Why do British people drink so early in the day?
Options
Replies
-
I'm not from the UK but I sure wouldnt say no to going, now!
In all honesty I think it would be the culture in Iceland as well.. if alcohol in bars wasnt so damn expensive. We have a culture of drinking at home before going out because its a whole lot cheaper, and yet even when its cheaper its more expensive than a pint at a pub in the UK (or close to that pricetag, depending on how currency is doing)
Iceland happens to be one of my most favorite places on the planet. Anytime I've been there we started drinking in the afternoon (with lunch). The neat thing is that you can get beer with lunch after a long hike (back at the main building depending on the hiking area). After hiking 3-4 hours straight nothing is more refreshing than a beer at the end of the trail. Yes, alcohol is pricey in Iceland but it's well worth it after a day spent having adventures. :drinker:0 -
Easy answer, because they're 6+ hours ahead of us gmt I'm American with a British bf and love visiting England and Pubs which are sadlly disappearing at an alarming rate to be replaced by chain restaurants. Please keep drinking your pints! ♥ Oh and I don't own an I ♥ Kate and William shirt either!
Cheers! 0 -
uhm, I think the correct question here is why doesn't everyone else drink so early in the day! :drinker: :bigsmile: :drinker:0
-
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.
If I'm looking for food, a pub is never the first place I'd go - we do have restaurants, cafés and café bars, diners, pizza houses and takeaways as well! Even McDonalds!
Pubs aren't always full. What time of day was this? Was it a Bank Holiday? Or in the football season or something??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!
So it's not a general problem then? You're not really suggesting that Brits neglect their families in favour of heading for the pub - it's only happened once. I see. hmmmmm.
It was right after work, on a Friday, with a home game that weekend and a bankholiday right after.. so.. yeah not a usual day.:laugh: And, as we found out the day after, if we had gone to a different part (really just a few streets over from where we were looking) we would have found eating places a-plenty.
You really do have more of a culture about going out for drinks after work than Iceland does.. but most Icelanders blame that on the price of alcohol. As soon as an Icelander moves to the UK they take up the culture very happily*. People might catch a cup of coffee or invite coworkers home to drink instead (after dinner, again culture thing.. probably due to shorter distances between work and home as well).
*generalising.. know plenty of Icelanders that dont drink too 0 -
Also we drink so we don't have to see the kids after work. Nobody likes kids. We only have them to get more benefits that we can use to drink more.
:laugh:0 -
Because they are 6 hours ahead of me (I'm in CST)?0
-
What??? What part of America do you people live in that there is no Happy Hour and bars don't open until late?
^This.0 -
Who cares? ....and today, you can call me a Brit!0
-
I'm not from the UK but I sure wouldnt say no to going, now!
In all honesty I think it would be the culture in Iceland as well.. if alcohol in bars wasnt so damn expensive. We have a culture of drinking at home before going out because its a whole lot cheaper, and yet even when its cheaper its more expensive than a pint at a pub in the UK (or close to that pricetag, depending on how currency is doing)
Iceland happens to be one of my most favorite places on the planet. Anytime I've been there we started drinking in the afternoon (with lunch). The neat thing is that you can get beer with lunch after a long hike (back at the main building depending on the hiking area). After hiking 3-4 hours straight nothing is more refreshing than a beer at the end of the trail. Yes, alcohol is pricey in Iceland but it's well worth it after a day spent having adventures. :drinker:
:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
I prefer hot cocoa but thats just cause I generally dislike beer.
Next time, make sure to enjoy the alcohol in a hottup.. especially if you are travelling during the winter. Lounging in the hottub with a bevarage of your choosing, watching the stars above the snowline is really magical
0 -
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 live in the UK and at the risk of upsetting fellow 'brits' , Binge drinking is a massive part of British life.0 -
I did no know this... now I have a reason to put visiting London on my bucket list! :laugh:
Other reasons include: randomly chatting to people cause they are polite like that, and to visit the Underground.. honestly I am in love with that.. I dont know why.. and Cambdentown (spelling?) ..and just.. London.
