# wall street journal on cardiff drinking



## Clint Iguana (Apr 17, 2010)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704588404575123691166554882.html



> In Cardiff, the toll on a recent Friday night suggested the scope of the problem. Police and paramedics responded to numerous reports of assault or injury, including drunken revelers tumbling down stairs and a young woman punching two police officers. The city's main drinking streets were littered with trash and empty bottles. Alleys and doorways reeked of urine.
> 
> An employee of one pub found a young woman lying on the sidewalk, vomiting and shivering in a red cocktail dress. Chris Williams, a volunteer "street pastor" who helps Cardiff cope with its night-life casualties, wrapped the woman in a foil blanket and helped her to a bench. Using the ill woman's cellphone, she called a number marked "Mum" and waited until her mother came.



Humph has a dig as well http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbyn...ck-at-city-s-drinking-culture-91466-26254443/ (not sure why they have filed it under rugby nation )


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## spacemonkey (Apr 17, 2010)

I was out on a mate's stag-do that night, I was in fancy dress and had my photo taken by a guy claiming to be from the Wall St Journal. 

My photo isn't there though.


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## FridgeMagnet (Apr 17, 2010)

I heard Humphries' thing on Today. It was excellent. They took a crew out into Cardiff and recorded a lot of folk saying "we're going to get utterly fucked and get off with people", then a fight starts and they record it and the police piling in - only every single word of the whole thing is bleeped out.


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## Col_Buendia (Apr 18, 2010)

And the journos' point is...? People who live in even shittier places than Cardiff pile down here for the weekend to get off their faces on cheap booze. I've been here 10 years, and I don't really remember it being much different. Perhaps an older poster can correct me on that.

European style cafe culture my arse!


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## ernestolynch (Apr 18, 2010)

People binge drink because it is a laugh.

Reminds me of
20 years ago, no change.

The middle classes do it at uni as well, and aren't the medical students the biggest drinkers? 

Maybe the ones who end up as journalists were loners and stayed in.


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## lunatrick (Apr 18, 2010)

I think Cardiff was much more violent in the mid to late 80's, I remember seeing near enough full scale riots with hundreds of people watching on a saturday night.

 I'm getting a bit sick of it being singled out for so much criticim, the reason it's so popular is because it's just much better for a night out than a lot of places. Take the 6 nations for example, it's legendary amoungst rugby fans as the best venue for the weekend.

It also has a very large catchment area, it is it really so much worse than anywhere else? I don't think so.

The annoying thing is the council will probably have to be 'seen to be doing something' and will start clamping down, no doubt. Not that it affects me cos I mostly go out down the bay when I'm in Cardiff (he says sniffily )


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## FridgeMagnet (Apr 18, 2010)

The police did call up Today afterwards apparently and say "you got a bad night there, the next Saturday barely anything happened".

The "analysis" was laughable too. First of all John was all shocked that (a) women were just as bad as men! swearing and fighting! and (b) it wasn't just young layabouts, there were doctors and respectable sorts out getting shitfaced!

Then he was saying that the police were too soft. For instance, when they were recording, there was a man who started hitting a bus shelter. A copper went over to him, said "stop that eh", and he did, and no more was said, which seems like sensible policing to me. Humphries seemed shocked that he wasn't arrested for attempted criminal damage or something.


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## editor (Apr 18, 2010)

Working class people and students in "going out and getting plastered on a Friday night" SHOCKA!


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## butchersapron (Apr 18, 2010)

Can't they do it away from middle class journos though? Showing her legs and all. The hussy.


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## DotCommunist (Apr 18, 2010)

This shit would never happen if only middle class people were allowed to sip Wolfs fucking Blass in crappy wine bars. Or it might, but it would be like that crap fight at the end of Bridget Jones where two grown men fail to fuck each other up despite plenty of opportunity


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## ddraig (Apr 18, 2010)

it's cos we is dirty commie proles with too much personal freedom if you read the comments 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...100604575146313764526600&articleTabs=comments


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## butchersapron (Apr 18, 2010)

ddraig said:


> it's cos we is dirty commie proles with too much personal freedom if you read the comments
> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...100604575146313764526600&articleTabs=comments



They say it's because of *lack* of personal Freedom.


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## ddraig (Apr 18, 2010)

scuse my lack of comprehension, pissed since lunchtime 
naturally


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## editor (Apr 18, 2010)

Look at those pussies in the States and their wussy drinking.


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## DotCommunist (Apr 18, 2010)

They are let down by shit beer ennit


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## editor (Apr 18, 2010)

Some of the comments on that article are terrifyingly stupid.

One ignorant fuckwit is insisting that drinking was banning on the tube "because of the fights."

Jeez.


