The nation is quite drunken enough (The underclass in UK Cannot Control Their Alcohol Use)

Telegraph ^ | 4 January 2004 | Theodore Dalrymple

[shrinkermd]

That the British are now a nation of drunken brutes, justly despised throughout the world wherever they congregate in any numbers, is so obvious a fact that it should require no repetition. A brief visit to the centre of any British town or city on a Saturday night - or indeed, almost any night - will confirm it for those who are still in doubt. There they will see scenes of charmless vulgarity, in which thousands of scantily clad, lumpen sluts scream drunkenly, and men vomit proudly in the gutters.

The Government, whose solution to any social problem is to make it worse, now proposes that the British, having conclusively proved that they cannot (or rather, will not) control themselves, should be granted even more licence to make a public nuisance of themselves whenever they feel like it, which is often. They will henceforth be able to drink in pubs and bars at all times of the day and night, 24 hours a day, instead of just most of the day and night. If there were shares in debauchery, I'd buy them now.

Of course, the Government claims to believe that, by allowing drinking establishments to open 24 hours a day, it will reduce public drunkenness. If it really believes this, it is a terrible indictment of the British nation: that it can allow itself to be led by such a collection of hopeless fools. As to the suggestion that we might develop here the kind of civilised Mediterranean café culture if only drinking outlets were open long enough, you might as well preach the comforts of the igloo and the tastiness of whale blubber to the Masai of Kenya.

[Gerasimov]

I beg to differ with the author's conclusion... I find it to be "just the right amount" of drunkenness.

[spokeshave]

The beer and the food is warm

[TexasTransplant]

Eel isn't bad but and I have eaten kidney (once) I'm too old to get drunk enough to eat it twice.

[Billthedrill]

Well, I see Dalrymple hasn't mellowed much in retirement.

This is the politics of clientelism: those who misbehave will vote for you because they have grown fond of the licentiousness that you have allowed them...

Wish I'd written that...

[expatpat]

The Brits claim that the only reason US beer is cold, is because it's like gnat's pi$$ and undrinkable if served at room temperature. I suspect they had a point in the days before the micro-breweries started brewing real beer!

[garyhope]

I was in England last year and they sure do drink. They can drink a LOT of beer and ale and they DO.

The food in England is much better and there are plenty of decent restaurants now. The tea is good.

But there are plenty of rowdy, really drunk, drunken louts.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

The dead end hopelessness of socialism has sunk in, why not stay drunk, at this point?

[Peelod]

Smoked eel, scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast and a bit of parsley for garnish - yum!

[ijcr]

I heartily disagree with your premise, cast your mind backwards to the Soviet Union, or Poland in the 70's. Alcohol was the only retreat of a people without the ability to control their own destiny.

Look at our British cousins......are these not the great-great-great grand children of the archers at Agincourt, the redcoats at Rorke's Drift, the inimitable Tommy at Dunkirk. Does not the victories of countless battles course through their veins,Ramilles, Trafalgar,Quebec,El Alemein,and Port Stanley.

The Duke of Wellington appraised them with the timely remark "I don't know what they do to the enemy but they scare the hell out of me."

Look at the damage Socialism has wrought on a once proud nation, men are no longer allowed to defend their own families or property for fear of facing the law.

Police officers are perpetually attending class after class
on gender relationships, intervention studies etc.etc.

Recently a group that monitors Police behavior across the Globe has rated the British Police as next to useless.

They vote for Parliament,yet they are ruled by unelected nameless judges and an unelected Commission in Brussels.

The national dish has become the Donner Kebab, fish and chips being too expensive.

Violence is rampant...the government solution is to turn to
prohibition, firstly banning firearms and now banning knives.

The educational system has elevated the mediocre to the genius of an angel.They have fudged and manipulated the examination statistics to a level that would leave King County election officials applauding in admiration.

Their church leaders believe that glands come before God.That homosexuality is no longer voluntary but now mandatory. That marriage is an ancient concept and that having children out of wedlock adds another heroine to the
nations lists.

However,all of Albions woes are self inflicted, instead of grabbing Europe by the throat and shaking every penny from their coffers,they deferred to the appeasers and the snake oil salesmen.

The result is that a nation which once proudly strode like a giant across the earth is reduced to the status of a drunk wallowing in the gutter.

[ditto h]

Put the drink down...brush your teeth..

[LibertarianInExile]

"When drunkenness declined in Britain during the second half of the 19th century, it did so not because the government legislated it, but because the people realised that habitual drunkenness was morally harmful and incompatible with self-respect."

I assume this law mandates the bars will be open late and 24 hours everywhere? /sarcasm

Carry Nations like this this WCTU wanna-be make voting for Tony Blair so much easier, I bet, for young Britons who are not sure about whether the Tories have anything to offer. I loathe Labour, but the Tories have done a fine job of mutating into anti-Labour without having any idea what that means any more, especially since Labour seems to have done such a fine job moving to the middle as far as public perception is concerned.

God help your country, Maggie, when the Tories are this marginalized. God help you, Nathan.

[pierrem15]

As far as I've read, the whole point is to reduce the 2:00AM crush of drunks exiting the pubs by allowing them to leave later.

But they may have to be carried out...

[blackbart.223]

"The Government, whose solution to any social problem is to make it worse, now proposes that the British, having conclusively proved that they cannot (or rather, will not) control themselves, should be granted even more licence to make a public nuisance of themselves whenever they feel like it, which is often.

This probably explains the drinking. You can only do that which the government grants you licence to do. Piss on that idea.

[blackbart.223]

"And here I thought this was about College campuses."

I thought it was about a Kennedy on any givin night. Ted in particular.

[SedVictaCatoni]

In the town where I went to undergrad here in the US, the beginning of Daylight Savings Time (i.e. BST) fell on a Saturday night. Suddenly, it was an hour later than it was supposed to be - and that new unexpected hour was also closing time. All twenty bars on the high street ejected their patrons at once; these persons had not been anticipating closing time and were quite irate at having the festivities suddenly terminated.

So began what is still remembered as the Daylight Savings Riot.

[SedVictaCatoni]

God made England so that the English could make pork pies. Mmmmm...

[Nachoman]

God made alcohol so England couldn't rule the world.

[Winniesboy]

British food is generally bland, overcooked and very uninteresting

At the risk of resurrecting an old chestnut [forgive that alarming image] this observation is grotesquely anachronistic, and ignores the revolution in British food of the last 15 years. As the quality of British food steadily rises, so that of French food steadily declines. The two trends will soon cross, and in some cases have already done so. (Not to say, of course, that you can't still find bad food here if you're determined to find it, as indeed you can in every country: and we're as much victims to the global blandification of the burger/fast food culture as anywhere else - but there's another side to the story which is very different, very creative, very exciting and very scrumptious).

[TexasTransplant]

"Smoked eel, scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast and a bit of parsley for garnish - yum!"


That does sound pretty good, add sliced tomatoes for additional garnish.

[expatpat]

I still say that steak and kidney pie/pudding is delicious.