Just Camden. The town bit is optional.0 -
I am British and have never really gone to the pub after work!! It stems from two separate cultures, the poor working man that would go straight to the pub in dirty clothes and have a few while it was the stay at home wife's job to look after the kids (now mainly a dead culture thank goodness) and city dwellers where the working day ends in quick relaxation with colleagues before heading off home. The working man now does go home to family and many a local pub has closed down in recent years. The city dwellers are often still single and so can stay out. Those that have families and still stay out generally are not from happy households!!
The other thing I would say is that the drinking tends to end quite early on a working night !!
The real issue now is all the wine drinking that goes on once home0 -
I did no know this... now I have a reason to put visiting London on my bucket list! :laugh:
Other reasons include: randomly chatting to people cause they are polite like that, and to visit the Underground.. honestly I am in love with that.. I dont know why.. and Cambdentown (spelling?) ..and just.. London.
Carnaby Street is worth a visit as well if you are in the area but agree about the underground, I used to just love travelling on the underground just for the sake of it when I was younger.
Not during rush hour though
no, rush hour's when the drunks are on the move!0 -
When alcohol is on the line, there is no such thing as family
HAHAHA
I salute you, fellow brit.0 -
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 find that if I get to the pub at 11 am I can normally get a seat at the bar. I don't think that's super early - I've usually had breakfast by then.0 -
a codicil:Holy Stereotyping Batman
if you're a Brit, under 30, or over 40 but think you're under 30, it's a pre-requisite to go out drinking wearing make-up that weighs more than the clothes on your back, especially if you come from the north-east, or the north-west... :laugh:
But NO SLEEVES, on no account wear a coat or jacket and if female, nothing with a back!0 -
Not worth the strike...0
-
I'm not from the UK but I sure wouldnt say no to going, now!
In all honesty I think it would be the culture in Iceland as well.. if alcohol in bars wasnt so damn expensive. We have a culture of drinking at home before going out because its a whole lot cheaper, and yet even when its cheaper its more expensive than a pint at a pub in the UK (or close to that pricetag, depending on how currency is doing)
Iceland happens to be one of my most favorite places on the planet. Anytime I've been there we started drinking in the afternoon (with lunch). The neat thing is that you can get beer with lunch after a long hike (back at the main building depending on the hiking area). After hiking 3-4 hours straight nothing is more refreshing than a beer at the end of the trail. Yes, alcohol is pricey in Iceland but it's well worth it after a day spent having adventures. :drinker:
:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
I prefer hot cocoa but thats just cause I generally dislike beer.
Next time, make sure to enjoy the alcohol in a hottup.. especially if you are travelling during the winter. Lounging in the hottub with a bevarage of your choosing, watching the stars above the snowline is really magical
I agree--that's also nice in the fall. One visit in October we stayed at a Inn right along a fjord. The hottub had an incredible view! I'm not a hot tub person normally (hate all of the chemicals) but in Iceland where the hot tub is geothermal and chemical-free it's a must (with a nice glass of wine of course).0 -
You are correct But it is a culture thing. When I was a student in London ,many years ago we started in the afternoon bar - and sometimes never stopped until three in the morning where we often had to walk home shnockered.
I am not proud of this - it just seemed to be something we could not get out of at the time. I am sure that many companies around the UK have this stop out culture. It is devastating0 -
first off, loving the generalisation
I didn't know I drank for a start- thanks for enlightening me P:
second, you were in a pub... where people go to drink socially... and you were surprised to see people drink... yes.
third, it's not unacceptable to have a glass of wine, or what ever you like, at lunch, in fact its the same in many European countries- its almost unusual not to.
fourth, I think we do have a bit of an issue with alcohol in this country; the idea that you need to get plastered to have a good time- so on that front yeah I can see where you're coming from.
I am starting to think more and more that Scandinavia is its own continent.. not part of Europe.. :laugh:
Well Norway isn't in the EU. :drinker:
OMG neither is Iceland.. and a bunch of other (fake?) european countries (mostly in the east).. we must not be proper European then! Must join the Union or be forever outcasts!
oh wait.. to us that would actually sound like a good thing so.. never mind!
:drinker:
Give it time! We'll be outside with you if this government has its way.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 394 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 941 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions