The Quest for Booze

As many of you know, I love a beer. Whether that be The bored at home, “shall we get a dusk pint” at 3pm on a Tuesday or a loosener in Falmer bar before 6 a side on a Monday. So it comes as no surprise moving to a nation where you have to be 21 to have a drink (but can buy a high powered rifle in Louisiana at 18 and in fact there is no minimum age in the state to possess a rifle!) would have its challenges. There was a glimmer of hope for me to legally have a beer as some bars are 18+ so I made use of that swiftly as you will find out soon.

Jackson Square

On Monday I went to a bar situated just off campus called The Boot ( think of it like Falmer bar on steroids) and successfully had a beer that was kindly bought for me and despite being ID’d in the way in and not given a wristband to show I was 21 the bouncers and staff didn't seem to care I was drinking. Was an English Uni drinking experience on the cards?

Despite supposedly being the greatest nation on earth, America misses out on something we have here, the greatest establishment on earth… Spoons. However I quickly found the Yank alternative, a local bar called Brunos. Another 18+ bar with cheap booze, $5 bottles of wine in fact. It had the same aura of a spoons ; full of people you hadn't seen or cared about for years, underaged kids being served and creepy older people. It felt like I was back in the George all over again.   

Now as a law abiding citizen I would never suggest anything dodgy however there are a couple of exceptions,  paying for a child's ticket on the train to avoid crazy UK rail fares and getting a fake ID when in America. On Saturday one of these things happened. So straight off to the Off licence I went. It felt like being 17 all over again going into that small shop in Aldersbrook trying to act and speak confidently enough to get served. I kept telling myself that I'm not really breaking any rules here, more of a moral victory per se. The lady in the shop actually told me I wasn't old enough despite my new birthday. Until she was reminded by her colleague that “we are the only ones who read the date like that” and just like being 17 again I walked home happy as larry with my six pack.

It's just like being back at home and thus the quest for booze has been completed…for now.    

Song of the week : socks- SOFY