How come some say the drinking culture in Britain isn as relaxed as on the continent?
I live in Spain and none of my Spanish friends would dream of having a drink without eating at the same time. I have been to weddings, the recent Spanish -v- Germany football final and various fiestas, whilst people do drink (whilst eating) nobody gets roaring drunk, vomits, fights or pulls their trousers down and everyone manages to have a great time. The Spanish often watch the mildly drunken Brits with amusement – one friend told me how she saw a women drunk at lunchtime falling over in the street showing her knickers – compared to the UK this is mild and she would be horrified to see what goes on on a typical Friday night at closing time, it really is shameful. In Spain you can see groups of 18 year olds in bars – eating ice cream and all laughing, joking, flirting etc. They seem to be able to have fun without getting drunk. You don’t find groups of young kids drinking beer on the streets either. I’m sure there are areas in Spain where alcohol is a problem but not where I live. On
