12th January 2016
6
Alcohol Have you participated in drinking games?
Do you feel that drinking games increase the pressure to perform by drinking to excess?
Have you ever drunk to impress others?
My New Year’s: working for those drinks Sam Naylor Though I’d like to say that my New Year’s plans were extravagant and full of debauchery, akin to a F. Scott Fitzgerald-style fictional blow out, that scenario remains firmly in the fantastical. Even before my manager had asked me to work the bar on New Year’s Eve I had resigned my evening to a tame family gathering, perhaps watching a bit of Alan Carr or the London fireworks on the telly box (the festive period had torn my bank account to tatters anyway). At 18:00 on the 31st December, my arrived NYE bonanza began. Perhaps not all Gatsby dreams were dashed; the evening centred on a swanky black tie dining event, a world away from the country pub setting I was accustomed to. The restaurant was filled with people dressed in their best while happy drinkers brought the bar area to life with New Year frivolities. It wasn’t until the band started to play that the alcohol-induced jollities really began to get underway. Dancing and singing mingled with black tie sophistication producing an infectious form of happiness. I quickly began to realise that the combination of a universal reason to drink and lashings of libations made customers generous when ordering at the bar; my night was ignited with drinks being bought for me and horded
In defence of student drinking James Turner An article published in the Observer at the start of this year, described students shunning opportunities to be drunk seven nights a week in favour of, let’s say, more cultural and less sick-in-a-corner inducing activities. All too often, student drinking habits are ridiculed and slated in the media, much to the embarrassment of students up and down the country. However, according to the stats, this isn’t actually true. According to recent data from the Office for National Statistics, there has been a 40% increase in young adults saying no to alcohol between 2005 and 2013, and the proportion of 16-to-24-year-olds who drink has fallen by two-thirds. Now, I would never be so monstrous as to criticise people for not drinking, but let’s not pretend that the people that do drink are not so monstrous themselves. It’s perfectly acceptable to drink, and just because students drink more, we don’t automatically become the bane of the existence of the rest of society. Maybe, for us at UEA, that’s easier said
till a more appropriate time later on. Alcohol in all directions but not a drop to drink, yet. Ever-increasing drunkenness also saw smoke emanate from the centre of the pub while confused and concerned looks flashed across the faces of my co-workers. Pimm’s pitcherfull of water ready, I was prepared to tackle the flames only to discover that the locals had triumphed sending the ablaze Christmas reef out into the night. NYE crisis averted. One table turned a negative into a win when they arrived with only four out of six of their party. With the evening pre-booked they transformed a potential loss of £100 in no-show friends into £100 of drinks for the evening -it’s the only sensible British option after all. The general drinking trend for the night started with the more sophisticated and classy beverages: bottles of prosecco (and even champagne), red wine over £25 a bottle in value, with names I didn’t even attempt to pronounce, and the classic G&T with slimline tonic. This quickly descended into anything goes; prosecco was traded for shots of jager and bottles of wine gave way to vodka Redbull’s. New Year’s had arrived. The strike of 12 brought glasses of bubbly for the staff and dancing on both sides of the bar. Alcohol flowed far more freely while the volume of entertainment bred exponentially. than done. We live on a campus with a bar and nightclub situated on the same campus, so it’s difficult for us to cause much trouble for the non-student population of Norwich. Even with that in mind, it’s easy to see how people who don’t normally drink could be pressured to drink here at UEA, given the easy accessibility of a bar literally a stones-throw away. At universities in general, the prevalence of drinking among young people is always going to make life difficult for people that don’t drink. But, with all the best intentions, that’s not actually my, or anyone else that likes a drinks problem, so it’s only right that people who choose not to drink should have other events put on for them to ensure that they aren’t left out. All the same, people that do like to drink, and want to go to events that involve drinking throughout their time at university shouldn’t feel a responsibility to ensure that those that don’t drink have a good time. It’s difficult not to sound unpleasant in writing this, but ultimately I’m just looking for every one to have a good time. There’s nothing wrong, socially, with drinking too much, and to use people that don’t drink as an argument for drinkers to change their habits is unfair and wrong. Student drinking culture isn’t bad, it’s fine. There are people that behave badly when drunk, but there are plenty who don’t. It’s just down to the person.
Working on NYE was turning out to be enjoyable, and much less like work than expected. Fast forward to 02:00 and the story alters; the majority of happy customers had fled the scene, stumbling cheerily to their warm respective houses, but throughtout the night, the behaviour of certain individuals left something to be desired. As those who work in bars know, keeping to track of who to serve next remains the probably the most difficult thing, but that didn’t stop the punters voicing their anger the amount of time they’d been shouting, swearing, and being not particularly pleasant. As the end of the night loomed, the few stragglers that remained slurred and belched, nursing the dregs of their last orders; the multitude of empty glasses and the sheer
horror of the aftermath of the party began to come to realisation (though there was a saving grace in the form of twenty chicken nuggets from McDonalds and a chocolate milkshake topped up with Bailey’s). Would I have rather been on the other side of the bar, with friends, having a great time? Absolutely. But what I’ve seen from working this evening is that, for every person having a great time thanks to their alcohol, enjoying the company of their friends and family, there’s someone failing to have such a good time, and that could be for any number reasons. Was this the perfect way to see in 2016? Probably not. Was it the best way end 2015? Almost certainly. Any circumstance that allows you to understand why people behave as they do is worthwhile, and I’ll keep it in mind as I move back to UEA after Christmas for 2016.
Have your drinking habits changed since coming to UEA?
In what way?