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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think sitting in a pub drinking on your own for 5 hours is an abnormal thing to do

63 replies

aisoft · 12/05/2013 20:44

Me and DP went shopping today and popped into Walkabout at about about 3:45 to get some food before going home. My little brother was in there drinking on his own and he had several empty pint glasses on his table. I asked him about this and he said he'd come down to watch the football at 1, he's a Spurs fan and his team were playing at 1:30 but then he was staying on to watch the next game which kicked off at 4, this means he would have been there nearly 5 hours drinking alone incessantly. I think this is very strange thing to do but DP thinks its no big deal as he's just relaxing on a Sunday and I'm being a nag and a busybody.

OP posts:
ChippingInLovesSunshine · 12/05/2013 21:14

Not abnormal or weird at all - perfectly normal for footy/rugby/cricket fans. He stayed to watch another match - what's the big deal?

Iamsparklyknickers · 12/05/2013 21:16

If he hasn't got sky then it's the only place he can watch it really and logic follows pub= beer. Especially for football watching.

If none of his mates wanted to go with him why should he miss out?

Perfectly normal I would say.

Picturesinthefirelight · 12/05/2013 21:17

That was me last year during the Wimblefon final (except I had to leave one pub as I was propositioned by a drunk)

Dd was rehearsing for a show in a town an hour from home and I had 4 hours to kill. Managed to find a fairly decent place opposite the theatre.

TigOldBitties · 12/05/2013 21:17

I'm presuming the match he was going to watch at 4:00 was the Man U v Swansea one. Was quite a thing as I think it's Sir Alex Fergusons last match with the tea, ever.

My DH (also a spurs fan) watched it especially.

Plus what else should he be doing? Going home and watching some other crap on TV, if that's what he enjoys and isn't harming anyone leave him alone. Doesn't sound as if he was particularly drunk so can't see the harm.

Original poster
aisoft · 12/05/2013 21:49

I guess I'm in the minority here but it still seems really strange.

OP posts:
DragonMamma · 12/05/2013 21:54

I work in a pub and it's very normal. I'd say more people come in alone and get chatting to other locals than actively go out in groups, where I work.

It wouldn't make me think twice.

XiCi · 12/05/2013 22:03

You seriously think its strange for a guy to watch the footie in a pub? Seriously?

ColaConkie · 12/05/2013 22:12

Totally normal.

Leeds2 · 12/05/2013 22:31

I think it is normal too!

scaevola · 12/05/2013 22:34

I think most of this is normal.

But the sitting by himself is a bit odd, as drinking alone, even in public, can be a concern. Or was he with one set of fans for game 1 and expecting to be with others for game 2?

squeakytoy · 12/05/2013 22:36

"as drinking alone, even in public, can be a concern"

oh dear.. people had better be concerned about me, as I have no issue with going into a bar and drinking a couple of drinks on my own if I am in the mood to do so...

squeakytoy · 12/05/2013 22:38

In fact, that is such a load of crap about how if you drink on your own you must have a drink problem ... Hmm

My mum was a widow for 15 years before she died.. she enjoyed a glass or two of wine in the evening, when my Dad was alive.. should she have stopped that after his death in case people thought she had a drink problem?

I am sat here now with a glass of whiskey and coke.. I am on my own... should I sign up to AA..

elfycat · 12/05/2013 22:45

I went to my local pub to get out the house to write an essay (less distractions). Drank a couple of pints real ale while doing so. It's a quiet place in the day and I'm getting to be a regular.

I go in for a pint when DH is away with work fairly often.

60sname · 13/05/2013 00:27

DP sometimes goes to watch a game on his own in our local - we have Sky but the flat is small and he thoughtfully doesn't want to hog the tv all day if there are back to back games. He likes the atmosphere and has a few pints, doesn't equate to a drink problem!

cory · 13/05/2013 08:36

Drinking alone is only a problem if you need the presence of other people to restrain you from drinking too much. That will be true of some people. But not everybody is in that boat.

The same quantity of alcohol isn't suddenly going to become more dangerous because you consume it on your own.

And it is totally possible to become an alcoholic in company.

Morloth · 13/05/2013 08:49

God, what I wouldn't give for 5 hours alone in a pub drinking...

SundaysGirl · 13/05/2013 09:22

I still don't get WHY you thnk its strange? Because he was not with a specific group of people? Whats the difference in sitting with 3 mates and watching a game all afternoon with some pints and doing it 'alone' around those you don't actually know but sharing the atmosphere?

So long as he is not a problem drinker to your knowledge I'd say this is more about how you feel about socialising and spending time by yourself than about your brother.

Trill · 13/05/2013 09:34

He wasn't on his own, he was there with all the other football fans.

He wasn't just drinking, he was watching football.

It's not as if he spent 5 hours sitting silently staring into space while drinking.

MadBusLady · 13/05/2013 09:38

I'd do that and not even to watch the football. I'd probably stop at three pints and I'd have some food too, but then I'm not a 19yo strapping lad. I'd take books and newspapers and the kindle and have a chat to the bar staff or a random punter now and then. Bliss.

Obviously he can't drink that amount every day forever, but I assume he doesn't? Agree with what SundaysGirl said, this is maybe an introvert/extrovert thing.

bollockstoit · 13/05/2013 09:54

I think it's "normal", and I know several men who do this, however they are fairly heavy drinkers. It can be normal and still not a particularly good idea.

Birdsgottafly · 13/05/2013 10:09

It is normal in every pub that I go into regularly. In a way if a Match is on and you are a regular, you aren't really "on your own". He has spent the day watching sport whilst having a drink, I don't see the problem. I am not a big football fan, but I like to watch main games in the pub. I feel disappointed if I don't know anyone who wants to go out to watch the World Cup, I wish that women on their own in pubs were not thought of "as strange".

Birdsgottafly · 13/05/2013 10:11

Thinking about it, if I had the choice of shopping for the day, or sitting in the pub, I would sit in the pub.

Birdsgottafly · 13/05/2013 10:11

Thinking about it, if I had the choice of shopping for the day, or sitting in the pub, I would sit in the pub.

Lj8893 · 13/05/2013 10:12

I don't think women on their own in pubs is thought of as strange, its certainly not strange where I live.

Flobbadobs · 13/05/2013 10:15

Normal. I have been known to call in somewhere for a drink when on my own, a woman drinking alone isn't seen as anything weird round here!
He would have wanted to watch the football with likeminded people even if he didn't know them.

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