This Week - Stewart Lee talks about drinking (05.03.09)

What's the answer to binge drinking in the UK?
(C) BBC 2009

[@BestBoyPatrick]

We all know Stewart was only pro alcohol because of his families history of cider based agriculture. He gave it to them straight, like a pear cider, that's made from 100% pears

[@somethingness]

I like it that Stewart Lee starts off with "I don't know." I respect his appreciation of uncertainty.

[@54spatula]

I wonder if Andrew Neil drinks Pear Cider, that's made from 100% pears??!!

[@Bladebars]

100% pear

[@MegaDonGallo]

+54spatula If he did he might be able to give it to you straight

[@business5368]

why do you all make boring in jokes out of good things

[@vikramtg1015]

-Your comment has 41 'likes'.. for the 41st best stand-up ever...

[@cessrcd]

do you mean Pear cider? Pear cider that's from 100% pears?

[@FiveSigma72]

I see the by now somewhat tired trope of making comments regarding Mr Lees slowly degenerating appearance has let itself go.

[@97channel]

I see that witty replies to comments regarding tired tropes have let themselves go.

[@SiLatics56]

97channel Read that back again and you'll realise you're basically saying the likes of YOU and your comments have let themselves go 😉

[@97channel]

SiLatics56 - Yes, that was my intention. I see that appreciation of irony has let itself go.

[@SiLatics56]

97channel Well done you 😊. I see over the top cynicism and smugness from many Stewart Lee fans HASN'T let itself go 👌👌

[@97channel]

Sorry. I was a bit snarky with that, I regret it now.

[@FiveSigma72]

Im fairly sure that intro didnt need to be 2 minutes long. Watching Stewart Lee with these guys is like that episode of The Muppets where Jean-Paul Sartre was the guest.

[@DizGuys]

I'm an expat in Korea and they drink as much or more than the UK and there is ZERO trouble. People just do not become belligerent and destructive. It's such an enjoyable and comfortable environment in which to enjoy oneself.

[@Bless-cs9ct]

*Immigrant

[@nazirkazi2588]

Immigrant

[@anderslarsen535]

Stewart called Michael Portillo "the little wooden goblin from the Cuprinol advert".....

[@mikefule330]

If only Dianne Abbott could shut up and listen. Stewart Lee was making some intelligent and nuanced points.

[@michaelrichardroberts579]

I never see drunk people at the week-end as I can't focus my eyes.

[@Webbula]

I could debate this all day. I live in a small northern town, comprised mainly of clubs, pubs and shops. I have to avoid the town centre on Fridays and Saturdays because I just seem to keep getting physically harassed during my walk home from work. I think the alcohol culture is a huge drawback of living in England. It's actually a hobby now to get drunk, vomit and then brag about it the next day. Honestly, I could write a book about it, I'm that opinionated about it. It absolutely sickens me.

[@nathancaplan6021]

What we should really be talking about is why we drink, and how we drink, not so much about how much we drink. Too many people are drinking as a way of coping with difficulties in their life - stress, shyness, depression - and this never works out well. We need to put more emphasis on coping with life's difficulties in our schooling and parenting. Its not a quick fix, but i think it might be the best one. The trouble is with trying to address these problems via politics, is that politicians don't really understand the nature of the problem.

[@Nautilus1972]

+Nathan Caplan I grew up in Ireland and thought drinking was normal, because everyone else was drunk. It was only when I moved abroad that I realized I was an alcoholic. 7 years sober now, and can't believe I pissed my life away. Stop drinking. Take your life back.

[@GoteeDevotee]

Nathan Caplan Who is the "we" of which you speak? You sound like an interfering old nanny. Mind your own business.

[@stevechristie2569]

Nautilus1972 where did you move?

[@chebghobbi]

Yep...isn't it telling how nobody in this clip suggests making life less shit as a solution?

