Drinking Culture!

The drinking culture here is really annoying. Not only do I have to see people sitting outside a pub drinking at 9am everyday when we drive past,but most of the attitudes on people when it comes to drinking is mind boggling!
We just had a lady come into the shop with a bottle. She was told she could not bring it in here. Her response? It was to start running her mouth about it,then try to sneak it back in a few minutes later, when she was told again to take it the f**k outside,she gets offended.
I sit at the desk here and see countless people walking by the shop drinking the beer,cider,alchohol as early as 9am.

And if you arent a drinker and not into the whole pub/club scene,people look at you like you're a freak and something must be wrong with you.

Its almost like you must be a drinker and go to pubs if you want to "fit in". Its a bit pathetic really.

/rant over

And the alcheys/whinos are really doing my friggin head in

DH would always get annoyed when we went into a pub and I didn't want anything. My family was practically tee-total, so I was surprised at how regularly his parents drank.  I think MIL was hooked on brandy!

I thought we were the only ones who felt this way! DH doesn't drink at all, because it contributes to his migraine headaches. I'll have the occasional drink if we're out somewhere, but, I'm not any where close to the people that live here. It's scary, how people let themselves get absolutely blindly drunk, and don't even think twice. And the public don't seem to realise how much it affects them, and all aspects of their lives. And what sort of example it sets for their children. Oh goodness.

I'm very glad that it's not anything like that where I live.

I'm very glad that it's not anything like that where I live.

you're lucky!
Its really bad here. I am not exaggerating when I say at 9am people are already pissed. A regular in the shop is a postie. And he says every single wednesday morning, a lot of people come in,cash their dole checks at the post office, then go straight across the street to the shop and buy beer and cider.

The amout of people I had to kick out the shop for being drunk and or coming in the shop with that crap is unreal.

I just find it digusting. How can anyone live their life that way?

While I like some pubs if they have the right environment (although very few do), I completely understand the frustration of drinking expectations in this country. Usually I just have one drink and make it last as long as possible, and then I start ordering fruit juices. It does seem that unless I'm at a pub, I have no social life, though.

However, I'm not too fond of all the drunks that always roam around the area where I live. That gets old fast and is just disgusting.

I go to the quiz at our local pub with three or four other women. We're all British and only two of us drink at all - and the two of us usually only have one drink each all night!

you're lucky!
Its really bad here. I am not exaggerating when I say at 9am people are already pissed. A regular in the shop is a postie. And he says every single wednesday morning, a lot of people come in,cash their dole checks at the post office, then go straight across the street to the shop and buy beer and cider.

The amout of people I had to kick out the shop for being drunk and or coming in the shop with that crap is unreal.

I just find it digusting. How can anyone live their life that way?

Ink-Spirational, it sounds like those people are just alcoholics which is different than going to the pub because it's part of the culture.  You'll find that in any area of the US as well where people are unemployed and feeling downtrodden.  

That being said, the drinking culture is a bit different in the UK than it is in the US.  I remember other threads on this in the past.  I don't drink much if at all and do find myself being questioned by a few of my hubby's friends and it is getting a bit old already.  My own few close (British) friends here though tend to be on a similar wave-length as me and it's not an issue with them at all, because they are similar to me.

Ink-Spirational, it sounds like those people are just alcoholics which is different than going to the pub because it's part of the culture.  You'll find that in any area of the US as well where people are unemployed and feeling downtrodden.  

I agree that that's what it sounds like. Ink, I don't know where you work, but it sounds like a depressed urban area? Is that right? Because I think you'd likely find similar people in the US in areas like that. It's not nice (for you or them!), but it's not quite the same as a drinking culture.

I agree that that's what it sounds like. Ink, I don't know where you work, but it sounds like a depressed urban area? Is that right? Because I think you'd likely find similar people in the US in areas like that. It's not nice (for you or them!), but it's not quite the same as a drinking culture.

Yeah, sounds like a rough area. That's unfortunate that your shop is that neighborhood.    Sounds like some of the folks are attracted to your shop as well so they wander in with their drinks.  Personally, I really like tattoos (hubby has more than a few) and *almost* got one myself....but tattoo shops, piercing shops, no matter how clean, honest and seriously the business is run, well sometimes those kind of places attract downtrodden folks.

Yeah, sounds like a rough area. That's unfortunate that your shop is that neighborhood.    Sounds like some of the folks are attracted to your shop as well so they wander in with their drinks.  Personally, I really like tattoos (hubby has more than a few) and *almost* got one myself....but tattoo shops, piercing shops, no matter how clean, honest and seriously the business is run, well sometimes those kind of places attract downtrodden folks.

I think that's true unfortunately I think there's a real difference between the kind of tattoos that you and your hubs do Ink, i.e tats as body art and self expression, and tats that....some other people get.

I worked in an expensive really interesting Miami Ink style tattoo parlour when I was a teenager and although all our actual customers were amazing, the people we got in off the street to "browse" could be a bit rough, I'm sure they were good people at heart but many of them had substance abuse issues and could be rude and unpredictable.

The other thing about pubs at 9am is often you get shift workers in there who have worked all night and are having the traditional pint after work, but they've basically become nocturnal!

Where I live now, the pubs don't even open at 9am, or if they do it's to serve organic eggs and freshly squeezed orange juice, but I definitely did live somewhere (Hastings) which was very economically depressed and you saw that kind of thing.

I'm a Brit and pretty non typical, I can't remember the last time I had an alcoholic drink   I do like the pub, the right kind of pub (which to me normally involve food) and I've not had an issue refusing drinks or anything. I was quite into pub culture at uni but as soon as I started work I just had better things to do!

I have friends that drink for drink's sake, but it's on the weekend and there's no pressure to get blind drunk if you don't want to.  I personally don't like the taste of alcohol and can count on one hand the number of times I have had a drink in the past year, but I do go to pubs for music or just to relax, just not in the city centre and rarely on a Friday or Saturday night. I usually order coke and people just assume it's got rum or vodka in it

It does sound like the issue is more of a location / poverty one than of the drinking culture.  I know that the areas in the towns I've lived in that have had the greatest level of deprevation (can't spell...) have also had the highest levels of drinking.  Granted the cheap lager prices at the grocery stores doesn't help (when it's cheaper to buy a 6 pack of beer than a bottle of coke.)

It isn't fair that you have to deal with people coming into the shop while drunk and have to deal with them being offensive, but that wouldn't be right if they were sober either. 

Just slightly off topic but the amount of money drained from the NHS for alcohol-related accidents and foolishness really makes my blood boil. 

I was always told you couldn't get a Tattoo if your drunk cause alcohol thins your blood so most tat places wont work on you how true is this?    I'm just asking cause I don't know the truth an was curious if what I was told was true or false?  

I couldn't tell you the last time I had a alcoholic drink either it just doesn't appeal to me anymore like it did in my early 20's. Dh doesn't drink all that often either I couldn't tell you the last time he had a drink either he isn't a social butterfly at all lol!! we actually have a small pub that's not even 5 mins from our house that I haven't even been to an I have lived here in the UK almost 6 years Dh has lived in our house for 10 years an has never been to the pub near our house either. Also alcohol is liquid calories I would rather a bar of chocolate than a drink!!    

I agree that this is more about alcoholics in deprived areas not about drinking culture.

I drink only a small amount; many of the people I know drink a lot - but they don't get "drunk".

In fact, most of the pubs that I know of will throw you out if you display drunken behaviour.