There are mutterings this morning that Llyods Bar has been closed following a major fight last night. I've heard that parts of it are boarded up and forensic teams are attending. Might be a wind up, but sounds mucky.
Looks like a fairly large fight with some nasty injuries
I woz only in there a few days ago for a lunch. It was mainly old folk, but I suppose in the evenings it's a little more raucous?
Why is it that some people can't go out for a drink without it ending in a fight? It only takes one person and it can spoil the evening for everyone in there.
I know Della, that's exactly why I avoid going out with Colin now.
The odd thing is, and this will be controversial, I recall Acid House Parties & Raves where the crowds were dropping Ecstasy and drinking water. Thousands of people all loved up, no fighting. Yet, you get a couple of hundred people out in the town and give them alcohol and you need police and ambulance crews to clear up after them.
Sure, drugs are 'bad' and I don't advocate them - people have died taking Ecstasy and getting addicted to other nasty substances. Plenty of people have died and gotten seriously injured because of alcohol too and perhaps we should start asking why it is we are selling a mind altering substance that causes so much trouble in the first place?
Im in full agreement with you Daniel. Legalize Cannabis and class alocohol as a drug. Never seen anyone get violent after a few spliffs, but plenty get violent after a few pints.
I never saw any windows boarded up yesterday, maybe they got the work done before I went past.
I think one of the biggest problems with the pubs in town is they serve people who are drunk which as we all know is against the terms of their licence agreement, however, I was in Lloyds a few weeks ago and a barman refused to sell any drinks to a girl because he said she was buying for someone he believed to be drunk. He then asked them to drink up and leave. Well done Lloyds, I haven’t seen that for many years.
I suspect though they went on to another pub and got served there. So I believe that pubs should take their licence more seriously and stop serving anyone who appears to be intoxicated. I also think the pubs are responsible in encouraging people to drink more, the music is loud and there is limited seating/tables so you are left standing there, unable to have a conversation and with a drink in your hand because there is no where to put it down so what do you naturally do? You drink and you drink quicker…
I've said many a time (as a personal licence holder) that if you want to sort out most alcohol-related problems you need to target licence holders and ensure that they're not selling alcohol to people that are already drunk.
Incidentally, a woman spat at me once when I told her we weren't serving her any more alcohol. Luckily she was a rubbish shot and despite only being a foot away from my face hit my shoulder.
I love drunk people.
It a strange chemical to sell people. Very odd when you think about it. The story is two groups. One man in one group fell off of a stool. One man in the other group laughed. Mass fight with chairs being smashed up and used as weapons followed. Serious injuries (GBH) to one or more. Loss of teeth etc. No broken windows.
What a way to end your evening. You go out for a quiet drink with friends, have a few too many and end up fighting and injured. I doubt the people involved set out looking for a fight.
However, it is not the alcohol that causes the problem. The problem is that some people don't stop drinking when they have had enough. Alcohol in moderation is meant to have health benefits. We do seem to have a binge drinking culture and people drink as much as they can instead of drinking at a more leisurely pace as they do on the continent.
I think that the legislation against drugs is to protect people from themselves or perhaps young people from the influence of others. Cannabis and ecstasy might not make you fight but cannabis harms your lungs and the damage doesn't show until years after the event and it can mess with your mind too. People can die from taking ecstasy either by overheating or because it is a bad batch. Someone ended up in hospital recently after taking a tablet from a bad batch in Basingstoke.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hamps...226123.stm
Replacing alcohol with drugs may seem like an easy option but there is a cost to health. Slowing down and going out to have a good time instead of to get as drunk as possible as quickly as possible would be a better idea.