The media seemed to be terribly disappointed to not find examples of full-scale, booze-fuelled rioting Friday night. They were out there with camera crews waiting for the trouble, but the police said that it was quieter than normal.

Of course it was. Everyone was still in the pub! I was half-expecting to see crowds of bleary-eyed sots crawling out of the pubs this morning to go straight into work after spending 48 hours solid propping up the bar.

It was all a bit of an anti-climax really, which is more or less what I was half expecting and half hoping for. Although not a great drinker myself, I can remember times when I was working in Holland that I would go out for a meal at 10pm then decide to go into a bar afterwards for a biertje or zwei. It was good to not feel rushed about it all.

Some places here don’t really seem to have a clue about continental style grown-up drinking. A colleague told me he found several places open but refusing to let anyone new in after 11pm, which seems a bit pointless.

There are a few places which I suspect will adjust well to the new licensing regime and take the ability to open all hours in their stride – Brixton and Brighton for example. But they already have a lively after hours scene to start with. Coming out of a late concert this year I walked and drove through Brixton some time after 2am and the place was livelier than Crawley at 10pm. I even got stuck in a traffic jam on Brixton Hill!

Its a shame I don’t particularly enjoy drinking much now, what with living halfway between Brixton and Brighton…