Binging in the UK: Part of culture or culture itself?

by Iva Skoch on

Last week in London, I noticed pubs still closed at 11, despite having had the option of applying for a 24-hour drinking license for almost three years now. It just so happens, that the UK released a report last week claiming that the prolonged opening hours didn’t really help curb the “binge-drinking problem” in Britain.

In her column, Sorry I binge responsibly, The Guardian’s Zoe Williams writes about the complicated British culture of binge-drinking, asking herself whether to blame the 60s for destroying a shared understanding of morality, or the 80s for creating the financial disparities that make society functionally meaningless to people anywhere near the bottom, or–her best bet–she offers leftist fiscal explanations.

Whatever causes the Britons to binge-drink, one thing is clear. Liberal licensing laws have not helped much. The average pub in the UK stays open only 21 minutes longer than before (pubs are not interested to apply for licenses). Although crime has gone down slightly, alcohol-related crime, in city centers, has gone up, especially after midnight. Williams writes: “If the relaxation of licensing laws has had any beneficial impact on crime, then perhaps it is to keep burglars in the pub, giving them less time to burgle.”

The AAA virtual travel show

by Jamie Rhein on

Technology can certainly be an awesome thing. Yesterday I attended my first virtual travel show through AAA. The show, “Europe is Closer Than You Think” was designed for people to find out about various trips and deals about traveling in Europe. It was set up similarly to a trade show one would attend in person–physically. After registering, with a click of a mouse, an attendee had a variety of choices. One could attend presentations in the auditorium, chat with travel agents and vendors in the exhibit hall, chat with other customers and travel agents in the lounge and find out about other AAA products.

This was a real time occurrence with scheduled events that began and ended at a specified time, although people can still head back to the conference until 11:00 p.m. tonight to catch parts they missed. The presentations were actual talks accompanied by a slide show and time for questions and answers. If you want to check it out, click here for the web site. I think you can register still.

In the hour I attended I:

  • attended a talk about Uniworld Grand River Cruises, a company that conducts cruises on Europe’s rivers,
  • chatted in the lounge with travel agents and travelers who were offering up advice
  • emailed a travel agent about traveling to Europe with children since lately some Gadling readers have posed questions about that. The travel agent emailed me back and is getting back to me today.

This was a fun way to get information, particularly the chat room. I found out one person is going to Ireland on a honeymoon, one guy is going to Denver in April, someone else wanted to know what was the best scenario for enjoying Europe with kids and there was some smatterings of advice about rail tickets. I took notes and will be fashioning posts to cover the details I “heard.” I also dished out some advice myself.

I registered for this event through an email I received a few weeks ago and received a reminder yesterday. For registering, I was enrolled in a chance to win a door prize. For attending, I received more points. I didn’t have a good strategy though since this was my first time to wander around a cyberspace trade show. You accumulate points by attending the various presentations, requesting a private chat and for clicking on the various vendors. At the end I only had 110 points. To be entered in the grand prize contests, I needed 300. Next time, I’ll have this down. There was a trade show in January, so I expect I’ll be getting another email in a couple months about another one.

The New Europe: Prague now one of EU’s richest regions

by Iva Skoch on

If you visited Prague fifteen years ago, you probably didn’t think it was on its way to becoming one of the richest regions of the entire EU. Prague now ranks No 12 among all EU regions. Tourism, of course, is partially responsible for the vast influx of cash.

The development of Prague has been fast and steady. Unfortunately, the development hasn’t really affected other areas of the country. Prague is becoming, much like London, its own state. Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in the Czech capital is 60 percentage points higher than the European average (EU=100), however, other Czech regions are below 75 percent of the EU average and are therefore regarded as developing, which entitles them to subsidies from European funds, Prague Daily Monitor reports.

To sample the “real” Czech culture–not the one diluted by excessive tourism–it is becoming necessary to venture out of Prague.

Wealthiest regions of the European Union per capita GDP in pct
Inner London (UK) 303
Luxembourg (Luxembourg) 264
Bruxelles-Cap. / Brussels Hfdst. (Belgium) 241
Hamburg (Germany) 202
Wien (Austria) 178
Ile de France (France) 173
Stockholm (Sweden) 172
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire (UK) 168
Oberbayern (Germany) 166
Groningen (Netherlands) 164
Hovedstaden (Denmark) 161
Praha (Czech Republic) 160
Utrecht (Netherlands) 158
Southern & Eastern (Ireland) 158
Darmstadt (Germany) 158

Cities packed with billionaires

by Iva Skoch on

It has happened. Moscow has beat New York as the city most packed with billionaires, according to this Forbes research. Whereas New York has only 71, Moscow is now home to 74 billionaires (and probably also 740,000 starving people, but that is beside the point.)

  1. Moscow – 74
  2. New York – 71
  3. London – 36
  4. Istanbul – 34
  5. Hong Kong – 30
  6. Los Angeles – 24
  7. Mumbai 20
  8. San Francisco – 19
  9. Dallas – 15 (tie)
  10. Tokyo – 15 (tie)

The one that got me was Istanbul. Istanbul? What’s so lucrative going on in Istanbul? Why not Dubai?

What strange things have been found on planes?


Click the image to read the bizarre story…

European Independent Film Festival in Paris

by Anna Brones on

If you’re in Paris this upcoming weekend, you might want to check out Écu: The European Independent Film Festival, taking place at la Bibliothèque Nationale de France on March 14-16, 2008. Showcasing filmmakers in eleven different categories, the festival aims to promote independent film from not only Europe but the whole world.

The coolest thing about the festival is that it is free, which helps to reduce barriers between independent film makers and their audiences. You do however have to reserve a seat in advance.

With over 100 films to choose from, you might have a hard time making a decision on which one to go see. Thankfully you can watch trailers to all of the films on Écu Interactive — also helpful if you’re not in Paris but want a little taste of what’s going on.