In my local club one evening we asked if the music could be turned down slightly and were told (in confidence, woops) that the brewery required the volume to be set at a certain level at particular times. The reason apparently, was to encourage faster drinking, because when people couldn't talk comfortably they drank more. Maybe it is this attitude in our business culture [what attitude Davey, the profit motive, you mean? - comment added by the person who posted this letter onto indymedia] that is a large part of the binge drinking problem, with tables removed to provide more standing area and fewer flat surfaces for drinks while strong shooters and alcopops are heavily promoted.
The relaxing of the licensing laws may cause more problems for a while, but unless the laws are changed then many more people will grow up drinking against the clock. If the changes are dealt with sensibly and pubs are encouraged (or forced) to serve their customers, rather than the other way round, then maybe our future generations will grow up with a healthier attitude to alcohol.
But perhaps we are looking at this problem from the wrong end. Why do so many feel the need to get so plastered? Would someone living a rich fulfilled life feel the need to drink themselves into oblivion twice a week? If modern life seems only to offer a succession of insecure, badly paid jobs, or a life of stress and self denial then it's no surprise some of us choose to hit the bottle(s) instead.

Davey Jones
Letchworth, Hertfordshire

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Comments:

Compare this with another situation with a similar lack of autonomy for small business.
Now that Interflora (national flower offering service, run as a co-operative trade organisation between small flower shops) is going to be sold off to a big corporation, the new management will be doubtless bringing in all kinds of "requirements" that florists will have to observe in their shops, for instance.

For more on the Interflora story see:  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/01/303741.html