[@Christian-rn1ur]

Stiff upper lip, nothing a brew or a round a the pub won't sort out. And that's our problem. Some problems are too big for a cup of tea to fix.

[@guitarreilly]

i drink because im shy as fuck, is this a problem?

[@markstevenson1646]

Jack Reilly its only a problem if you're to shy to go to the bar to order it

[@guitarreilly]

Mark Stevenson haha no problem there mate

[@hunga224]

At first, I assumed it was the Cuprinol wood goblin, but then I realised It was Michael Portillo.

[@Isleofskye]

I I got " 1984" after 6 words. Truly Impressive by any criteria.

[@joedruo]

Man, the people on this show never let each other finish a point before interrupting.

[@nikkimcavoy1441]

I love Stewart Lee he’s always been a favourite of mine xx

[@mookie2637]

I can never quite get over the surreallism of Portillo and Stewart in the same conversation.

[@lukehols2114]

That Dianne Abbot's let himself go.....

[@willscomix]

A used tissue has let itself go

[@Matt7895]

Honestly, this was one of the greatest shows on TV. Most nights had discussions as funny and interesting as this one. And I fondly remember rolling off the sofa, glass of whisky in my hand, after a gag from one of the guests. I know Lee has since been harsh on Neil and Portillo but I think from his act more so - he was definitely comfortable with them in the times he was on the show (at least twice)

[@stevenuuu1212]

Why is Stewart so much more articulate and intelligent then the other 3? He's a comedian too.

[@DJpurplesquirell]

Because they are there for themselves to sound good but do not focus on the bigger picture.

[@tommyc4796]

Stewart Lee is one of the rare breed of comedian: Like George Carlin he has gotten cleverer, funnier and sharper as he has progressed in his career.

[@hfdpayner]

I'm watching this while drinking.

[@niallkennedy23]

Dianne Abbots madhouse was one of the best programmes of the 80's

[@andrewoliver8930]

The show that helped make the career of Les Dennis Skinner

[@saxongreen78]

Repression. There it is, in a nutshell...same in Australia. Personally, I think alcohol is complete rubbish - I prefer marijuana...but, apparently that's "bad." When our culture can show a little maturity when it comes to issues like creativity, emotion and sex I think we'll see a massive shift away from drug abuse as a whole - can't see that happening anytime soon, though.

[@GingerDrums]

I'll give it to you straight, the BBC has really let itself go.

[@AndrewTally2]

I think Stewart makes a great point - many people socialise better with alcohol (sad as it is) so more should be done to look at confidence and anxiety without the stuff.

[@TheLoneOpinion]

03:58. Lee's look of silent contempt.

[@phillawrence6413]

Yep, incredibly rude

[@alkapowportstar7808]

Oprah has let herself go

[@lisaa6099]

Alkapow Portstar about 1% of the talent, intelligence and charm of Oprah.

[@higgins0421]

I'm watching this while being hideously hungover

[@iandeansilk]

Stewart Lee hits the nail on the head. Alcohol makes work viable.

[@AvatarJillian]

Anything Stewart Lee is saying is going straight over their heads XD

[@ASLEFshrugged]

Did someone drop one at 3:32?

[@GeorgeGallowayForPM]

I've never watched this show while sober.

[@alexporter2720]

General Ratko Mladić has let himself go

[@RossRossiter]

i wonder if andrew neil uses syrup of fig as a mixer ?

[@huwjc]

harrison ford's let himself go

[@tommyc4796]

A group of friends played the 'guess the book game' the last player Dave Sinclair read out the following passage:" 'My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath:' " We retired to the smoking room and played some games of Billiards.

[@bigleebrink]

Dianne Abbott's let herself go... I mean, Stewart Lee has let himself go.

[@citizenharris]

hobbitthedog thankyou for informing me that you only watched because of stewart lee. i was getting really quite worried.

