One issue that the NY Times has completely ignored is our UK licensing laws which have fostered a culture of drinking large quantities of alcohol in a short period of time; this means that the opportunity for a leisurely drink is governed by what time the pub closes - 11pm in most cases. In order to allieviate the problems that occurred at closing time when a town would have lots of inebriated young people on the streets all at the same time, the government have recently changed the law and are allowing pubs to stagger their closing times. This has had no effect whatsoever. I believe this is because unlike the rest of Europe we do not have a culture where we drink slowly and usually whilst having a meal, neither do you see families out together - children being barred from most venues- hence there is rarely a need to moderate behaviour. So in Britain we drink large volumes of alcohol in short periods of time with our friends, not our families and frequently on an empty stomach. Once the alcohol takes effect 'British reserve' disappears........ I blame the weather, too cold and wet most of the year.
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