National Forum

Alan Brogan, mature attitude to alcohol.

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Our attitude towards drink in this country stinks. I was at a concert recently where the queue for the bar (I wanted a bottle of water as I was driving) was nearly a half an hour long. Now in a 2.5 hour concert 1/6 of it was lost by many who were already well inebriated, queuing for booze and who most likely would not remember the other 5/6 of it. There was also lots of fine young ladies going around with drinks baskets around their necks selling booze throughout the stadium. When I asked if they had water I was told no I'd have to queue at the bar. Booze was more important to be selling throughout the crowd than water. It really annoyed me. I have no problem with people who go out and have a few quiet ones but why people want to drink to a point where they cant remember half what happened the night before I can't grasp. Whats the point in going out at all if you cant have a night to remember?

Chops (Westmeath) - Posts: 775 - 24/08/2017 10:58:05    2037054

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Replying To Breffni39:  "Irish people whining about the weather is a huge bugbear of mine. You'd think we were living in a constant monsoon they way people go on. The weather is grand."
Exactly. Our weather is mild. We don't get bad weather. If we suffered the kind of winters some in America get then the entire country would grind to a halt.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9115 - 24/08/2017 11:11:34    2037059

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Replying To Chops:  "Our attitude towards drink in this country stinks. I was at a concert recently where the queue for the bar (I wanted a bottle of water as I was driving) was nearly a half an hour long. Now in a 2.5 hour concert 1/6 of it was lost by many who were already well inebriated, queuing for booze and who most likely would not remember the other 5/6 of it. There was also lots of fine young ladies going around with drinks baskets around their necks selling booze throughout the stadium. When I asked if they had water I was told no I'd have to queue at the bar. Booze was more important to be selling throughout the crowd than water. It really annoyed me. I have no problem with people who go out and have a few quiet ones but why people want to drink to a point where they cant remember half what happened the night before I can't grasp. Whats the point in going out at all if you cant have a night to remember?"
Chops I agree with you and a perfect example of what you're talking about took place when I saw Stone Roses at Wembley in June. Maybe two thirds of the way through the gig I wandered downstairs looking for some water and was told they'd stopped selling it "but there might be some left if you walk halfway around the stadium concourse by the first aid block". He didn't know why they'd stopped selling it but they hadn't stopped selling that Carlsberg pisswater crap at £6 a pint. It was pretty much 30oC that day and they stop selling water. Brilliant.

MedwayIrish (Wexford) - Posts: 2324 - 24/08/2017 11:56:59    2037088

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Replying To Breffni39:  "Irish people whining about the weather is a huge bugbear of mine. You'd think we were living in a constant monsoon they way people go on. The weather is grand."
Yeah I'd agree with that. I'm not averse to a bit of occasional sun seeking but I'd hate to have to live, work, function in that sort of heat, day in, day out. I'm only 10mins walk from my work but on the days where the temperature hits mid 20s by 8-9am I feel like I need another shower by the time I'm through the door and I don't enjoy that at all.

MedwayIrish (Wexford) - Posts: 2324 - 24/08/2017 12:07:30    2037093

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Replying To MedwayIrish:  "Why, if you can enjoy without it becoming a necessity? I'd extend that to all drugs, too, not just alcohol"
Just a personal view that works for me, each to their own!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8585 - 24/08/2017 12:26:24    2037109

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How many people under 30 are pioneers? I went to college in the 1980s and at least a quarter of the class were non drinkers. Its very rare now to mmet a young person that doesnt drink although not all do excessively. To me the biggest change in the last few years is the idea of 'pre-drinking'. I wouldnt have given tuppence for a drink at home or flat. When young I wanted to be in the pub. For a chat,,some craic, play pool and ogle the girls. I cannot understand the idea of sitting around a living room drinking cans or chaep vodka before heading out. They actually do not ENJOY drink only the idea of being smashed. The excuse is that 'drink is too dear' but it was just as dear in the 1980s relatively speaking and we probably had less money in those days as well. Half the fun in drinking is the athmosphere and there is zero athmosphere in a dingy flat or rented house.

Manstein (Roscommon) - Posts: 43 - 25/08/2017 14:01:37    2037573

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Replying To Manstein:  "How many people under 30 are pioneers? I went to college in the 1980s and at least a quarter of the class were non drinkers. Its very rare now to mmet a young person that doesnt drink although not all do excessively. To me the biggest change in the last few years is the idea of 'pre-drinking'. I wouldnt have given tuppence for a drink at home or flat. When young I wanted to be in the pub. For a chat,,some craic, play pool and ogle the girls. I cannot understand the idea of sitting around a living room drinking cans or chaep vodka before heading out. They actually do not ENJOY drink only the idea of being smashed. The excuse is that 'drink is too dear' but it was just as dear in the 1980s relatively speaking and we probably had less money in those days as well. Half the fun in drinking is the athmosphere and there is zero athmosphere in a dingy flat or rented house."
I'd say almost 50% of them are. Probably close to 100% of those aged 0-10/11/12 are pioneers, it'd decrease after that but I'd imagine it would settle at roughly 50% off the top of my head.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12115 - 25/08/2017 15:20:55    2037621

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Replying To Manstein:  "How many people under 30 are pioneers? I went to college in the 1980s and at least a quarter of the class were non drinkers. Its very rare now to mmet a young person that doesnt drink although not all do excessively. To me the biggest change in the last few years is the idea of 'pre-drinking'. I wouldnt have given tuppence for a drink at home or flat. When young I wanted to be in the pub. For a chat,,some craic, play pool and ogle the girls. I cannot understand the idea of sitting around a living room drinking cans or chaep vodka before heading out. They actually do not ENJOY drink only the idea of being smashed. The excuse is that 'drink is too dear' but it was just as dear in the 1980s relatively speaking and we probably had less money in those days as well. Half the fun in drinking is the athmosphere and there is zero athmosphere in a dingy flat or rented house."
There's a happy medium somewhere between teetotaller and alcoholic. And people who don't drink are also very happy and shouldn't be made feel uncomfortable because they don't drink. Oisín Langan from Off the Ball was interviewed about stopping drinking alcohol in his 20s. He wasn't worried about becoming an alcoholic. Just fed up with days wasted from hangovers and a hole in his pockets after nights out. When asked how did people react to him not drinking when he was in the pub he said people asked him 'Are you on antibiotics?'

That sounds funny. But it's more sad than funny because some people think it's weird that someone out for the night isn't drinking alcohol.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7335 - 25/08/2017 17:07:28    2037661

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