[HPFGU-OTChatter] Chat - Alcohol Question

[Neil Ward]

Catlady said:

> Chat info is in
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-Announcements/message/13
>
> The chat room can be accessed from HP for GrownUps home page or you can
> use Cheetah Chat and grp*g.2176166:1
>
> The chats have traditionally been scheduled to start at noon Pacific
> Time which is 3 pm Eastern Time which is 8 pm in Britain, but people
> started to turn up one hour early and last week some people turned up
> earlier than that!
>
> Cheetah Chat info is in
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownupsChatScripts/message/70

In the UK, the clocks went forward an hour last night, and I think the same
happened in the US.  People in other countries might want to take this into
account.

The 'official' start time for the chats is 8pm UK time, but they do seem to
start around 7pm (and the calendar seems to say 7pm now).  For those using
Cheetachat, it's important to note the chat room name, above, as it's
different to the one mentioned previously.

> Hey, NEIL! PENNY!, as we are no longer using Yahoo!Clubs chatroom, why
> don't we delete the Yahoo! Club?

Others have suggested that.  I guess we will....

> Something which IIRC was said in a previous chat, but I haven't been
> able to find it in the chatscripts:  the legal age for drinking alcohol
> without food in UK is 16 years old(?) but schools can get waivers to
> allow underage students to drink at school parties. That sounds totally
> implausible to my USAmerican ears, and I am wondering is it true, or did
> I dream it?

[puts on work hat]

The mimimum purchasing age here is 18, and adults have to be 18 to drink in
a pub.  Young people of 16+ can drink alcohol with a restaurant meal.
Although people assume 18 as the minimum drinking age, it's not against the
law for younger children to drink alcohol, and most children would learn
about alcohol in the home.

Any school that allowed alcohol at a party would probably need to indicate
that it was a private event without a 'sales' bar (I don't know about an
official waiver though).  It's unlikely that a school would sanction an
event for children under 16; I think most schools would not want to
encourage drinking in children, but it's feasible that a sixth-form party
for 17/18 year olds might have alcohol available.

The Licensing (Young Persons) Act 2000 closed a loophole in the law
regarding the sale of alcohol to the under 18s, creating a new offence of
purchasing alcohol on behalf of a minor ("proxy purchase").   Previously, UK
law gave immunity to anyone who sold intoxicating liquor to a person under
18, who could not be described as a "servant" of the licensee
(theoretically, at a school event, 'selling on'); for example, kids would
send adults into off-licences to buy alcohol for them.

Neil