Comments on: Licensing Laws

By: Macarnie

Macarnie — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 09:44:47 +0000

If I might be allowed to deviate slightly from the ,”booze / time to”, discussion for a moment perhaps another licensing law should be addressed:-
Since the laws allowing the consumption of alcohol on licensed premises appears to be going on apace, without too many giving a tuppeny damn about the increase in street based, so called, “petty”, crime, in the form of assault and perhaps worse: why is the Government not getting on with more really important regulatory legislation?

For instance; Bliar has at last admitted that the Country is powerless in ridding itself of the plague of troublesome priests and hangers on; due to the PC attitude towards us by other, signally un -PC EU countries. France , for example has no scruples when throwing out her undesirables, and as far as I know , the Nanny EU has not complained too loudly.

If our laws ‘licensing’ the extradition of undesirables to their countries of
origin , or elsewhere, are unsound , according to the PC brigade, let them be changed. They are not carved in stone, and if the rhetoric of this government is to be believed, it is as eager as the general population to rid our cities of the hate ranting preachers.

Neither we , nor the Government, want these extremists in our midst: ergo ,let the Government ensure that legislation, enabling their removal, is in place , in order that we may deport them , and at last ,have some peace.

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By: James Scott

James Scott — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 16:56:37 +0000

At first I felt the comment submitted by Neil Harding was quite outrageous but after some contemplation I feel the seating theory is a reasonable idea. At first I had visions of a bar full of ‘bouncers’ shouting at people to sit down, but if set about in the correct manner it could work. For a start I feel table service would be a necessity. My friend visited Berlin recently and said every bar he visited included table service. This may lead to a very civil atmosphere all round, and having worked in a bar for 5 years I feel this could cut down on the drunken frustrations and alcohol related assaults occur prior to outbursts of

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By: freddie bencard

freddie bencard — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 08:00:49 +0000

Boris rocks; but his Thursday column missed one facet of the new licensing laws. I go to Charterhouse, a semi-decent public school where, for the last forty years (or thereabouts), the school has provided a Club where the Upper Sixth could purchase a maximum of two alcoholic beverages. Although silly incidents on the golf course have still occured, the fact remained that the old system worked. Unfortunately, the new licensing laws have made it impossible for the school to provide this, except for one day a week with a full three couirse meal (which gets around the problem, but is obviously impractical). Knowing just how easy it is to smuggle booze in (not from pewrsonal experience, I hasten to add) it seems inevitable that the new rules will cause chaos in our publuic schools; many of which have stopped the flow of alcohol altogether.

Freddie

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By: Steve Lawson

Steve Lawson — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 17:20:12 +0000

Boris Pontificates on Booze

Boris Johnson holds a rather unique place in my heart, largely just by being a Tory MP that doesn’t make me physically sick. He seems like a sweet soul, though…

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By: keVin B

keVin B — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 23:43:31 +0000

Amy

Is it true that Krispy Kreme Doughnuts were only available in the UK for an exclusive period thru’ Harrods? And that they are rubbish, albeit baked rather than fried rubbish and therefore healthly-ish rubbish?

I think we should be told.

K-Mart

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By: Amy Honor

Amy Honor — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 17:17:26 +0000

Yes, I agree/disagree. I am Amy Honor. I work in a doughnut shop in Raynes Park. I also work in a cake place. That says a lot about me doesn’t it?! I like to come on this website and read the news. It’s all about me sometimes. If you would like information about how to successfully make Krispy Kreme doughnuts, please email me at amy_honor [Email address: amy_honor #AT# hotmail.com - replace #AT# with @ ]. I’d be more than happy to help! Smile

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By: Kevin B

Kevin B — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 05:22:30 +0000

Neil

Well said.

In a nutshell: Gentlemen Please Be Seated.

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By: Neil Harding

Neil Harding — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 18:53:42 +0000

Boris desperately tries to stick to the Tory line of ‘liberalisation is madness’, but even he is forced to conclude, “The awful truth is that I doubt the relaxation of the licensing laws will make much difference; in fact, if they slow down these binges, the new hours might even help.”

Which is pretty much what Labour have been saying from the start! So what is all the fuss about, all this Daily Mail fuelled panic over what amounts to minor changes!

What the Tories havn’t grasped is that this change is actually quite popular on the ground. The solution to our binge drinking problem lies not in the hours of consumption but the type of venues and location.

What did the police (eagerly backed by councils in search of new revenue) think would happen when they insisted on locating all the pubs+clubs together in the middle of our town centres and handing it over to the big chains who chase higher turnover to maximise profits. This means places like Yates Wine Lodge and others encouraging speed drinking by ripping out seats and making conversation impossible with loud music. People who stand up, drink more and have a greater propensity for violence. Just look at how seating has gentrified football.

To top it all off they are all turfed out onto the streets together at the same time with the inevtiable fighting for kebabs and taxis! Lets force these places to be all seating (like football).

The new laws will mean people who want a drink late at night can have one in their quiet local rather than being forced into the centre of town and this binge drinking hell! The dispersal of people around town and the varying times that they leave, will alleviate all sorts of trouble. It might take a while for the new laws to bed down, but this is the most sensible thing Labour has done to control drink related trouble!
Even Boris has reluctantly seen their point of view!

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By: kevin b

kevin b — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 04:42:12 +0000

Agreed, Gary. All this liberalisation of booze and gambling is driven by the Treasury’s desperate need to avoid raising income tax while plugging the hole in the listing Ship of State.

Very good article on binge drinking by Sean McCloughlin in last Saturday’s Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian_jobs_and_money/story/0,3605,1552664,00.html

“Binge drinking is consumerism with sick on its shoes.”

As ever we get the society we deserve. Instead of pointing the finger at yobs we should perhaps inspect our own whited sepulchres.

That was Thought for Today with the Rev. Kev…

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By: Gary Monro

Gary Monro — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 14:33:07 +0000

Let’s not kid ourselves that liberalisation of drinking laws – like liberalisation of gambling law – is anything other than just another desperate wheeze to extract taxes from an overburdened taxpayer to finance an overburdened welfare economy.

While we count the costs of these stupid laws, Gordon Brown counts the money.

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