An Englishman's Castle

I want to be a saga lout | Janice Turner - Times Online

Deep in the bowels of Whitehall a government warning panel has exploded in a spasm of flashing red lights and whoop-whoop sirens. Quick, scramble the press officers, issue the admonishments. Somewhere out there, people are having fun! And it's not the usual suspects: the “toxic” teenagers or those feckless women bingeing away their looks and fertility. Can you believe it's the oldsters, the over-55s, boozing it up on holiday - never-ending bloody holidays! - when they should be down the garden centre or picking out Per Una cardies in fetching shades of beige?

This week the Foreign Office paused from its missions in Tibet and Darfur to warn us that “older travellers... drink more alcohol while away than they would in the UK”. Besides this startling revelation, with its implied debauchery of aperitifs, wine with dinner - every single night! - and, who knows, nightcap cognacs or queasy-coloured local stickies, was the news that “20 per cent of 55-plus holidaymakers try activities they would not contemplate at home”.

The Government has responded with a £10 million advertising campaign that aims to educate women about the health risks of drinking and the need to be aware of how much alcohol they are consuming....critics will be disappointed that the Government is again turning to an awareness campaign. The Alcohol Health Alliance, which is made up of medical groups, wants a rise in tax on alcohol, a ban on advertising and restrictions on sales.
Scottish Executive plan alcohol ban for under-21s - Times Online

There is a growing body of concern that more and more young Scots are drinking at an earlier age, and anecdotal evidence suggests that many youngsters seen the worse for wear for drink on Scotland’s streets at the weekends are under age.