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## editor (Apr 18, 2010)

DotCommunist said:


> They are let down by shit beer ennit


True. Serve them up some decent ales, and they'd be joining us on that upward curve.


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## FridgeMagnet (Apr 18, 2010)

To be fair, I think we should wish our American cousins a swift recovery from this puritanical move towards drinking iced tea (while taking prescription drugs of course) instead of beer. A society which invented the Martini and the Manhattan deserves booze respect.


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## Infidel Castro (Apr 19, 2010)

They should have popped over The Romilly this weekend to see sensible boozers boozing sensibly in the sun.  Proper job.


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## ddraig (Apr 19, 2010)

Infidel Castro said:


> They should have popped over The Romilly this weekend to see sensible boozers boozing sensibly in the sun.  Proper job.



was nice in/out there yesterday, til he started blasting neil diamond and queen out the back


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## Col_Buendia (Apr 19, 2010)

butchersapron said:


> Can't they do it away from middle class journos though? Showing her legs and all. The hussy.



Aye - I'd like to see how long John Humphreys would last if he went for a research trip up to Merthyr!


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## 1927 (Apr 19, 2010)

editor said:


> Look at those pussies in the States and their wussy drinking.



That graph just shows which nations are doing their but to try and keep the world economy ticking and which nations have given up!


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## Brockway (Apr 19, 2010)

It's all a bit disingenuous of Humphrys to turn up in Cardiff of an evening and be soooo shocked that there are people out drinking and, gulp, trying to get off with each other. Cardiff has never been any different and Humphrys knows it - he is, after all, from Splott. And you have to laugh when old journos (who come from a culture of hard drinking) suddenly turn into Mother Teresa.


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## Col_Buendia (Apr 19, 2010)

I thought the policeman was very brave.


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## ddraig (Apr 19, 2010)

Col_Buendia said:


> I thought the policeman was very brave.




*takes col's temperature...


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## Gromit (Apr 19, 2010)

I'm not sure if the situation is worse than it used to be.

On the one hand the number of stag and hen nights in Cardiff seems to have increased by the power of eight. Following the success of the Millenium stadium.

On the other hand we don't have the glory days of the Cardiff happy hour bars. Where my mates and I traveled from happy hour to happy hour for seriously cheap drinks all night long.

I'd have to say that the few times I've been to town recently the streets have been nowhere near as busy as they used to be when i was younger. Back when the taxi rank outside Lloyds was refered to by taxi drivers as The Farm.


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## 1927 (Apr 19, 2010)

In light of the above do you think it would be a wise move to wear my City shirt round NYC next week? Will it get me arrested as soon as I walk in a bar or will it give me a new found respect from our American cousins?


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## ddraig (Apr 19, 2010)

the press have gone for it again today!

"City booze shame goes GLOBAL" etc 

and then one with "we're only having fun" and "no worse than other cities" for a bit of balance but has someone pissed in a shopping trolly and what looks like a bloke in a bunny outfit with ears!

and someone saying 'bring back the 1950's'


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## ddraig (Apr 19, 2010)

one person quoted in the echo
"Cardiff doesn't have a problem, Magaluf is a hundred times worse, it's just the way people drink"

classic


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## spring-peeper (Apr 19, 2010)

1927 said:


> That graph just shows which nations are doing their but to try and keep the world economy ticking and which nations have given up!



Which is which?

erm - uk gave up because it has high drinking, canada doesn't drink so much because we have a stronger economy???

How does it work?


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## Infidel Castro (Apr 19, 2010)

ddraig said:


> was nice in/out there yesterday, til he started blasting neil diamond and queen out the back



A close escape then - very nearly went back for more yesterday!


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## 1927 (Apr 19, 2010)

spring-peeper said:


> Which is which?
> 
> erm - uk gave up because it has high drinking, canada doesn't drink so much because we have a stronger economy???
> 
> How does it work?



No, UK is keeping up and ideed increasing alcohol consumption to keep breweries in business!


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## Infidel Castro (Apr 19, 2010)

It's an expensive habit, boozing.


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## 1927 (Apr 19, 2010)

Infidel Castro said:


> It's an expensive habit, boozing.



People like us are keeping this country going, If we gave up drinking, smoking and driving the Uk would be fucked!


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## Riklet (Apr 19, 2010)

Ahhhh, America.

Chug down your glass of milk pre-donner 

Cardiff can be reeet horrible at the weekend, as those amazing photos by the Polish (?) bloke attest, but it's never that bad, and i've never felt threatened (well, never properly).  Nor felt that any other large city in the UK would be any different....


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## Infidel Castro (Apr 19, 2010)

1927 said:


> People like us are keeping this country going, If we gave up drinking, smoking and driving the Uk would be fucked!



Having given up smoking about a year back, I fear I may have been a key player in the downturn!


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