[@smellybearrr]

I think stu hit the nail on the head when he said " we're not addressing the root cause of alcohol abuse" the idea that introducing minimum pricing will stop people drinking is idiotic, people will continue to drink the same levels but will spend less money on other things slowing the economy even more

[@rsmit2797]

I have no drink problem: I drink. I get drunk. I fall over. No problem!

[@BodyInFlight1983]

He says thanks for having us 🤣🤣🤣

[@rolybling]

OH Please, when was the last time Michael Portillo was out in one of our city centre's on a Friday night? NEVER. I live in Manchester, a very lively city day and night, especially at weekends, but I just don't recognize this image of dunks staggering all over the place, fighting and throwing up on innocent passers-by. The vast majority of people out at the weekends are just having a good time, having a drink and a laugh and a dance or whatever and there really isn't that much 'trouble'. The media magnify this and make it into some sort of crisis when in actual fact it's a minority of people.

[@KonijNx2]

Although my experience is limited, I agree for the most part. My home town though, Stafford - is full of that image. However, in Nottingham where my girlfriend lives, she's been going out there now for a couple of years, and she said she hasn't seen a fight yet. On the other hand, she sticks mostly to student places. I think there is a problem. It's not as big as the media suggest. But I think there's a lot of medium/small towns like mine where every Saturday is the same. If you don't want to get into any trouble, you have to have left the town center by 1, because after that it kicks off.

[@xburyboy1755]

I'm from Greater Manchester but now live in Norwich and the main drinking area is a fucking distopian nightmare every Saturday night. Without exception and including any night preceding a bank holiday.

[@Tobypaws2002]

I think there is a drink problem, the NHS will tell you a (too) high percentage of A & E admissions are alcohol related. The problem is costing NHS , therefore us, Billions every year.

[@markstevenson1646]

Toby Paws there is no drinking problems in this country all those NHS stats are lying government propaganda just so they can demonize alcohol as they did with tobacco I've never had a drink in my life and neither has anyone I know ,anyway must go now I've got two lines of coke here with my name on

[@nathanreynolds4378]

great intro ... but even more fun to re-watch & substitute the words booze/alchohol (or similar) for casino investment banking ... waaaaay more hilarious

[@PopsicleSponge]

Graham Norton has let himself go.

[@billallen2126]

my favourite is 'a misshapen bin-bag of a man. he isn't really, he's lovely

[@trinkabuszczuk6138]

In the UK, laws were made to limit the opening hours of pubs during WW1 so that the factories could be fully manned and operative to drive the war machine. The problem started there as some punters would drink as much as was physically possible during the allotted hours. These habits are hard to break even when the pubs are open all day.

[@Tedaus5]

2:18 for the Stewart Lee bit

[@JD1010101110]

not everyone gets to drink in a taxpayer subsidised bar like MPs!

[@greenaum]

Yup. Essentially we're paying them to get pissed. And also paying them to be in charge of the country, at the same time. And to make up whatever laws they and their old school chums fancy.

[@alejocastro4787]

It is not just the british in terms of europe. It seems to me to be a northern european problem. I have seen the germans , dutch and scandanevians all get as pissed as much as the english.

[@alejocastro4787]

mmmmmm i dont think Amsterdam is a great example to your argument. Out of all the cities i have visited in europe it is probably the main place i have felt unsafe. Huge amount of pickpockets and dodgy drug dealers , pimps and agressive eastern europeans. On top of this amsterdam also has a huge amount of drunk english tourist???

[@alejocastro4787]

well my point is as a spanish person if somebody asked me do i feel safer when i have been in London late at night or Amsterdam late at night my answer would defonatly be London.

[@alejocastro4787]

em diar you are right we have gone off topic but i just disagreed with your coment "Try asking the police of both countries which streets they'd rather police. I know where I'd sooner find myself late on a Saturday night" as a unbiased spanish person i can definitely say London city centre feels alot safer to me on a night out and i would rather be there than in Amsterdam.

