Even the most mild-mannered of news followers must know — binge drinking is increasingly turned into a moral panic by many of those prized publications that so unabashedly inform us of the ins, outs and even the shake-it-all-abouts of our world.
So of course, something like Carnage, which quite frankly encourages a tipple too many, is never going to be seen in the most angelic of lights. In fact as it is so popular, it has been the subject of several angry articles in various tabloids.
Lincoln’s latest Carnage (which I enjoyed last week) went fine apart from some mess. I know older folk may complain, but there was a million times more mess — and nearly as many mulled wine wasters — at the Christmas Market.
So this is of course all fine and dandy for Lincoln, but one can concede why this anti-Carnage bonfire has been fuelled so fluently? Look at the case of a certain Philip Laing — heard of him, no?
Well, he is the chap who was photographed urinating on a war memorial at the Carnage event in Sheffield. Of course this didn’t make him too popular and quite rightly so. As you can imagine this has horrified many and put this pub parade in a bad light.
So before the “Fun Police” undoubtedly dash in and take this celebration of booze and laughter away from us, I say enjoy it while you can. However a word to the doom-sayers: binge drinking has been going on for years and years. I know my father (a hard-working man by all means) did it in his youth, as did his father before him and so on so forth for many families.
Carnage is nothing new and you shouldn’t let the actions of a few inglorious individuals create a folk-devil out of a fairly standard situation.