Why do British people drink so early in the day?

iceqieen
iceqieen Posts: 862 Member
in Chit-Chat
When I want to eat at a pub when touristing in the UK I have to make sure I go super early or all the pubs are filled with drunk people.. what's up with that?

Why do you just go straight to the pub? Shouldnt you go home first? Change clothes, say hi to the family.. you know, normal stuff!
«134567…10

Replies

  • PeriwinkleRobinson
    PeriwinkleRobinson Posts: 28
    When alcohol is on the line, there is no such thing as family
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
    I've just returned from a vacation in London and was amazed at the employees hitting the pubs as soon as they leave work. I mentioned this to a British friend and he just replied that England was the land of plenty and they had to support their pubs. He then left work and went straight to the pubs without seeing his kids first - what is the sense of that?? Bars in the US open much later and yet we have alcohol problems here too.

    I can always tell the British tourists here because they are making a beeline for the bars, wearing their I <3 William and Kate shirts, even in the dead of winter.
  • mmipanda
    mmipanda Posts: 351 Member
    Omg u r xenophobe
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    tumblr_mhi6wm4KIm1rmyhabo1_500.gif

    I saw that movie!
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
    I find it helps stop me eating really large portions of food :wink:
  • iceqieen
    iceqieen Posts: 862 Member
    I find it helps stop me eating really large portions of food :wink:

    oh kinda like drinking 1/2 liter of water before eating.. except more fun?
  • bubaluboo
    bubaluboo Posts: 2,098 Member
    I replied to this question in the other thread. It's true, we do have a culture of tumbling out of work to the pub...it's not great and our British livers are suffering. I guess it's called letting off a bit of steam after work. I don't for one moment believe your comment from the British friend though...makes it all a little fictitious sounding. Unfortunately in some of our work cultures, the after work drink is an important aspect of networking and peer pressure is involved.
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
    I find it helps stop me eating really large portions of food :wink:

    oh kinda like drinking 1/2 liter of water before eating.. except more fun?

    You got it and it also helps me forget what I was intending to eat anyway
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    When I want to eat at a pub when touristing in the UK I have to make sure I go super early or all the pubs are filled with drunk people.. what's up with that?

    Why do you just go straight to the pub? Shouldnt you go home first? Change clothes, say hi to the family.. you know, normal stuff!

    I don't think that noun can be used as a verb.
  • Livingdeadgirl44
    Livingdeadgirl44 Posts: 264 Member
    I've just returned from a vacation in London and was amazed at the employees hitting the pubs as soon as they leave work. I mentioned this to a British friend and he just replied that England was the land of plenty and they had to support their pubs. He then left work and went straight to the pubs without seeing his kids first - what is the sense of that?? Bars in the US open much later and yet we have alcohol problems here too.

    I can always tell the British tourists here because they are making a beeline for the bars, wearing their I <3 William and Kate shirts, even in the dead of winter.

    I don't get this, if you want to go for a drink with your workmates you have to go after work. Otherwise people are off on their 1hr, 1.5hr, or 2hr commute in separate directions and no one is going to then go back into town after getting changed...

    This is a London thing though, because no one in London drives to work. Since moving out of London we only do work drinks a couple of times a year because people have to plan about leaving their cars and how they are going to get in on public transport and the cost of a taxi home.
  • iceqieen
    iceqieen Posts: 862 Member
    I replied to this question in the other thread. It's true, we do have a culture of tumbling out of work to the pub...it's not great and our British livers are suffering. I guess it's called letting off a bit of steam after work. I don't for one moment believe your comment from the British friend though...makes it all a little fictitious sounding. Unfortunately in some of our work cultures, the after work drink is an important aspect of networking and peer pressure is involved.

    I have heard that bit from a Brit before, the one about it being important for networking. It makes sense. I guess its a less formal version of going out for lunch or dinner together.

    Icelanders take their bingedrinking habit out in a different setting - late on friday and saturday (sometimes thursday and sunday) nights and into the morning after.. really screws up your sleep cycle.
  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
    When I want to eat at a pub when touristing in the UK I have to make sure I go super early or all the pubs are filled with drunk people.. what's up with that?

    Why do you just go straight to the pub? Shouldnt you go home first? Change clothes, say hi to the family.. you know, normal stuff!

    People do similar things in the US, and there can be various resons. One is that stopping for a drink on the way home may allow for some decompression before getting home. Another is that it's an opportunity to coworkers to come together in a social environment after the working day.

