Drinkers in Spoons

[TheDaringOliveNewt]

I'm away and at spoons having breakfast.

Every single table apart from mine has pints going, at 8.30.

Aibu thinking it's weird?

I went to a spoons for breakfast once because it was bank holiday and where I wanted to go was closed. Breakfast was rubbish but the coffee was quite good and I got as many refills as I wanted which I liked.
There were many people drinking alcohol but also many people not drinking alcohol. I don’t drink that much and I’m not an alcoholic so having a pint in the morning wouldn’t be my thing but many people like it or need it. It’s probably not that much different than the bougie breakfast place that serves breakfast cocktails but somehow it’s more acceptable for the middle classes to be drinking a Bloody Mary than the poor people in spoons having a pint.

😂😂😂

Why is this early drinking culture a male thing?

Male loneliness is a real thing. I think sitting in Spoons with a pint is a cheap, easy way of spending time with other blokes without too much pressure.

There are still some out there - though there used be many where DH grew up now most are more food and drinking or small beer microbrewery or closed.

Pubs have been closing at a huge rate - I think it was one a day lasy year.

They are bussinesses and there have been pubs doing family meals/food since I was a child - they aren't new but do seem to be ones hanging on better.

Guilty as charged. Dh and me often pop in for a bacon sandwich and a bottomless coffee when we're out and about early. Less than 6 quid for both of us. Bargain. Why would we pay 3 times that?

You're quite correct I don't know everyone in the world, this is very true.

However, I've lived and worked overseas and in various parts of the UK. I know plenty of shift workers and after a night shift they all seem to want to go to bed, unsurprising really. This is anecdotal I haven't conducted an audit.

So these 8.30am boozers are people with seriously bad drinking habits.

What makes it a bad drinking habit? Just because you think so?

I must have missed the rule book you published

Do you drink at 8.30am?

You're quite correct I don't know everyone in the world, this is very true.
However, I've lived and worked overseas and in various parts of the UK. I know plenty of shift workers and after a night shift they all seem to want to go to bed, unsurprising really. This is anecdotal I haven't conducted an audit.
So these 8.30am boozers are people with seriously bad drinking habits.
The wake night watch staff often go for a drink on Saturday morning after their shift as its their weekend. They go to bed about 12 and will be on a wake night watch again on Saturday night.
Its their equivalent of a few drinks at the weekend after work.
Its not a problem for some people on here if they did it at 6.00pm after work, so whats the issue?

What does that have to do with anything?

Do you drink at 8.30am?

But for a night shift worker, 8.30am is equivalent to 8.30pm for a day worker!

Someone who works days doesn't go to bed directly they finish work, they eat, maybe do a few things around the house, maybe go out to the pub or wherever. Night workers do the same, just at the opposite end of the day.

Would you prefer the night worker go for a drink in the evening, before going to work? Or are night workers just not allowed a social life?

I have only been into a Spoons once at this time of day (DD was taking a school banding test and there were no cafes in the area, so it was that or sit in the car for two hours).

I had a nice cooked breakfast and coffee, surrounded by elderly men doing the same, and some of them did indeed have pints instead of the coffee.

The bar maid was cheerful.

There was local history on the walls.

I thought it was rather sweet - I felt like I'd wandered into a day centre!

For the "bottomless coffee" of course! If i get breakfast at spoons i can have a poached egg on toast and 3 or 4 refill coffees for just a few quid. Coffee everwhere else is a rip-off and too strong, i like several instant-strength coffees to get going.

Yes, there are always day-drinkers. If you look you'll notice most of them are lonely old men (unemployed/retired, divorced/widdowed), and some are wearing work clothes bc they've just knocked-off, others clearly have mental/alcohol issues and want somewhere social and warm where they can feel a bit more human. I don't judge any of them.

Exactly 😊

Seem to have lost what I was quoting but it was someone saying they were retired and went for the cheap breakfast sn coffee and why would they pay more !

Exactly - it's like a little community - they walk over in the morning, get breakfast and unlimited coffee, get to sit in a nice, warm space with other people for as long as they like without worrying about the bills or anything. They have access to a toilet, they can stay for lunch, they have people to talk to - and yes, they might enjoy an odd pint or two. So what?

So what if I do?
How is it worse than drinking at 8.30pm?

What time do you deem the least unhealthy?
And why?

You keep saying how bad it is with ZERO reasoning.

Do you then drive after drinking first thing in the morning?

Why would you think anyone drives after drinking in the morning, afternoon or at night?

I also trust that none of the day drinkers at Spoons are leaving the pub to scrub up and perform heart surgery or put on a uniform and fly passenger planes.

Is drink driving only restricted to people who are morning drinkers?
News to me. I thought it was just as easy to drink at night after a pint

if you drink at 8am you are more restricted what you can do for the rest of the day. Whereas if you leave drinking until the evening you can do everything that isn’t impacted by alcohol impact before that

Head teacher here 👋🏼
I meet a fellow head teacher once a term on a Saturday at 9am for a spoons breakfast.

We drink refillable coffee on 4 of those occasions.

We drink cocktails on the other two...to celebrate the Christmas/Summer holidays.

Judge if you will...we love it.

That's lifestyle dependent surely though?
If I work during the night... pop to the supermarket after work, then walk to spoons for a breakfast and a pint before going home to bed.... what difference is it to doing the same activities but going to work / shopping etc by day and drinking at night?

Nobody in the world has the same 24 hours

The Spoons early drinkers who the OP thinks are weird are old men, according to people who’ve worked in Spoons.

I very much doubt these old mens’ days are packed with important runs in the car or any form of childcare. They simply want to drink beer and see people. I’d guess they walk or get the bus home when they’ve had a beer and a chat.