Reports of parties at UK PM Johnson's official residence during Covid-19 lockdown highlight a culture of heavy drinking in Britain.
, she went into the office once a week, and would end the day in the pub with her colleagues.
in both countries, with alcohol duty receipts going up 4.5 percent in the U.K., compared to 4 percent in 15 U.S. states from April to October 2020, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.Health Survey for England “There’s a history of workplace drinking around the rhythms of working life: celebrating the end of the working week on Friday afternoons, when payday comes around people celebrate that, pre-drinks around Christmas and leaving parties. There are moments of ritual or occasions where alcohol, or offering to take people to the pub, is part of the social function around working office life.”
after gathering, most with alcohol, in Downing Street while Covid restrictions were in place, including one attended by staff members the night before Prince Philip’s funeral. For Mick Maddams, a construction sales engineer in London, food and drink play an important role socializing with clients and he goes out around four times a week, though he didn’t during the various lockdowns.
“I need to earn my money, I need to get my contracts,” he said of going out, in a phone interview while he was out to lunch with clients. “People buy from people — it’s a relationship business.”