Now in my third year at St Andrews, with three freshers’ weeks under my belt, I have noticed a change. A silent shift has taken place over the summer. At first, I thought it was just me, but the more third and fourth years I speak to the more I’m convinced it’s a phenomenon: the wholesome pub night has replaced the big night out. You heard it here first folks.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a big night out. I have been known to draw a night out longer than anyone thought possible. But enough is enough. And this year, I’m joining the tide of students that are tired of being tired.
Let me ask you something: when was the last time you went to 601 and didn’t regret it? Perhaps you enjoy the atmosphere and find it a useful way to let off steam. Maybe it’s the solution to your school disco nostalgia. That’s all well and good but allow me to paint you a picture.
You are somewhere between the bar and the dancefloor. It’s 2am. In what can only be described as an act of violence, the lights are switched on. You realise three things simultaneously: 1) the music playing is by a boyband that you didn’t even like when they were relevant, 2) you are still dancing to it and 3) you are a terrible dancer. On top of this, most of the friends you came with either threw up in the toilets and had to go home or made the envious decision to leave early and not embarrass themselves. How you wish you had done the same. Instead, you will now make your way out under fluorescent light and embark on a pilgrimage to Empire to eat something that will no doubt add to the nausea of tomorrow morning. For me, it’s cheesy chips.
(Source: YourUnion.net)
Here seems an appropriate point to take a moment of silence for all the days lost to soul-destroying hangovers. When you feel sick is a dog, and sicker in the knowledge that you did it to yourself. As I put it to my housemate last year after a particularly brutal evening: ‘I feel hungry, tired, sick and ill’.
What if there was some way that we could avoid this ritual humiliation? Great news, there is! I present to you: the wholesome pub night.
Rather than going ‘out-out’, my friends and I are embracing the cosier things in life. I’ve been starting and ending my nights earlier and drinking less. I would have thought a year ago that this would be boring compared to a bigger night out, however, I have found the opposite. The great thing about the wholesome pub night is that you can actually enjoy your drinks rather than seeing them as a means to an ends. I also find myself paying closer attention to the conversation and have never felt closer with my friends. Interactions feel more valuable when everyone has a good chance of remembering them the next day. Best of all, you will wake up feeling fresh as a daisy. In short, maximum connection with minimum consequence.
If I haven’t convinced you yet, need I remind you of the cost-of-living crisis. Boo. I can only speak for myself, but my drunk alter ego thinks that I am a millionaire that can be much more giving than I have the funds to be. She also has a penchant for vodka shots. The effect to my bank balance is pretty devastating.
(Source: Standrewsnow.co.uk)
Since choosing wholesome pub nights over messy nights out I’ve saved money, improved my general mood and minimised embarrassment. I would highly recommend you give it a go. Above all, the wholesome pub night has led to me discover the religious experience that is the Aikmans curly fry. And for that I’ll be ever grateful.
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