Apparently today is the day most chosen for Christmas parties, and therefore the day when ambulance crews are most poised to pick up the pieces. I seem to remember that last year there was a lot of hysteria in the media about this, but there aren’t so many silly stories this year, perhaps because society didn’t in fact break down and the streets did not run with blood as predicted.
The Evening Standard and other related papers are having a go, though, with the story that Londoners are estimated to spend £120m on booze in two days (today and yesterday). However, that’s only £20 per Londoner (assuming 6m adult Londoners*), spread across two days. £10.00 doesn’t buy you many drinks in Central London these days, particularly in a wanky City bar (bottle of Becks – £4.20!!!!!!!!!**)
Given the hysteria about binge-drinking at the moment, £120m seems surprisingly low.
Boak
*Figure derived from the Office of National Statistics estimates in 2006. The figure of 6m includes the over 16s (because apparently they’re all drinking a bottle of wine a week) and excludes short-term migrants.
**That’s about a million dollars for our readers across the pond.
3 replies on “Happy bingeing”
Exchange rate jingoism: I love it. Especially from you lot with your laughably quaint national currency…
Well I followed the trend last night and passed out at a Christmas party. Luckily not before I’d finished the best part of a roast suckling pig and a bottle of red wine.
I’ve been stung by exchange rates in the past few months too. My Spanish trip cost me about 10% more than budgeted thanks to the euro suddenly deciding to perk up a bit. And as for quaint… I still remember punts.
By the way, the end of the first para should have read “streets did not run with vomit”, not “blood”. I do get my Daily Mail and Enoch Powell mixed up from time to time.
Charlie, somehow can’t reconcile the roast suckling pig with your cool urbanite life in Oz. Happy Christmas!