[fy20]

> If public transport is your ride home, you need to be a lot more sober than the people the author is writing about

Having lived in London when I was younger I beg to differ. I only ended up at the last stop and having to walk home a couple of miles a few times. One time I managed to cycle from Leicester Square to Chelsea - I don't know why, I didn't live anywhere near Chelsea.

[LilBytes]

Yeah before ride sharing in the UK and later Australia, I got the train home, fell asleep, woke up in the middle of nowhere as the sun crept into view at least half a dozen times.

Ride sharing certainly increased my chances of getting home successfully, though my anecdotal experience is it wouldn't have had an impact on levity or intoxication.

[FpUser]

I was in London on some software related business. So those brits invited me for a lunch at about 11AM. All came down to some place (my first time in London ever) and ordered pints. Talked a bit. Finished first pint then ordered another. After 5th pint I asked how about a lunch. This is a focken lunch was the answer. Loved those brits.

[bencollier49]

I think the 1970s and '80s in the UK were the heyday for this sort of thing. Typically you'd have a couple of pints at lunch time - a lot of offices had bars (rather like coworking spaces today..) and often just stay in the pub. The drinking culture had got larger because of the growth of the middle class - more people moving into office jobs.

By the time I entered the workforce in 1999, this sort of thing was on the wane, although it varied enormously by industry and company. I think the change happened because of the increasing computerisation of jobs (where you could do more damage with the tap of a finger), in addition to women joining the workforce in more senior positions. And probably longer commutes, tougher drink-driving laws, and more formalised HR policies.

A small part of me is nostalgic for it, but it was obviously ridiculously unhealthy. That said, a lot of work was actually done in the pub, and it's possible that people found solutions with their social guard down that they wouldn't have found whilst in the office.

[FpUser]

>"By the time I entered the workforce in 1999"

This was the end of 1998. The company was traders and there were numerous bottles of hard alcohol in the open. I was amazed.

[bencollier49]

Yeah, it hung on for ages in banking, didn't it? A lot of law firms still have a drinks trolley which goes around on Friday. Pretty sure banking is still pretty full-on.

[tomcam]

Gemma was why. Or Fiona? Fiona.