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Alcohol

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I've been reading a few articles on Britains drink culture (and behaviour) and its got me thinking.

So heres a simple question, whats your opinion on alcohol?

At the end of the day, its up to us whether we drink alcohol or not so lets not bring religion into this discussion.

So why do you drink alcohol?

Is it to quench your thirst? There are loads of cheaper non-alcoholic alternative that do just that.

Do you like the taste of it? Did you like the taste of it when you first started drinking it? Most people didn't, yet they carried on..... why?

Are you a boring individual on a night out until you have some alcohol in your system?

Add to that the cost and health implications of alcohol, and you wonder why British people drink so much........ :rolleyes:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Btw, I personally don't drink at all. I can count the number of times I've drank an alcoholic drink (including the odd sip) in my entire life on one hand.......... (maybe two).

    That may not raise any eyebrows on a public internet forum, but if you were going on a night out 'with the lads' or ladettes, and when its time to order the drinks, one individual said that they don't drink alcohol, then how many eyebrows will it raise then?
    I'm guessing they'd all raise slightly.
    After all, the sole purpose of going on a night out is to get drunk isn't it? :rolleyes:
    Or is the sole purpose of going on a night out to have a good time? Can that be achieved without drinking alcohol?

    I'm sure most people can talk, laugh, crack jokes, dance, flirt, 'make-out', and generally socialise without any alcohol in their system, especially in a club/pub atmosphere with the music pumping and all your mates around you.

    So where does the alcohol come into all of this...?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well I have lived in Spain for the last 15 years and I love a good vino tinto... and I always have, since I first tasted it. I haven't had an Estola from 1971 for a long time but it is my favourite.

    I also drink straight vodka and (this does raise eyebrows) I liked it the first time I tasted it. It was this fruity Russian vodka with a beautiful label in Russian that was brought from there by a gorgeous Russian long haired blonde... I'm going off topic I think. From there on I only ever had Stolichnaya and if not Absolute. No Smirnoff! :yuck:

    I also drink staight whisky and I didn't like it when I first tried it. I remember crying because of the burning sensation. But I always try to try everything once. So I tried every brand of whisky I found. And then I found Cardhu... :yes: Strangely I like Southern Comfort.

    I have been lucky enough to try many different alcoholic drinks. They are very important in many cultures and it is one of the things that can unite us as well as food. But as food, and anything else, it is bad in large quantities.

    I like the social issue that comes with it: Sharing a "petaca" full of aguardiente or rum with my Colombian grandmother, or a "bota" full of village wine with my Spanish grandfather. Drinking whisky to celebrate with my father, or beer with my friends when I go back to Benidorm to visit.

    This last part is a personal answer, I'm not trying to say everyone does it or should, I could drink milk with my father, I certainly do with my nephew. I'm answering the question of why do I drink alcohol.

    And now a list of favourites: My favourite beer is Super Bock it's portuguese and I worked in the first bar that sold it in Benidorm for 80 cents of a Euro! I was a busy barman. I love the sensation of hot sake. I like grappa and uzzo.

    I hate absenta it makes me very violent, something no one has been able to explain. I had it a few times and eveytime it was the same. I hate Sangría, I don't know how you Brits can love it so much.

    And it's a real shame very few of you will ever taste Chicha. It's a Colombian drink made of fermented sweetcorn. I wont tell you what they ferment it with. It comes out yellowish and quite thick. It's a bomb. They make it in the back streets of Bogotá and they give it to you in two litter coke bottles with a hole in the top. If it didn't have a hole, after a while jerking it round it could explode. That is way may uncle wouldn't let me take any on the plane. So we drank it in the airport's parking area. With other uncles and cousins, of course, it's too damn strong!

    ...Oh, I'm talking too much, just like when I'm drunk.

    By the way, I drink socially, haven't done it for months. It's too expensive as a habit. And don't have much of a social life in a city where I don't know anyone.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have a headache :(

    Either way, British drinking culture isn't anything like normal drinking.
    People here grow out of the senseless drinking as a must, at their late teens - in England it seems to continue.

    Either way, I don't drink that often.
    I like red wine, and adore cocktails and the barmen that prepare them.
    I've learnt to drink beer, though it's never my first choice.