    As long as it's done responsibly, it can be a good thing. The challenge is that not everyone has the same definition as "drunk". Some people WILL be genuinely intoxicated. But, especially in pubs or bars where people are there to be social, it's possible for people to be acting silly even if they're not actually intoxicated. They just get caught up in the environment. My coworkers and I will often have a sizeable change in personality before the first beer ever reaches our lips because we're there to relax.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    What??? What part of America do you people live in that there is no Happy Hour and bars don't open until late?
  • PaleoChocolateBear
    PaleoChocolateBear Posts: 2,844 Member
    You think that's early, I've seen people in Baltimore who work grave yard shift get off work and have a beer at a bar at 8am. I was jealous of them
  • iceqieen
    iceqieen Posts: 862 Member
    I've just returned from a vacation in London and was amazed at the employees hitting the pubs as soon as they leave work. I mentioned this to a British friend and he just replied that England was the land of plenty and they had to support their pubs. He then left work and went straight to the pubs without seeing his kids first - what is the sense of that?? Bars in the US open much later and yet we have alcohol problems here too.

    I can always tell the British tourists here because they are making a beeline for the bars, wearing their I <3 William and Kate shirts, even in the dead of winter.

    I don't get this, if you want to go for a drink with your workmates you have to go after work. Otherwise people are off on their 1hr, 1.5hr, or 2hr commute in separate directions and no one is going to then go back into town after getting changed...

    This is a London thing though, because no one in London drives to work. Since moving out of London we only do work drinks a couple of times a year because people have to plan about leaving their cars and how they are going to get in on public transport and the cost of a taxi home.

    the commute is a good point.. I am too used to a quick max 1hour to get to work, max 20 min to midtown routine.. spoiled, I know ;)

    I mean, who wants to spend 3 hours on commute to spend a few more hours with people you see every day the whole day anyway?
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
    I replied to this question in the other thread. It's true, we do have a culture of tumbling out of work to the pub...it's not great and our British livers are suffering. I guess it's called letting off a bit of steam after work. I don't for one moment believe your comment from the British friend though...makes it all a little fictitious sounding. Unfortunately in some of our work cultures, the after work drink is an important aspect of networking and peer pressure is involved.

    My British friend? Why wouldn't you believe that? If it's a part of social networking, why wouldn't you want to support your pubs? You need them if that's where you get your work done.
  • Melissa22G
    Melissa22G Posts: 847 Member
    IN for booze.
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
    I can always tell the British tourists here because they are making a beeline for the bars, wearing their I <3 William and Kate shirts, even in the dead of winter.

    In the same way you found the Hawaiian shirt comment offensive on the other thread I find this one offensive, now if you had said Prince Charles shirt we would have been good
  • iceqieen
    iceqieen Posts: 862 Member
    You think that's early, I've seen people in Baltimore who work grave yard shift get off work and have a beer at a bar at 8am. I was jealous of them

    Or the Danes that start drinking when they get to work at 9am.. My dads brother used to work at a shipyard where they wouldnt even do any work on Fridays cause they were too busy relaxing with a cold beer.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    I sincerely love coarse troll threads revolving around impossible to quantify feelings of social superiority.

    Just never seem to find them so early these days.
  • rjmudlax13
    rjmudlax13 Posts: 900 Member
    You obviously haven't been to Ireland or Scotland.
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
    You obviously haven't been to Ireland or Scotland.

    Lets not forget that Wales should get a mention too
  • surreygirl23
    surreygirl23 Posts: 85 Member
    OK, I'll play this game!

    Several reasons I think.
    Firstly, there are a lot of pubs in cities, especially London. Up until recently (using a UK time frame), i.e. about late 19th century, it wasn't safe to drink the water in cities, so everyone drank ale, or beer.
    In major cities like London, it's common to leave work and stop off with your work-mates for a pint (or a bottle of lager, glass of wine) to relax before everyone heads off to their home towns, which are often a good hour away by train.
    Therefore, the pubs are busier between 5 and 7, than they are later on.

    Once you're home, you don't want to go out again! My OH probably goes out from work about once a month, it's not that common when you get to a 'certain age'!

    I'm not sure about the 'drunk' thing. That's usually the domain of the younger crowd who go out on a Friday/Saturday night to clubs and bars rather than pubs.
    They will then drink until they can no longer stand, then they crawl in the gutter to the nearest A&E department. :sick:

    But during the fantastic summer we've just had, it would have been great to sit on a wall outside an old traditional pub with a glass of beer, drinking in the atmosphere. Sadly, I'm the one at home with the kids!

    btw - "England was the land of plenty and they had to support their pubs." I think he was having you on with this comment!
    A huge number of pubs have shut in the last decade - mostly out-of-town ones, and I don't think anyone sees our country as a 'land of plenty' any more...
  • iceqieen
    iceqieen Posts: 862 Member
    You obviously haven't been to Ireland or Scotland.

    Lets not forget that Wales should get a mention too

    Been to Ireland.. we stayd at a danish guys home and drank all weekend.. so cant comment on Irish culture ;)
  • barbalari
    barbalari Posts: 43 Member
    Drinking immediately after work happens in the USA too I imagine. Making sweeping statements about us Brits not going home and not seeing our kids is offensive. I often defend the American people when I hear derogatory comments from British people, however, individuals like you make me wonder why. I suggest you climb down from your pompous high horse and get real.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
    Drinking immediately after work happens in the USA too I imagine. Making sweeping statements about us Brits not going home and not seeing our kids is offensive. I often defend the American people when I hear derogatory comments from British people, however, individuals like you make me wonder why. I suggest you climb down from your pompous high horse and get real.

