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I'd like to meet some of these people. There must be thousands of them and I've never, seen or met one in my life. Maybe I've had a very sheltered upbringing. Maybe I need to get out more. Maybe I've met hundreds of them but it's some kind of secret society and I don't know the coded handshake.

I refer of course to the people who are heading to the offie, getting boozed up in their houses, getting taxis into the city centre's fast food outlets at roughly closing time of the boozers, buying kebabs, starting a few fights and getting taxis home again.

You'd think it'd be easier just to head to the pub.

Well I mean this of course is one of the reasons why we all took up homebrewing, for the day they bring in prohibition <!-- s:roll: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_rolleyes.gif" alt="" title="Rolling Eyes" /><!-- s:roll: -->

Things are no better in the UK. For years the government told us that we needed to adopt a "continental drinking pattern" of just a few drinks most days instead of 10 pints on Saturday night. Now they've decided that there's an invisible drink problem (invisible do you like that?) of people having a few drinks most evenings when they get home. And that such drinkers could be doing harm without realising it.

I think I got out at the the right time. Just before a recession, and just before all this stupidity started. I now live in a country where you can buy beer everywhere, at any time. Every shop that had a fridge sells beer. Every petrol station seems to sell beer. I know people who have gone to a petrol station after the pubs closed, just to get beer. And have sat in the petrol station! Pubs here must normally close outdoor parts by 11 I think, but can, in theory, stay open 24 hours. I believe it depends completely on the owner and on the local community (if noise is an issue etc).

And does Germany have a drink problem (visible or invisible)? The only problems that seem to be discussed is alco-pops and underage drinking, and that's something that certainly should be discussed.

&amp;quot;Adeptus&amp;quot;:2v3x7y6m wrote: I think I got out at the the right time. Just before a recession, and just before all this stupidity started.[/quote:2v3x7y6m] Adeptus. This Stupidity started generations ago: The Liquor Licensing (Ireland) Act of 1902.

A fair point. In fact, it probably goes back further, to when they tried to wean the "lower classes" off Whisky and onto beer <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

But such stupidity in this day and age... you have to wonder who is running the country.

Publicans. Duh!