    And I drink cause it goes well, with going out. It's not to build up confidence or to think that I am cool. It's just as eating pop-corn at the movies.
    And even then I don't do it everytime I go out. Too expensive and need to hold back with my 700 different kinds of medication.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Britain's drinking culture isn't unique, per se, but it does lack the refinement you see on the continent, or the self-control for that matter. Same as Jacq - in Zurich, people grow out of the mindless binge drinking when they're 18, and I wonder how much that has to do with the legal drinking age being 16.

    University over here is a fun experience, but at the same time, very depressing. The sheer number of times I wake up with a mouth like sandpaper, feeling fairly disoriented, not remember too much of the night before annoys me. At the same time, I know I'm better than a lot of people - if they drink, they have to get wasted, whereas if I drink, I'm quite happy just to enjoy the drink.

    Why do I drink? Everyone starts drinking to fit in. Self-perpetuating there. People continue drinking to fit in, too. There's nothing worse than being the only sober one on a night out. So once a few people start drinking, everyone follows.

    Something needs to be done to tone down the British drinking culture. It's already out of hand and costing the state millions. But I have no recommendations as to how to change it, because it seems so deeply ingrained.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I like getting pissed.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i think drinking and getting tipsy or drunk makes the night better. i go to the pubs/bars quite a bit and although i don't drink everytime i go out it certainly makes the night so much more fun when i do.

    i'm a fairly confident person anyway and definitly not boring! but after having a few drinks i flirt more with guys. not only does it make me happy it makes the people around me happy. like last night this man said "kiss my friend its his birthday". so i walked up to him, gave him a kiss on the cheek and said happy birthday and he couldn't stop grinning. like this -> :D
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by lipsy
    i think drinking and getting tipsy or drunk makes the night better. i go to the pubs/bars quite a bit and although i don't drink everytime i go out it certainly makes the night so much more fun when i do.

    i'm a fairly confident person anyway and definitly not boring! but after having a few drinks i flirt more with guys. not only does it make me happy it makes the people around me happy. like last night this man said "kiss my friend its his birthday". so i walked up to him, gave him a kiss on the cheek and said happy birthday and he couldn't stop grinning. like this -> :D

    It's my birthday

    :yum:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I like having a few drinks when I go out, it loosens the inhibitions and improves my night, especially if im dancing. I just dont seem to get in the mood as much till ive had a few drinks.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't think i would drink alcohol if it did not get me drunk. I don't drink that often, only at parties. It's good to loosen up though, otherwise i would be standing in the corner all night.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Anti-Christ
    It's my birthday

    :yum:
    that made me giggle :D
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by lipsy
    that made me giggle :D

    Mean time while your giggling my cheek’s still dry
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I like drinking but I guess I only do it to get pissed - whats the point otherwise...Even if it's having a bottle of wine at home it's because I want to feel merry!

    Lately though my indulgence has resulted in a few un-wise situations. it's all very well drinking like a teenager but behaving like one only leads to regret when you're 34! :lol:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I admit when I first started drinking it was simply to get shitfaced and nothing to do with the the taste or quality. Now however, I appreciate alcohol more in moderation and rarely get off my face. Merry drunk is the best way to go!

    I also like drinking a couple of beers in the evenings with a film, regardless of whether I'm alone or not. Recently I've been expanding my horizons aswell (thanks to all the weird shit in tescos off licence). This week it's been bitter, which I find a lot better than lagers, they're too friggin fizzy! Incidently is bitter an ale or is that an entirely new thing to explore?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    .
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    .
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Its all about

    Redstrip.jpg
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I drink when I get in from work, only a couple. It helps me relax and uif I've had a abd day it calms me down. I never get pissed on my own, a couple of drinks and a bag of crisps is just fine.

    My favourite tipples:
    Cider-pint with friends at a pub
    Red wine with dinner
    Rose wine with dinner
    Port
    RUM

    My favourite 2 are port (weird I know) and Dark rum.

    I personally think the drink culture he is disgusting, my favourite past time at work is confiscating booze of underage kids and pouring it down the drain in front of them. But I think everywhere it is getting out of hand, but only with people aged 16-22. Over that most people are fairly sensible.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Here the legal age for alcohol is 15.
    And while you dos ee kids smaller than that getting wasted (we all did) it seems more moderated than the impression I got from England.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I never explained why I cried drinking the whisky...

