obinem Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Hi, I am from Germany and just now in Shetland for holidays. I was very astonished when I wanted to buy two beers for the evening in a Lerwick supermarket on Sunday at 11 am and the woman at the till tolde me that I have to wait until 0.30pm. Is there a special reason for this ?(Anyway its better than in Germany because all the supermarkets are closed on Sunday) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArabiaTerra Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 I believe it's the last remnant of the "no work 'n no play on the sabbath" religious lobby. Sad really, I believe religious observance should be a personal, voluntary thing, not something enforced by law. (Though, I notice the firefox spellchecker reckons sabbath is spelled wrong if you don't use a capital s.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuckleJoannie Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 The normal opening time for alcohol sales in Scotland, both on and off sales is 12.30. This is so as you are not tempted to miss the church service on Sunday morning. There was a time when you couldn't get alcohol from a shop at all on Sunday but I can't remember when the law changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulb Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 maybe if the old rules applied there could be a day for not drinking. its sad really that people need to have access to booze all the time. let your body recover a bit a have a day off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinner72 Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 ^^ What if you work monday to saturday and want to pick up a nice bottle of wine to relax with on a sunday afternoon? It really is nonsense. If you don't think so, imagine they decided you couldn't buy cheese, baked beans, or orange juice at certain times.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAStewart Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 In London its mental. I'm staying in a hostel and there's a moderately sized Tesco nearby which is only allowed to open for 6 hours because of the religious lobby. Why can't the religious folks just not buy stuff on Sunday and let the rest of us get on with our lives? I'm sure if you asked the average Christian they would be happy for this particular store to be open normal hours. Mental. its sad really that people need to have access to booze all the time. let your body recover a bit a have a day off. Should we apply the same to fatty foods? fags? energy drinks? Where do you draw the line. If the government says that you can't buy alcohol before 12.30pm on Sunday, then the alcohol lobby can call for tobacco sales to be restricted too. Then the tobacco lobby can call for fatty food to have similar restrictions. Its a matter of the free market - if you stop one thing another thing can be stopped. It isn't a matter of need, its a matter of principle. What if you're having brunch at 11am on Sunday and you want some wine with it - for whatever reason, celebration etc - why is it wrong? We can't tell people how to drink, we can either ban it outright or show them the consequences of drinking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporate Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 The off licence hours change on 1st september this year;all 7 days from 10am to 10pm....... So on the one hand, they have dealt with the anomaly which was Sunday am; but have instead added one which is before 10am any day.....you couldnt make it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulb Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Shetland does have a very bad drinking problem have a look at the death stats for drink related deaths. have you not heard about the underage drinking at the halls. and people complain when the police take a few home. if the community can't get the drinking issue under control then there are going to be lots of very sick 30-40 year olds. a good start would be if kids are allowed into the halls then there can't be any drinking. if the police find teenagers drunk at the halls then the halls should lose there licences. if they buy it from tescos or anywhere else the same should apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glipper Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Paul..I don't think the under age drinking is any worse now than when i was young im in my mid 40s there's just more been made off it now and as for the shetland drink culture its no worse here than any where else..Maybe there's a lot off people out there with short memory syndrome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GypsyScy Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 The halls dont always sell drink to the kids, the kids are canny enough to buy drink themselves before heading to an event. They have older friends and relatives willing to buy drink for them and its not always easy to source where the drink comes from. You cant genralise it to Shetland having this drinking problem as it runs across the whole of Britain and Ireland and across the class cultures and has done so for decades. It's not just this generation. Tesco selling drink on a sunday morning would have no effect on the underage ones having drink on a Friday night. As was said before those who work Mon-Sat should have the right to relax with a dram on a sunday if they so wish. Not all are religious, Sunday is usually the only day of rest for the grafters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAStewart Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 if the police find teenagers drunk at the halls then the halls should lose there licences. if they buy it from tescos or anywhere else the same should apply. I don't think I agree. I'm pretty sure, looking back now with hindsight, that I served an underage customer by accident. I ID'd them and they showed me a convincing ID which I (soon) later realised was fake. This was during Xmas time in Somerfield and so you are tired and flat-out working. Mistakes happen. I do however, agree with you in part on the alcohol in halls comment. I recall being quite a few years short and getting served at a particular hall. I don't know if it was because I knew the man on the bar - but maybe that is worse. I would say though that the majority of people who do drink are responsible. Why should the rest of us responsible drinkers be made to suffer because a minority can't control it? Maybe there's a lot off people out there with short memory syndromeOn account of the alcohol, no doubt.Paul..I don't think the under age drinking is any worse now than when i was young im in my mid 40s there's just more been made off it now Is that not an important point though - tobacco is made a bigger deal of now than it was back when you were a teenager, because of medical developments which showed just how bad it was for you. Indeed down here in Parliament today they are reviewing a proposal to ban outright tobacco advertising. We are more aware of the effects of these dangerous substances we drink, smoke or whatever and they are creating a large strain on the NHS. tescoTescoI'm 21 (as of yesterday...) and last time I was in Shetland, aged 20 and looking old, as I'm told, I get ID'd. Tesco are much more thorough than any previous incarnation on that site, in my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GypsyScy Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 I got asked for ID in Tesco buying a bottle of wine last summer....made my day, no year, considering I'm the other side of 30!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fartypants Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 whit ever you tink guys.. Im still gyan tae be in da beer tent on da pier dis helly...CHEERS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinner72 Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 The halls dont always sell drink to the kids, the kids are canny enough to buy drink themselves before heading to an event. They have older friends and relatives willing to buy drink for them and its not always easy to source where the drink comes from. Exactly. Halls, and shops for that matter, have never been stricter. Its routine for hall commitee members to be scouring halls to remove drink from underagers, but if they were drunk when dropped off, there isn't much that can be done other than to look after them and call the parents. Thats the biggest difference I see these days compared to my teenage years, is the segregation of young and old. All events at local halls used to be attended by families. Of course this still happens, but not near to the extent it used to, as there now seems to be an image of what is a "family" event and what is a "youth" event. There were probably more over 40's at discos 20 years ago than under 20's! The combination of a very obvious marketing shift (alcohol is now advertised by models who look like teenagers and made to look and taste like fizzy soft drinks) - wheras in the past it was slightly different.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 It seems a bit pointless restricting off sales, when you can be sitting in the Queen's pouring it down your throat at 9 o' clock on a Sunday morning. But I guess our Licensing board know what they're doing as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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