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I'm entitled to a lunch time pint

edited June 2013 in Not Sports Related
I belong to a generation where lunchtime drinking was commonplace and younger board members would be amazed at the extent that it would take place and not just in offices where there are non safety critical jobs.

Twenty Five years ago I worked at Catford Bus Garage and some drivers would regularly have 2 or 3 pints in the Fellowship pub around the corner before taking Buses out.I then worked in London Transport's HQ and there was an alcoholic bar in the Canteen sometimes used by Tube Drivers,now it is an offence to drink on these premises.

My own view has changed dramatically as I have got older. There is no way I could function effectively after a couple of pints .My question is therefore how did we do it back in the day?

Nigel Farage said this on Day Break.

The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party was being questioned on ITV’s Daybreak programme on Friday morning.
Mr Farage has repeatedly been photographed and filmed in pubs joking and giving interviews, with a pint of beer in his hand.
But in an apparent attempt to play down his relaxed image, he insisted he worked hard and was “entitled” to a pint.
Mr Farage said: “I’ll tell you something. I work an 18 hour day most days and I think I’m entitled at lunchtime to a pint.”
The Ukip leader defended his voting record in the European Parliament.
“My voters did not vote for me to go native. They didn’t vote for me to move to Brussels, they voted for me to campaign to get out of the European Union and that’s what I’m going to go on doing.”
Mr Farage lamented the fact that he did not have enough parliamentarians on their side in Europe to successfully stop legislation going through.
“Because when I do that [vote], normally. It will be 500 in favour and 15 against. We are not going to win. We’re not going to stop
legislation as Ukip in the European Parliament and the Tories that you talk about that are eurosceptics, yes, they have moved to Brussels.
“They live in Brussels, they are there five days a week, how many other MEPs can you name? Very few people know their MEPs, that’s because they live in Brussels.”
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Comments

  • Ah lunchtime drinking during the week. Trouble is, it wasn't just lunchtime or "a pint." Pubs would be busy all afternoon, only thinning out after 3pm and filling up at 5pm again as people returned for a couple before going home. We used to be able to order beer and wine with food for internal meetings. It was provided in volume related to the number of attendees, so numbers were automatically doubled. Amazing on reflection.
  • My first job was for The GLC at County Hall. The bar there was called "The Service Circular" had about three pints every day. Lots of people had a lot more. One quite senior manager used to be in there on every possible occasion. I was pals with one of his office juniors and very often this manager would say to my pal. When you get back to the office can you put FOH in my diary. Eventually I found out this meant "fucked off home" . Those were the days.
  • Spent many a happy lunchtime in the service circular 1979-86. Lager was 50p a pint and bitter 46p.

    Really miss the GLC omelette bar.
  • My old man is a retired fireman and the stories he has from the 80's about boozing at work makes you glad they have all these checks now.
  • Nothing wrong with going for a pint at lunchtime, assuming you get time for a lunch break at all.
  • It has hard to phathom how much things have changed.

    When i did my work experience as a 15yr old, i'd get taken to lunch most days by my supervisor for 2 pints of Kronie. The only change in routine i could work out there was, was that if he didn't have me to chaperone, it would have been a strip pub.

    When i started work as a 16yr old 20 years ago, my work had two subsidised bars, one like a traditional pub, the other like a sit down wine bar. Both did a roaring trade.

    20 years ago it was the norm to go and have a couple of pints at lunchtime, a bit of a session on a Friday. A tea break mid-morning and a coffee break mid-afternoon was also part of the routine in most offices.

    10 years ago the bars had gone, as had the breaks, a Friday drink up was still pretty rife and possibly another during the week. All leaving drinks would have a lunchtime session.

    Now, I would say on an average day, much less than 1% will be having a drink at lunchtime. Any drinking is probably restricted to a Friday, but it is certain not a routine any more. I'd probably have a drink at lunchtime 10 times over the course of a year, 3-4 of those will be the days around xmas, 2-3 others will be 'team lunch'.



  • If I drink or have been drinking when at work I will get sacked. Simple really.
  • If I drink or have been drinking when at work I will get sacked. Simple really.

    Why, what do you do?


  • Radiographer.
  • Hmm, I guess I can see that.

    The thing is, drinking isn't illegal. Being drunk at work could be dangerous, but one pint won't get you drunk. What next, a ban on eating junk food at lunchtime?

    I don't like "rules" that have been made up just for the sake of it. We had an email round work the other week saying it was "illegal" to smoke outside the front of the building - in the street, out in the open in a public place. I don't smoke, but that sort of thing gets my goat.
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  • If i was to have a 'quiet' pint at lunch, in Bromley town centre, where would be the best place to go?
  • edited June 2013
    On British Rail (in the 80's) it was quite common to have a pint or 2 at lunchtime (mainly on a Thurday or Friday in my case), when I moved onto the underground it was still the usual practice for some (not me) to have a beer or two at lunchtime. This has changed drastically now and being under the influence is now a sackable offence on the whole off TFL (as far as I'm aware). From 97-2007 I mainly worked in the City (facillities) for a couple of insurance companys and was amazed at the drinking that went on at lunchtimes, it was always someones birthday, leaving do, promotion celebration etc etc, and when it wasn't at my firms the wife (Banking) would often call me to pop up for a drink or two etc.....and very good it was to.
  • Dizzle said:

    If i was to have a 'quiet' pint at lunch, in Bromley town centre, where would be the best place to go?

