Drinking Responsibly

[Miss Demeanour]

What a farce this is 

Having just returned from oooop North and some fab times out I can confirm that it was actually cheaper to buy a round of drinks / cocktails than it was a round of soft drinks    Positively encouraging us to drink they were 

That was all night not just a 'happy hour' special . Happy hour - that also needs to be redefined. Happy Hour was apparently from 5pm to 9 pm . 

[Just One More]

Some will be along shortly to point out that it numbs the pain of living there 

[Miss Demeanour]

Well there are indeed many sights     

[Snoopy]

The North/South divide is often spoken of but having been married to a Yorkshire lass for 21 years and having therefore many in-laws in the North I can vouch for the fact that there is a cultural difference. Alcohol and attitudes toward it are indeed very different. My now ex-in-laws could not conceive of a bottle of wine at home ... they would always head for a pub or club .... every evening. There were then and still are a great many more such establishments opp north all competing for the hard earned ££££s of the customer base. Down south there were and still are fewer such establishments. Alcohol was always cheaper opp north and the in-laws used to complain bitterly about southern prices, taking it as proof of their long held belief that down south we had to be richer than they were. We were not but we spent our money differently. We did not go to the pub every evening and the clubs at weekends. In fact we seldom bought a bottle of wine for home consumption unless there was an "occasion" we wished to celebrate. 25 years ago you struggled to find clubs (of the northern sort) south of Watford Gap.
Having moved to North Wales some 10 years ago my observations have demonstrated to me that nothing has changed.

The same applies to eating out .... even the multi chains (except for the likes of McDonalds etc) charge more down south therefore a meal out is an occasion for the southerner whereas my northern neighbours see it as a normal thing to do at least twice a week.

Clothing chains are the same .... when C&A still existed the identical items bought in say Sheffield cost on average 10 to 15% more in their Southampton store. My ex wife once bought a dress in Sheffield but when we returned to Southampton she decided it was not to her liking and took it into the Southampton store to change it. They never did exchanges as such but would give a "credit note refund" so that one could buy something else in their store. They insisted that the refund was at southern prices and she was given a voucher for £12 more than she had paid for the dress 4 days earlier in Sheffield. Their calculations were based not on the receipt she was holding but on the stock number and local price guide.

Coming back to food ~ takeaway grub in the North comes as a complete meal. No Chinese or Indian takeaway will serve you the sort of choices that one can get in London .....Southern takeaways consist of a bit of this and a bit of that ~ maybe as many as 6 or even 10 dishes, each of a small quantity. Oop north the norm is that your selection of say three or four items from the local Chinese takeaway (or "carry-out" as they call it) will result in you getting three or four complete meals. Again my northern in-laws found this all very strange. "Eh lad there's nowt to eat in that little portion of crispy duck ... why do we have to order noodles or rice separate like?".

The THW finds that she cannot get rat-arsed in Egham for as little as she could here..... It has been a real culture shock to her I can tell you. Other students, from the southern counties accept this but the ones from oop north are horrified.

[Miss Creant Commander of the picklement and baking BAb(Hons)]

^^^Wot he said^^^
Except for the THW obviously.

I love markets and now do my vegetable and meat shopping in Barnsley market.  The price difference to Lymington market (Hampshire ) are just staggering.  The price difference to any supermarket is amazing. I purchased a large (about a foot across) for 35pence.  I purchased two turkey legs not just the drumstick bit for £5.00. I separate the thigh from the drumstick.  The thigh will feed us for 2 days.

I am not convinced that the pros outweigh the cons though.

[bodiam]

I have to disagree with Mr Snoopy. Down south one cannot purchase many of the items of clothing that all northerners wear such as shell suits, cloth caps, clogs and those holiday hankerchiefs that they wear with the built in knotted corners.
Food is the same, meat and tatty pies, mushy peas, deep fried mars bars, offal and other sick making things thank goodness are not available but you can buy curry from India, Beefburger from the USA, Pasta from Italy and Horse from France.
I think it is down to the fact that you can understand speech from all of these far away places but you cannot understand a bloody word that anybody north of Watford utters.
Also we are a bit more selective with our pets, guinea pigs, hamsters, ponies, not ferrets, racing pigeons and whippets ( poor mans greyhound methinks)
 

[Darwins Selection]

I purchased a large (about a foot across) for 35pence. 

How much is a Medium?

[Nick]

Do you wish to contact the dead?

[bodiam]

I purchased a large (about a foot across) for 35pence. 

How much is a Medium?

bosting again Miss C ?

[Nick]

Bosting? 

[Darwins Selection]

I purchased a large (about a foot across) for 35pence. 

How much is a Medium?

bosting again Miss C ?

At least she wasn't boasting.   

[Darwins Selection]

Do you wish to contact the dead?

No, the living would do.

[Barman]

Do you wish to contact the dead?

No, the living would do.

You called! 

[bodiam]

I purchased a large (about a foot across) for 35pence. 

How much is a Medium?

bosting again Miss C ?

[Just One More]

Bosting? 

In the Black country"bosting" means good