Binge Drinking in the UK

The Washington Post recently published an article that describes the problem of binge drinking in the UK.  I've often wondered if the extreme drinking I have witnessed here was exaggerated in my mind since I no longer drink due to my chronic migraines. On the other hand, the extreme drinking here has been a topic of conversation between Cesar and me for quite some time, so I knew I wasn't totally alone in thinking that the levels of intoxication here seem to go far beyond what is normal in the US.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I am no stranger to having a good time while drinking and certainly did my fair share of it when I was younger.  Also, even though I no longer partake in alcoholic beverages, I certainly do not begrudge those who do.  I still enjoy going out for an evening of fun and whatnot.

But, the drinking here is really something else.  It's unlike anything I have ever witnessed.  One of my first encounters with excessive drinking happened not long after I moved to London.  I was walking home from work one evening around 6:30 or so.  Three girls (probably in their late teens / early 20s) were walking on the sidewalk in front of me, each wearing the micro-skirt and low-cut shirt that seems to be the uniform for a night out in London.  One girl was so wasted that her two friends were propping her up to help her walk. Of course, they were wasted as well, so the three of them swayed and bobbed somewhat in unison as they staggered along. Suddenly, the girl in the middle stopped walking and put her head between her knees.  I understand that motion - it happens when the world is spinning and spinning and it just seems like everything would stop and feel better if your head is between your knees.  But, alas, we were on a busy sidewalk in the middle of London, and this young woman had on a very, very tiny skirt. Thankfully, she was wearing a thong, so all I saw was her naked butt cheeks rising up in the air in front of me.  Part of me wanted to mother her: I wanted to go to her, make sure she was OK, and let her know that while putting her head between her knees may seem like a good idea, it really wasn't as she was mooning half of London.  My mind raced thinking of all the terrible things that could happen to a young woman who was this drunk in such a large and potentially dangerous city.  The other part of me thought, "Well, she's stupid enough to get this drunk and put herself in this position, so I guess she will just have to learn her lesson the hard way."  Not being one who likes to interact with strangers, I kept walking and said a little prayer that she'd be OK.  Little did I know that this scene would be one that I would see over and over again in London.

Then there is the vomiting.  Oh the vomit!  I actually cannot count the number of times I have seen people throwing up from being too drunk here.  I've seen people throwing up (and the vomit they've left behind) on streets and sidewalks, in the Tube stations, on the Tube, in parks, and even on the sidewalk in front of my flat in leafy Hampstead (aka, the suburbs).   I recently had a conversation with one of my friends at work during which we compared all of the places we have seen vomit.  Seriously, people, why so much puking?  GROSS! (I especially do not appreciate having to dodge vomit on the sidewalk in front of my flat on my way to work in the mornings, thank you very much.)

Then there are just the random drunk people I've seen everywhere.  If I work late (8:00-ish), I am guaranteed to have someone on the Tube with me who is wasted, sometimes even to the point of being nearly passed out.  Cesar and I have seen girls passed out in Tube stations with their hair a wreck, their make-up smeared and running, their skirts akimbo, and hose ripped. Even though I could have just described a hooker after a bad night, unfortunately, it's just another night in the life of a young Londoner.

I bet many people reading this might think to themselves, "Geez, I've had a night where I've ended up like the people described in these stories." Yeah, well, so have I. But, there is just something different here than in the US.  First of all, it's the scale of the problem.  It's pervasive.  As the Washington Post article explains, binge drinking is part of the UK culture.  In the US, there would sometimes be those one or two people in a group who were out-of-control drunk, but it rarely seemed to be the WHOLE group of people.  Not so here. 

Another thing that is different about the drinking here is that people will be completely wasted very early in the night.  Note that my story about the three girls on the sidewalk happened at 6:30 at night.  How early do you have to start drinking to be fall-down drunk by 6:30?

That leads me to another big difference here: drinking at lunch.  Take a walk around London between 12 and 2 any afternoon of the week, and you will see people on their lunch breaks having a pint (or more).  Every time I see a pub packed with people in business suits on, say, a Tuesday at noon, I am astounded.  What kind of jobs do these people have that they can go back to work after drinking at lunch?  Why don't they get reprimanded by their bosses for boozing up during the day? (Probably because their bosses are drinking too.) 

Now, of course, I don't know all of these people that I have witnessed passed out, puking, or otherwise being a drunken disaster, so I can't say for sure what happens the next day.  But, based on the widespread behavior, I can't imagine that there are too many consequences for them (other than terrible hangovers).  My experience with drinking in the US was quite different.  If someone got too drunk and acted like a jerk or said or did things that were out of line, there was a certain amount of shaming involved the next day.  His friends would recap the night and let him know that his behavior was not cool and was unacceptable.  Discussions would be had.  Promises to behave better would be made.  Somehow, I just don't see that happening here.

Needless to say, when Cesar and I saw the Washington Post article this week, we felt a little vindicated.  It wasn't our imaginations playing tricks on us.  We didn't just happen to witness numerous people on their worst night of drunkenness.  Binge drinking truly is a problem in London, we can definitely attest to that.

Comments

[Holly]

This is hilarious, gross and oh so true. Great blog Elizabeth!