well, only on 3 June, to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. Man, you guys are suckers. I can’t believe that curfew is still in place since, what, the Great War?
Not only does it both suck and blow it is also a perfect example of why Tony Blair’s governement is so useless.
Prior to the last election the Labour party sent text messages (very new labour touch, this) at 23:00 on the friday before thge election to all registered younger voters saying "say XXXX to closing time - vote labour. Of course the moment he got in his natural puritan control freakery took over and he reneged on the promise.
I am a very happy Englishman who loves almost everything about England except Tony Blair and closinmg time.
It sucks. It’s SO stupid.
But what’s really annoying is how strongly it is enforced. Why on earth do the police care so much about it, and why are the penalties to the landlords so strict?
Here in Ireland (I am an English ex-pat) there are similar laws, though slightly more liberal, but as a rule they’re enforced in a fairly lax manner. Typical experience in the UK:
10.50 Last orders
11.00 Bar officially shuts
11.01 “DRINK UP PLEASE”
11.05 “COME ON NOW PLEASE, DRINK UP”
11.15 Some gorilla comes up and grabs your drink from your hand
11.20 “GET THE F*&K OUT”. If you’re slow, they’ll push you out.
In Ireland, in my experience, it’s more like this:
11.30 Bar officially shuts
11.40 Orders still being taken
11.50 Last order taken
12.00 Last drink served
12.15 Lights flashed on and off a few times
12.25 Chairs put on tables
12.30 Barman says cheerfully “Have yez no homes to go to?”
12.40 Amble out of pub.
jjimm: The places that are big enough to employ the gorillas will be as abusive as necessary to get you out, 'coz (a) the staff want to go home, and (b) the last thing a thriving young person’s pub wants is the police sniffing around.
You won’t get turfed out of a proper “local” in England unless you’re not known - the landlord doesn’t want to lose his license after all, but most are happy to turn a blind eye to regulars. City centre pubs, mind, can’t be too careful, and will do anything necessary to get you out in case some spoil-sport copper is about. One pub I know in Newcastle won’t actually tell you to leave, but the landlord will open every door and window so that a freezing northeasterly wind howls through the place until even the most hardy of drinkers is forced to go outside (where it is probably warmer).
owlstretchingtime: Not only does the law underline Blair’s broken promise, but do you notice how the possibility of it being changed gets trooped out about once a year, usually whenever Blair’s feeling a bit unloved? I tell you, this and fox-hunting legislation has to be one of the most talked-about bills that will never get passed; what would Blair do without these old beauties to fall back on?
Anyway, as a “yoof”, I quite like the law as it is. (Didn’t expect that, did ya!?) I like the way that the crowd moves predictably - i.e. you know the pubs will be filling up by half eight, that the crowds will be edging towards the clubs soon after half ten, and by half eleven, the clubs are full. It makes the night run smoother, everyone knows where everyone is, and you never get that problem I find in Europe where you never quite know if the club is going to have a queue right down the street or (even worse) be totally empty for another two hours.