The more self-conscious we are the more we’d benefit from having spaces signposted, ‘What happens here doesn’t matter’. This aura is what alcohol settings offer – a kind of permitted abandon. Even the not-so-self-conscious benefit from such ‘time out’, or the temporary relief from critical scrutiny, afforded the drinker. Spread the privilege even-handedly and ensure that a few spoilers do not use it as an opportunity to be nasty or rude, and we gain all round. Drinking occasions need …
