink is cheaper than yours.
 
And demands crisps when his drink is cheaper than yours.
Harsh.

Salt’n’Vinegar please.
 
Harsh.

Salt’n’Vinegar please.
That's more a description of peoples faces when it's your round.
 
The culture of getting hammered with the bevvy in Scotland was never going to go hand in hand with Covid-19 restrictions.
Drinking irresponsibly in this countr is actually made glamorous in certain ways. Look at the way the tartan army are held in great esteem by the media, drinking themselves silly is all a big laugh and something to be proud of. The whole tartan army thing kind of sums up Scotland and our views on alcohol.
 
Alcohol harms very few people. I think like everything else we consume in moderation its great. As Rocky says its a flux for socialising and not just in pubs.

Its those that can't drink in moderation that can have issues with alcohol and quite often that has consequences, not just for themselves, but those around them. Without knowing the actual figures I doubt most of these drinkers do most of their drinking in pubs and in my experience drinkers in this category quite often come across as very reasonable in the pub!
Ive read some shite on fitba boards, but fuck me Jack, that wee bit is a belter!!
 
Ive read some shite on fitba boards, but fuck me Jack, that wee bit is a belter!!
It depends how its measured. In 2018 just over 1,100 people in Scotland died as a direct result of alcohol. I think that's very few in comparison to a population of 5 and a half million, of the 68,000 that died in total or the 100s of thousands that [used to] go to the pub every week. The Scottish Government only publish a league table of the top 5 and its less that half of what is the 5th place cause of death. It does make the top 5 in a couple of age groups.

Of course it would be better if there were fewer and maybe I should have worded it better.
 
It depends how its measured. In 2018 just over 1,100 people in Scotland died as a direct result of alcohol. I think that's very few in comparison to a population of 5 and a half million, of the 68,000 that died in total or the 100s of thousands that [used to] go to the pub every week. The Scottish Government only publish a league table of the top 5 and its less that half of what is the 5th place cause of death. It does make the top 5 in a couple of age groups.

Of course it would be better if there were fewer and maybe I should have worded it better.
To be fair Jack, there are others forms of harm other than deein!
 
If pubs closed, and never re-opened, would that really be such a bad thing? That was the original question. Possibly the answer to that might be, no it is not such a bad thing. But then you have to look at many other questions. Would shutting pubs lead to people giving up alcohol? Unlikely, it never did during prohibition in the USA. It would more likely just make people drink in their homes and other places where they would not have first aiders around or people who might suggest they have drunk too much. Also you might spend £30 out in the town on 5-8 pints depending on the prices you pay, At home if you decided to use your 30 bucks, you could be buying a bottle of whisky and a dozen cans.

Forcing people to abstain from alcohol does not work, unless you change the policies of the countries like they do in places like Morocco, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia etc. Do we want that would be the next question?

A lot of people use the pub as a place to meet with friends, date, watch football with others etc. Sitting at home could lead to more alcoholism, loneliness and isolation. I know a guy who cares for his disabled wife. Once a week on a Saturday he catches up with his mates from school at a pub for a couple of hours in the afternoon, it is his only real social contact apart from phone calls or visits from his family, or his daily walk to the shops. Yes he could perhaps take up a hobby for these two hours, but it is how he chooses to use his free couple of hours.

For sure there is a bad association with alcohol in UK and the violence and drunkenness levels seem to just shoot up with visits to A&E causing financial and emotional issues for hospitals and staff as well as causing financial issues in the wider working population often due to missed working days or people not feeling well enough to perform at a high level as rest is required in our lives.

So do we ban alcohol? punish those who drink by taking away the places they meet? Do we spend more on education of alcohol? I doubt anyone would argue that without alcohol we would not have as many associated problems so a very easy answer to your original question would be, no it would not be a bad idea. But it only opens a whole lot more issues to consider
 
Sitting around a table with my friends, elbow to elbow, shooting the breeze in a convivial, lively atmosphere, condensation on the inside of the windows, piles of jackets - that is pretty much one of my primary “happy places”, and I’m not ashamed to say that I am really, really missing it.

The current weird atmosphere with screens/shower curtains, clockwise-to-the-toilet directions, sparsely populated, music-free, two household maximum, table service version - not so much. A pale shadow of what a pub is all about, imo.

I would be devastated if they were to never return to their former selves. And that’s got nothing at all to do with bevvy - I like few beers as much as the next man, but I’m not a problem drinker. I think there’s perhaps a tendency to buy in to a narrative of “Scottish folk are irredeemable alcoholics” too easily - sure, we probably have a higher proportion than some countries, but it remains true that the vast majority of folk are just fine.

As a final point, I have hosted many people from around the world here in Edinburgh, and every single one of them absolutely loved our pubs. It would be a sin to lose them, they’re a valuable facet of our unique culture, imo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Sitting around a table with my friends, elbow to elbow, shooting the breeze in a convivial, lively atmosphere, condensation on the inside of the windows, piles of jackets - that is pretty much one of my primary “happy places”, and I’m not ashamed to say that I am really, really missing it.

The current weird atmosphere with screens/shower curtains, clockwise-to-the-toilet directions, sparsely populated, music-free, two household maximum, table service version - not so much. A pale shadow of what a pub is all about, imo.

I would be devastated if they were to never return to their former selves. And that’s got nothing at all to do with bevvy - I like few beers as much as the next man, but I’m not a problem drinker. I think there’s perhaps a tendency to buy in to a narrative of “Scottish folk are irredeemable alcoholics” too easily - sure, we probably have a higher proportion than some countries, but it remains true that the vast majority of folk are just fine.

As a final point, I have hosted many people from around the world here in Edinburgh, and every single one of them absolutely loved our pubs. It would be a sin to lose them, they’re a valuable facet of our unique culture, imo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This. I like a pint with my mates and perhaps when I was a young gun I drank a bit more than I should have [No perhaps about it] I'd be close to being devastated if they closed forever. Not because I want to go and get blootered night after night but for the reason stated by you Aggie. Sitting around or standing at the bar with mates, sorting out the worlds ills of an evening is brilliant.
 

This thread has been viewed 1830 times.

Your donation helps pay for our dedicated server and software support renewals. We really do appreciate it!
Goal
£100.00
Earned
£100.75
Back
Top