    Click here
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I drink mainly on a weekend because i hate having a few bevvies and having to get up early the following morning to get little un to school.
    Drinking makes me more relaxed, im more confident and also I just enjoy the night more if I have had a few.
    My drink is Vodka and coke, it doesn't take me that much to get me pissed.........2 large ones and im anyones :lol:
    I dont need to drink, if im at the pub just for one drink I would normally tend to drink coke or if im out for a meal I will drink coke.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i have always liked alcohol. i drink more or less everyday. through the week it's usualy two or three cans on an evening or a bottle of wine. friday saturday and sunday is a bit more.
    i never get wasted when i'm out. i can always negotiate my way home in a jolly bumbling mood. i don't get vio;ent ...silly and giggly if anything.
    i like to mix it with weed.
    alcohol is classed as a poison. weed as a mind expanding herb.
    the british binge culture is fucking disgusting and dangerous. it didn't exist when i was a teenager. getting pissed did of course.
    the violence didn't exist. . if you went out and started fighting after drinking you were looked on as someone who couldn't hold their booze and would be shunned.
    why can't todays drinkers hold their drink in a more civilised way would be a better question for a thread imo.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by morrocan roll
    i have always liked alcohol. i drink more or less everyday. through the week it's usualy two or three cans on an evening or a bottle of wine. friday saturday and sunday is a bit more.
    i never get wasted when i'm out. i can always negotiate my way home in a jolly bumbling mood. i don't get vio;ent ...silly and giggly if anything.
    i like to mix it with weed.
    alcohol is classed as a poison. weed as a mind expanding herb.
    the british binge culture is fucking disgusting and dangerous. it didn't exist when i was a teenager. getting pissed did of course.
    the violence didn't exist. . if you went out and started fighting after drinking you were looked on as someone who couldn't hold their booze and would be shunned.
    why can't todays drinkers hold their drink in a more civilised way would be a better question for a thread imo.

    Because there are too many roid heads and idiots out there trying to prove that they are the REAL men! haha.. and to top it off the girls don't help by drooling all over them... geez..
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by CheeseOnToast
    Because there are too many roid heads and idiots out there trying to prove that they are the REAL men! haha.. and to top it off the girls don't help by drooling all over them... geez..


    I find that the sober person in a fight will always have the advantage over the drunken idiot trying to prove something.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I used to drink because I wanted to get wasted, it was a way of coping, but now I'd rather settle for a spliff basically because it's a waste. I don't like to get drunk anymore, but only do so if I'm bored, or not keen on where I'm going, or nervous.

    Then again, you don't need booze for a good time.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I must admit I've found myself getting more attatched to alcohol these days. I'm more content with sitting in a pub with my mates for the afternoon with a few pints. I'm not one of those who get totally wasted and spend the evening throwing up. You just end up making a complete tit out yourself. I prefer to just get tispy. It's enough to give you a buzz without falling over everwhere. Maybe I'm boring but it's just me.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Songbird
    Maybe I'm boring but it's just me.
    sensible doesn't = boring ...especialy where alcohol is concerned.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    True but you can't help but feel it when everyone around you is knocking back shots, downing pints etc. Still, cheap night for me I guess :D
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If they want to sit around and lose the ability to speak/stand/keep their bladder full then they are the ones with the problem, not you.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Re: Alcohol
    Originally posted by crescendo
    I've been reading a few articles on Britains drink culture (and behaviour) and its got me thinking.

    So heres a simple question, whats your opinion on alcohol?

    At the end of the day, its up to us whether we drink alcohol or not so lets not bring religion into this discussion.

    So why do you drink alcohol?

    :

    Yes I drink, but infrequently.

    I see no apparent solution to this problem, apart from education. What are you going to do, ban alcohol?? :rolleyes: If you educate people into the dangers of alcohol then perhaps they may avoid.

    But you have to take into account that our country has a culture of binge drinking. That doesn't really exist in other countries.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Re: Re: Alcohol
    Originally posted by the sole liber
    If you educate people into the dangers of alcohol then perhaps they may avoid.
    i know alcohol is harmful for me, hell im feeling it right now with my hangover. it doesnt stop me though.
    i think the only way people learn is by experience, you make a tit out of yourself, or do something you really shouldnt have and that might make you want to cut down on drinking.
    the problem with alcohol is that it takes time to learn what your limit is, and even then you get it wrong because you might have eaten less that day or started drinking earlier. and when you're in a club it is really hard to see just how drunk you are. its not until the next morning you think back and cant remember getting home etc and think shit i must have been really pissed!
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