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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

All I can say to that is...Cheers!

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"There is more to life than increasing its speed." Mahatma Gandhi

Owner of:
-2008 American Standard Strat in Candy Cola Red
-Vibro-Champ XD
-Fender CD-60 Acoustic (Sunburst)

Cheers.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

What a sad indictment of the beer drinking culture of the UK

I always thought that was what chicken wire was for...

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Website: http://www.rebeccalaird.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccalairdmusic
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Hell - well that's no use, is it? Now when I want to stab someone I'll have to smash a bottle instead.

Actually, my part of town we don't drink beer from glasses anyhow - that's so middle class! We just lie on our backs and they fill us up from a big petrol pump affair full of beer, and then we go and get on with the fighting.

Life in sunny Peckham, South London...

Cheers - C

So that's how it's done!

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Your Fender HSS Standard Stratocaster in Electron Blue was made at the Fender Ensenada Plant in Mexico in the Year: 2008.
Final Assembly Date: July 30th, 2008
Model Number: 013 4700 587
Serial # MZ8031252

The real reason for its development


Another failiure of our ever increasingly inept leaders, the reform of british drinking culture.

When I was a kid if you weren't down the boozer by 7:30pm you couldnt sit on the floor. Nevermind get a seat. Very little trouble occurred and I used to drink in bikers pubs. Everyone was too focus'd on how much they could throw down their throat and having a laugh. Even me, a snotty antagonistic fifteen year old kid couldnt start a fight.

Fast forward through 23 years of bad decisions by leadership pandering to the European ideal of people not getting drunk. Whilst all the time forgetting to implement the regulations European countries enjoy regarding alcohol consumption (e.g minors allowed to drink accompanied by parents in a social circumstance. Beer being sold everywhere, yes I got drunk in mcdonalds for breakfast whilst touring). And we end up with packs of guttural socially inept animals roaming the streets that cant form a sentence. Let alone converse with anyone in a friendly manner. The pubs are empty and when you try and take one of these animals into one they crap emselves with fear. You just dont see these problems happening in France, Germany and the rest of Europe. Because they have a handle on social drinking. Our restrictions have led us to this throw as much down your throat as quickly as possible before 11pm method of inebriation and nothing else.

Meanwhile alcohol abuse isn't declining. It's simply performed at home, leading to far more incidents of alcohol related domestic violence. Entirely because our illustrious leaders couldn't organise a booze-up in a brewery and provide something which could take the place of a centuries old tradition.

Even in medieval times we had 3 types of mead. One for the men, one for the women and one for the kids.

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No no and no

That is brilliant. I need some of those. I keep breaking my glasses while I'm washing up.

Cheers.

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Deyr fé
Deyja frændr
Deyr sjálfr ið sama
En orðstír
Deyr aldregi
Hveim er sér góðan getr

They sell beer at McDonald's and kids can drink with their parents?! That sounds more wild west than British. It's funny how in Texas you can carry a gun most places, but the thought of 15 year olds drinking in public or buying booze at McDonald's is nearly unimaginable.

_________________
Website: http://www.rebeccalaird.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccalairdmusic
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Wow, really? That's news to me - but then I haven't been in McDonalds for about 20 years. In Britain you are not allowed to drink alcohol in public under 18, or 16 for certain lower strength drinks, but then I believe that's younger than some other places.

Where I live all the McDonalds red plastic has long since disappeared and they are trying to look a bit more classy. Not enough to entice me in, though. Beer and burger - why not? Other people's screaming kids - good bye...

Cheers - C

Where you visited over Christmas does. I clearly remember passing out in Mcdonalds in Milan and landing headfirst into a BigMac. Well ok I was told after I came round.

The point being those European countries dont experience alcohol abuse like the UK does because its so intergrated into society. Drink what you want when you want. The thought of overdoing it as part of the friday night ritual never enters their heads.

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No no and no

Now if they could keep us from spilling our pints...........what's next sippy cups.....?

Heehee - just keeping the British end up, eh mate? This is the image we want to project abroad!

You're absolutely right that I can't remember the last time I saw seriously drunken behaviour in public in Italy - though they have some other kinds of street nastiness building up at present.

I suspect we beat ourselves up a bit too much over it, though. I've seen plenty of stuff in other countries - especially Scandinavian ones, oddly. Amazing aggressive drunkenness in Norway (sorry, Bluestube) where the booze costs va-a-a-astly more than we pay - so the people talking about raising the price to cut overdrinking are barking up the wrong tree, I suspect.

And get in a room of Finns hitting the vodka. They drink hard and fast with the sole purpose of getting wrecked as quick as they can and then being as obnoxious as possible.

(I speak as someone who likes Scandinavia very much, BTW.)

What's it like where you are, Nick? Down my way three quarters of the pubs have closed in the last couple of decades. I think we've lost our pub culture and replaced it with something different - and less good...

Cheers - C

Friday and Saturday nights are full of early 20's ladies on the lash, a real meat market. But the whole nightlife side of the town is filled with these mentaly deficient morons looking to start a fight. Mainly because they dont know how to handle alcohol ontop of other not so legal chemicals. I occasionally make an excursion to a 'old mans pub' where I can chat with other well mannered drunkards and listen to a trad jazz band. Thats about a once a month affair. I never venture into town anymore its too much trouble and you cant relax for fear of some idiot wanting a row. Last time I went the pubs were like morgues, no one had any sense of humour about em. Shame because this place seemed to have infinately better night life than most cities. The pubs didnt shut (quite illegaly) till you'd finished drinking, the police just didnt care. The pub I used to frequent even gave me a tab, how unthinkable, a tab, and no restriction on time. The manager would keep an eye out, when you'd had enough that was it. He'd call you a taxi and see you out the door. In a friendly manner. Settle up next time your in. Brilliant eh?. He must have made money hand over fist. I'd never seen that around Birmingham. The only place to go to when its so late its actually breakfast time were the clubs playing the dum dum music. Not my idea of a good night out with mates.
There was trouble occasionally nothing like now though. The place has gone into serious decline in little over two years. Everyones uptight and wanting trouble. Heaven forbid you take a lady out with you, you'll get your head stoved in by the bloke trying to chat her up while shes holding your arm.
I dunno what the cities are like anymore. Broadstreet and the Chinese quarter of Birmingham were really nice places to go out drinking. I went to the st Georges day festivities last April, took the kids. The place had loads more smackheads than I remember. Nothing too bad till the nighttime. Luckily we were in symphony hall. The walk back to the car was a bit unnerving though.

Round where I live now on a friday night, its Dodge city.

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No no and no