Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
Do the Brits even drink?
NewsFeed is being ever so slightly snarky. We know that Britain is a nation that enjoys the odd tipple: not for nothing does its nearest and dearest neighbor, France, like to constantly point out that the French drink to be social whereby the Brits drink to get drunk. So France is presumably fully in favor of officials in the county of Essex contemplating a so-called “booze zone,” which would keep problem drinkers away from other members of the public.
(See pictures of what booze looks like under a microscope.)
Though these zones have popped up in the U.S. to considerable success — in essence, the drunks are kept away from the more sober members of society — it might cause a stink back in Britain, and not just because of the inevitable, “who isn’t drinking?” gag.
The pilot scheme, if it gets the go-ahead, will take place in Colchester, which is actually Britain’s oldest recorded town. The Daily Telegraph points out that boozers have been moved on from the grounds of the 11th century St Botolph’s Priory but simply crop up a few hundred yards away. Colchester Borough Council’s Tim Young said, “If they want to go and drink somewhere and not cause harm then perhaps we can find them a place to do so. However, I’m not going to tell you there is a simple solution because I don’t think there is.”
The Telegraph spoke to a local drinker, who did concede, “I suppose we can be quite intimidating if we’re standing having a drink but we’re not bad people. Although we drink, we do have respect for people,” he said before throwing up on the reporter (we kid). But politician Bob Russell wasn’t kidding, when saying, “Clearly this is something the local authorities need to address. We need to bring these people back into society, so they can make a meaningful contribution and not cause distress.”
If the “booze zone” does kick in, expect other areas to follow suit because British towns, especially on weekends, can resemble a war zone as neither sex holds back when it comes to drinking as much as possible as quickly as possible.