    Thank you for this. :flowerforyou:
  • bubaluboo
    bubaluboo Posts: 2,098 Member
    I replied to this question in the other thread. It's true, we do have a culture of tumbling out of work to the pub...it's not great and our British livers are suffering. I guess it's called letting off a bit of steam after work. I don't for one moment believe your comment from the British friend though...makes it all a little fictitious sounding. Unfortunately in some of our work cultures, the after work drink is an important aspect of networking and peer pressure is involved.

    My British friend? Why wouldn't you believe that? If it's a part of social networking, why wouldn't you want to support your pubs? You need them if that's where you get your work done.

    Because if you were in a decent city pub after work in the UK, you'd find the bar full and not feel any concern that the pub would suffer from one or two people not turning up. If the comment was made, it will have been tongue in cheek. It's not where we get our work done by the way, it's where office camaraderie is supposed to be developed.
  • Livingdeadgirl44
    Livingdeadgirl44 Posts: 264 Member
    I've just returned from a vacation in London and was amazed at the employees hitting the pubs as soon as they leave work. I mentioned this to a British friend and he just replied that England was the land of plenty and they had to support their pubs. He then left work and went straight to the pubs without seeing his kids first - what is the sense of that?? Bars in the US open much later and yet we have alcohol problems here too.

    I can always tell the British tourists here because they are making a beeline for the bars, wearing their I <3 William and Kate shirts, even in the dead of winter.

    I don't get this, if you want to go for a drink with your workmates you have to go after work. Otherwise people are off on their 1hr, 1.5hr, or 2hr commute in separate directions and no one is going to then go back into town after getting changed...

    This is a London thing though, because no one in London drives to work. Since moving out of London we only do work drinks a couple of times a year because people have to plan about leaving their cars and how they are going to get in on public transport and the cost of a taxi home.

    the commute is a good point.. I am too used to a quick max 1hour to get to work, max 20 min to midtown routine.. spoiled, I know ;)

    I mean, who wants to spend 3 hours on commute to spend a few more hours with people you see every day the whole day anyway?

    The London commute is crap but the only way to do it unless your earning 60k because houses are so expensive. That's why I moved to Manchester :)
  • iceqieen
    iceqieen Posts: 862 Member
    OK, I'll play this game!

    Several reasons I think.
    Firstly, there are a lot of pubs in cities, especially London. Up until recently (using a UK time frame), i.e. about late 19th century, it wasn't safe to drink the water in cities, so everyone drank ale, or beer.
    In major cities like London, it's common to leave work and stop off with your work-mates for a pint (or a bottle of lager, glass of wine) to relax before everyone heads off to their home towns, which are often a good hour away by train.
    Therefore, the pubs are busier between 5 and 7, than they are later on.

    Once you're home, you don't want to go out again! My OH probably goes out from work about once a month, it's not that common when you get to a 'certain age'!

    I'm not sure about the 'drunk' thing. That's usually the domain of the younger crowd who go out on a Friday/Saturday night to clubs and bars rather than pubs.
    They will then drink until they can no longer stand, then they crawl in the gutter to the nearest A&E department. :sick:

    But during the fantastic summer we've just had, it would have been great to sit on a wall outside an old traditional pub with a glass of beer, drinking in the atmosphere. Sadly, I'm the one at home with the kids!

    btw - "England was the land of plenty and they had to support their pubs." I think he was having you on with this comment!
    A huge number of pubs have shut in the last decade - mostly out-of-town ones, and I don't think anyone sees our country as a 'land of plenty' any more...

    I guess because it gets rarer as you grow older, and younger are usually louder, it leaves the impression that the pub is full of drunk people when it could just be full of really loud people having a pint before going home.


    Only time this has bothered me was when I was trying to find a pub to eat at in Liverpool (first time visiting there and on the first day) and couldnt find anywhere that wasnt full of people! We ended up going to Tesco and eating some sandwitches.. I was really starting to go "WTF is there really no place for a tourist to go eat!!!" ..then the day after we had a bit more time and were allot less travel weary and did find good spots to eat ;) When we visit London we are usually so late in thinking about food anyway, and know the locations of a few restaurants so dont need to go looking.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member


    Because if you were in a decent city pub after work in the UK, you'd find the bar full and not feel any concern that the pub would suffer from one or two people not turning up. If the comment was made, it will have been tongue in cheek. It's not where we get our work done by the way, it's where office camaraderie is supposed to be developed.

    Maybe he just didn't want to say that British people like to drink alcohol?

    Disclaimer: I have no British friends that I am aware of. I have also never been to London. I also have no awareness of British drinking habits.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories