Happy Barf-day?

It's my birthday soon and I'm starting my celebrations tomorrow. It's always good to bring friends together principally for an ego boost and a shed load of presents.

Sorry, my fingers went silly there. It should have read it's always good to bring friends together to understand how important they are to us, and that our friends are the fabric of our very existence. We're off to the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain gig, a group I have seen several times before and who I rate very highly. As befits everyone these days, they have a website - http://www.ukuleleorchestra.com/main/home.aspx - with audio clips and all sorts to get an idea of what they're like.

Then comes the ubiquitous curry and the chance to test out how good the new binge drinking laws are. It's daft because we have neither the culture, nor the transport system in the UK to make it realistically viable, much less the fact that there are far too many imbeciles who will drink themselves to death in one night as a result. Naturally, it is the individual's choice, but go to the other extreme of having the pubs shut all day and the amount of drinking becomes theoretically nil. Extend the hours, and people will drink more, and given that a quiet drink appears to be a thing of the past, we are in trouble. The days when pints were de rigeur and a glass of wine was practically the only drink for the lady (and that when the man was ready for his next beer) are gone. It is now a mission to get as drunk as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Antisocial behaviour is now considered commonplace with no real mechanism to control it.

I'm sounding very old.

Another thing, George Best is on his last legs, which is a shame, but he didn't seem to care that he was drinking himself to death. Ultimately his choice, but a stunning display of what drink can do to an otherwise healthy man.

Saying all that and with the whiff of hyprocrisy hanging in the air like Gary Glitter, I intend to enjoy myself to the full tomorrow night until closing time, which will be... erm...