Round the clock drinking

Lots of comments in the news about "binge drinking" and the Government's Bill to extend the licencing hours. For myself, I cannot see that the new rules will have much effect on the way people drink Certainly, the idea that Britain will adopt a continental-style "café culture" is I think pie in the sky. We just don't have the climate for it. I know a man who runs a city-centre pub in a pedestrianised area, and puts tables and chairs outside in the summer months. He tells me that if he gets 30 days over that period when the weather is such that people use that facility, he's done well. No, I think people's drinking habits will remain much the same, except that they - including any associated problems - will be spread over a longer period. The people I feel really sorry for are those who live close to pubs, who at present, come midnight to 12.30 a.m. probably feel they can relax, and that the liklihood of any bother from those tipping out has past, who will no longer be able to do so.