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‘Drink and Philgood’

Here, I present you not with an error, nor a lesson in phonetics, but that of Booze Brothers’ catchphrase. I caught your eye now, but what are the chances that during a night of considerable drinking, many will actually notice the ‘poetically licensed’ logo of this alcohol delivery service when it comes up to your door? Booze Brothers and After 8 Essentials, another alcohol delivery service operating in Canterbury, have applied for licenses to operate until the party-popping hours of 4am, offering individuals the opportunity to order their next bottle of Vodka right from the puddle of their own puke.

Concerned residents have vetoed the proposal, fearing that drunken anti-social behaviour, primarily amongst students, will increase. Yet, there already are service providers operating, from supermarkets, to public houses, to off-licenses and internet companies who in promoting such behaviour add to the problems of regulation, enforcement and monitoring. So why the big fuss over a license permit? Perhaps, it is owing to the fact that in spite of these countless service providers, home-delivery services have proliferated, evincing the increasing market demand.

Objection to such services evinces that there is a sector of the public who are, in fact, keen to do away with the notorious booze culture image associated with the UK and University cities are always likely to be first on the list. However, should the permit be denied, I believe that while, for many this may be a disappointment, for most the attitude will be one of indifference because they can simply pre-order the alcohol from a supermarket and better still, it’s cheaper! The source of the alcohol does not affect the degree of anti-social behaviour; having received it from a source who charges a few quid more will not make one’s anti-social behaviour any classier.

Many alcohol delivery service owners claim that a majority of their clientele are young professionals, since alcoholics and students can’t afford their service. Yet, who’s to say that the young professional in his posh apartment has not got an alcohol problem? Surely, these service providers can be seen to intensify alcoholism, judging their clientele solely from their pockets; especially when they probably do not step further than the front door upon delivery. Many claim that if their services were regarded in a similar light to takeaways, something to be enjoyed moderately, problems would diminish. The naivety of such a statement leaves me stunned, firstly since it is common knowledge that alcohol dependence has increased considerably through advertising and market availability, and secondly, if obesity statistics are anything to go by, moderate enjoyment of takeaways is not in practice, so problems like anti-social behaviour associated with alcohol, if anything, will increase.

Round the clock access to alcohol is likely to be unavoidable but the level of control you choose to exercise is your own responsibility; we best draw the line before we are classed as bunch of obese inebriates.

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