    The pubs past Bromley North station in the area known as Little Chelsea

    I haven't had a lunchtime pint for about a decade.
  • Off_it said:

    Hmm, I guess I can see that.

    The thing is, drinking isn't illegal. Being drunk at work could be dangerous, but one pint won't get you drunk. What next, a ban on eating junk food at lunchtime?

    I don't like "rules" that have been made up just for the sake of it. We had an email round work the other week saying it was "illegal" to smoke outside the front of the building - in the street, out in the open in a public place. I don't smoke, but that sort of thing gets my goat.

    It wouldn't be illegal to smoke outside the building but it might well be against company policy. Not many companies these days see it good public relations to have their staff huddled outside having a fag.

    As for health care staff. I don't think many people would be happy to have an x ray or CT scan for example if the person carrying out the examination was smelling of booze. I think it's perfectly reasonable for my professional code of conduct to state that drink and work are not an option and I would be struck off for breaching this.

  • Dizzle said:

    If i was to have a 'quiet' pint at lunch, in Bromley town centre, where would be the best place to go?

    Ten minute walk to The Red Lion or Angelsea Arms for a decent quiet drink Dizzle.
  • It is extraordinary, when you look back at our lunchtime drinking. From 1974 to 1982 I worked at the head office of London Transport, where it was quite normal to extend our lunch "hour" several times a week. On Mondays and Fridays we would sink four pints of Ind Coope Burton (strong, at about five per cent ABV) over the course of a couple hours in the very convivial Antelope, near Sloane Square. And on Wednesdays I would really push the boat out with a solid three hours admiring the strippers and quaffing Charrington's IPA in the Westminster Arms in Marsham Street - accompanied by my boss! How did we do it? Well, we were young and fit in them days - and after a while you became more or less immune to the effects and were perfectly capable of productive work in the afternoon. Ah, happy days....
  • some of the best sessions ive been on have happened at work... 'Monday club' was a favourite of mine, sorted the men from the boys that's for sure, anything went, and i mean anything... glory days!
  • Worked in The City for a well know bank in the late 70's / 80's. The Managers then had drinks cabinets - not just for customers. You could also walk up the road to Head Office for a subsidised lunch and a few. Nobody had lunch at their desks back then!
  • Cheers @Friend Or Defoe and @red_murph

    Just a quick pint in a nice quiet pub at lunch. Newspaper, pint, sunshine. Peace and quiet for a bit.
  • memories.

    the abuse of flexi time was rife.

    lunchtime drink in the Horse & Groom, Sidcup on a regular basis aged 18-24 then back to office to do...well...f all.

    birds, booze and a Ford Escort in those days.
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  • edited June 2013
    Oh, the joys of an afternoon lock in.

    I think an American influence in the City was part of the different view on drinking but generally people realised that drinking and working weren't always a good mix. Remember, managers in the 70s and 80s came from a time when drinking and driving was OK.

    Also while women drink there are a lot more female managers and staff in the City and banking etc and so less of a "lads" culture (less not gone away).

  • edited June 2013
    The Americans i work for could never get over how packed the bars were at lunch. My boss always commented on it, back in 2000 when he first started here. I definitely blame them.. tho in the legal field or definitely the firms i worked for its never really been a done thing.
  • Oh, the joys of a afternoon lock in.


    Ah yes....The Alma in Chapel Market circa 1988 was my first Friday afternoon lock-in. Went to the khazi at about 3.10pm thinking we were going back to work and when I came back there were two fresh pints on the bar. Magnificent! (even though the pints were tap Whitbread Trophy!) Left the pub at about 11.30pm....great day.
  • I work for an insurance broker in the city and am happy to report that lunchtime and after work drinking is still very prevalent in this industry.
  • Spent many a happy lunchtime in the service circular 1979-86. Lager was 50p a pint and bitter 46p.

    Really miss the GLC omelette bar.

    75-79 worked in housing department ...if it wasnt the service circular it was the ordance arms for me or the plough ! must admit i dont think alcohol affected my performance at the time

  • We used to be able to have 2 hour lunches , 11.30-1.30 every day if you wanted to . Then it got cut to an hour , then got banned completely and now we're allowed an hour a couple of times a week .

    When the suns out the wharf is full of crumpet , see you down the boozer half 11
  • I work for an American company and they are also amazed by the drinking culture that still exists to an extent in London on a regular working day.

    Probably confused them a bit when I go out there and all I want to do after work is go out!
  • HandG said:

    I work for an insurance broker in the city and am happy to report that lunchtime and after work drinking is still very prevalent in this industry.

    i work for a money broker and lunch time and after work drinks is still very important to the business
  • When you talk about a pint back in the day, what was the abv % of a typical lunchtime pint?
    I always think of a pint of being 4.5-5%.
  • I used to drink every two or three lunchtimes and Friday was luch at 2pm for the rest of the afternoon. And most of the time I didn't pay as the highre up you were the more you bought and I was a junior at the time.

    As for Farrage defending his EU voting record, the man is a twat but he is right. You don't for for UKIP MEPs and then expect them to take part you vote for them to not be there. Its your own money you are pissing away, don't blame him.
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