Booze Culture Good, Booze Ban Bad
The weather is amaaazzzing here in London. There's a little breeze and it's sunny, so I'm busting out the Rainbow sandals and Ray Bans (does that make me a brand whore?). London has really come alive with the great weather. I took the bus home from The Castle today and people were out in swarms walking home or to the tube from work. The after-work pub crowd was spilling out onto the sidewalks pints in hand on every street. Soooo nice. One thing, among many, that I will miss about London is this casual attitude toward alcohol. People enjoy the beer. They have a conversation over a pint or two, whether it be at noon or nine. It gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling to see everyone so relaxed and happy on a Wednesday afternoon.
Then... I opened the London Paper. Newly elected Mayor Boris Johnson has announced an alcohol ban on the Tube, bus, tram, and train in an effort to reduce "small crime," which he says will reduce "large crime." God damn. This is infringement on the culture that I have come to love about London! Unless they can stop drunk people from using the tube or bus, they can't prevent the type of crime that they're targeting. In my experience, the passengers drinking on the tube are having their Stella like a cup of coffee: casually sipping while reading the London Lite. They are not behaving aggressively or violently.
I suppose that in time, we'll see if the booze ban leads to any positive results. But until June 1st, find me sipping a Kronenbourg on the Northern Line with the other sexy people, haha.