Home wind turbines dealt a blow

The town of Vestmannaeyjar on the island of Heimaey has been a town for less than 50 years. A volcanic eruption destroyed a part of the town in 1973 but the town is still in the same place today.

Yes, just as I wrote above and only in a very few places.

Yes, they were located near the geothermal areas but you still had to drill down for the water and pipe it to the houses, often for some distance.

Yes, parts of Reykjavik was burning oil in the 1960=B4s and Kopavogur until the late 1970=B4s.

Sweden at least.

Depends how pissed they are. Most of the Finns I met in Helsinki were paralytic for a substantial part of the time.

Nothing else to do up there.

It's that sort of remark that gives the 'British' the reputation they have. I'm sure you will claim that you were trying to be amusing. Just try a litle harder you ignorant sob!

Well, I did start to compose a long and comoprehensive reply, explaining how alcohol is a problem throughout Scandinavia, about the Finnish licensing system and how I'd worked in Scandinavia for the best part of 11 years. But I can't be arsed.

FOAD, dickwad.

You've obviously never been to Scandinavia

I have never come across a bigger load of piss artists (well, maybe some Swiss I know). The more draconian the licensing laws, the more alcoholic the population. The UK is even worse, we are attempting to come out of such a regimen with the lack of responsibility associated with it

now - f*ck off

Have you ever actually been to any of the Nordic countries? There is quite an element of truth in the degree of alcohol use and abuse; predominantly because of the state operated booze shops in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Originally there was a Church ethic behind this, but of course it has become now a convenient way to get extra tax revenue. There is a slight advantage in Sweden at least, where the buying power of Systembolaget does lead to good availability of quality French and other wines.

Even so, the abuse of alcohol in Finland is a serious problem, to the point that there are paramedic patrols in all of the major towns during the winter months picking up people on the streets who would otherwise die of hypothermia in temperatures well below -20 degrees. I have seen people being picked up in Helsinki, Tampere and other cities on several occasions and we are not talking about down and outs in shop doorways, but people in suits.

Having said that, Russia has a far more serious problem with this.

That may be the case but it does not excuse the content of the original post and a follow up which contained insulting generalities which are blatantly false and are designed to offend.

You can visit most 'western' countries and see yobish and drunken behaviour, the UK comes to mind, but the majority of citizens do not behave that way. To extrapolate the behaviour of the few to the nation is simply absurd. Further, the incidence of drunken behaviour is generally found in city centres where most visitors tend to frequent. To extend this behaviour to the majority of inhabitants makes no sense.

Having returned to the UK after living overseas for 30 years I am appalled at what I perceive as the decline in standards of behaviour In my more rational moments I recognize that this decline relates to a small minority. Nevertheless, there is no pride in being 'British'.

The essence of this topic is a cause for embarrassment.

Is this because, as a tourist or visitor, you're walking around these city centres? Rather than just driving your car as in the UK?

You'll see plenty of drunks of all social classes in the West End of London at night if you walk around or use public transport. And I'd guess in most cities.

I worked in Sweden, Denmark and Finland (*), making dozens of visits of 1 or 2 weeks each, occasionally longer, spread over 11 years.

The Scandies drink too much. They know it, we know it. The Swedes in Copenhagen on drinking sprees made the West End on a Saturday night look like an AA convention. All the "off sales" in Finland belong to the State, are hideously expensive (alcohol is subject to punitive taxation throughout Scandinavia) and are closed on, and the day before, national holidays. Home distillation is a big problem.

(* And Spain, France, Italy, Belgium and Holland. The Scandies made most of these look abstemious.)

There wasn't a generality.

He said "Most of the Finns I met in Helsinki were paralytic for a substantial part of the time"

Had he said something like "All/most of the Finns I saw in Helsinki.." it would have been a stereotype.

However, he might have stayed at a hotel where the bar is largely populated with people who have had too much to drink. I can think of at least two 4* hotels in Helsinki where that is often the case.

Equally, he might have been to a regional company or customer function. I have been to many of these in Finland over the years and it is customary for alcohol to flow freely.

I wouldn't view any of these as representing a generalised slur.

I don't think so.

Probably. It's noticable there because of the specific patrols for the purpose , which at winter temperatures almost certainly do make a life/death difference.

As do Finns and the populace of other Baltic states.

This is even more noticable now that the bridge to Malmoe is open - it's a quick drive.

That's changed a bit. Beer of less than 4.7% ABV is now available from supermarkets and other retailers, with Alko being for anything more.

Spirits are approx 50% more than the UK.

Of course anyone who attempts to moralise about sweeping generalisations by posting a sweeping generalisation has effectively kneecapped themself before entering an arse kicking contest.

Posting an ad hominem as a sequitur to the generalisation does rather put the complainant outside the pale.

When I worked in Denmark the standing joke was "How do you tell a Swede from a Dane in Copenhagen?" answer "The Swedes are the ones face down in the fountains."

That makes them hideously expensive in my book. The local shops in Italy sell spirits (and indeed all alcohol) for a fraction of the UK price. A bottle of single malt in the local supermarket is about 7 Euro.

I don't see binge drinkers outside the one city with an airport bringing in trippers on cheap flights from the UK. In general it's notable that the drunks in the street are all talking loudly in English. In cities where the English don't go public inebriation is almost unknown.

All relative - depends on your starting point. I used the UK as a comparison point since it's a UK group.

Therein lies a clue.......