[@Tr4newreck]

oh yeah forgot, your mom does heroin lol

[@pushthetempo2]

my girlfriend grew up in stuttgart in germany. she now lives in london with me and all she ever talks about it how much the british drink. particularly on weekdays, a german with never go for beers on a wednesday because there is work to be done! Also I lived in madrid for a year and saw was amazing how few very drunk people a saw on the streets and how different the drinking culture is. everyone is friendly, not drunk or shouting.

[@crissieroserose]

i luv stewart lee

[@jedaaa]

i think portillo hit on something at the end when he said about drinking being pushed all out to the friday night thing, now people dont just drink when they feel like it these days...

[@romannosejob]

I live in Glasgow, and often go out on Friday and Saturday nights, it's really not that bad. Never been in a fight and I've rarely even seen one.

[@michaelblaikie909]

Chris Morris is just Portillo with sarcasm

[@BunniMonster]

Diane Abbott's let herself go. *Grin*

[@michaelbradshaw3791]

President Bashar al-Assad has let himself go

[@cfcnotbummerful]

Count Orlock ( Nosferatu) has let himself go

[@DamnDealDone]

Lee did everything in the 80's.

[@Scottishcarly]

lol - tis weird that the UK has such a bad drink prob .... though I just clicked on this for the fab-ness of Mr Lee :)

[@joshhammertimez9739]

good christ! thank this show making me feel like I have a face suitable for television

[@jameshunt8373]

Diane Abbott has let herself go

[@Bjarku]

im no fan of tories, but that woman paused as if to let Portillo speak which is why he "talked over" her. if she wasnt so fucking haughty she would have realised he'd made an honest mistake and she would have let him finish instead of carrying on with a haughty, incredulous look on her face and carrying on on talking without saying very much at all.

[@GriefTourist]

that first pint on friday evening........something alkys will never enjoy again, hahaha

[@TonyArrison]

Is violent crime or violent crime related to alcohol actually going up? Or is it just a case of having segregated areas for drinking, tons of CCTV, police and bouncers all reporting it? How often would have a 'scrap' been reported in the 60's at a pub in a family neighbourhood?

[@navigatorhat]

Surely the changes in attitudes to smoking have been more to do with the cultural changes brought about more by how it was depicted in the media combined with informing the public about hazards than any form of pricing intervention. Bearing this in mind, shouldn't we then try to examine more closely how we show characters binge drinking, shagging, abusing drugs and comitting violence on our television screens? Cultural change often starts with altering the perception of the world around us.

[@stevolution666]

@stoxocube18 moderate binge drinking is fine. it's fun. it's when you drink your way past that it all goes wrong.

[@Mooondoggy]

hopefully this is how we will debate pot in the future

[@hoppinonabronzeleg]

Stew is very articulate and makes some very good points. Michael Portillo looks like someone off Thunderbirds. 5.31 Interrupt me why don't you? The sad thing is that if we managed to curb city centre drunkenness, we would lose even more pubs

[@engurland]

That woman keeps looking up into her head to try and find something worthwhile to say.

[@robertwlester]

Funnily people say it is a british attitude to drink, many of us have seen much the same elsewhere. meanwhile various other nations have moved the drink into the home and troubles there in can be problematic too. They could kill it off tomorrow via taxes if they wanted, kill off the pubs, but that is a big part of our economy.

[@firekind1980]

5:35 because smoking is a stupid fucking habit while drinking changes how people feel about this pointless world.

[@STOPjammietime]

Lee's right (as usual) - it's the root cause of alcohol abuse that needs to be tackled. There's something that lies at the heart of our culture that leads to people to want to lose themselves in booze - reservation, shyness, inhibition. Making alcohol more expensive will only make people more broke and it won't do anything to solve the problem. It's just papering over the cracks - something the govt loves to do in the absence of any meaningful research or hard work.

[@mogwaigremlin7188]

Look how she looks at him with utter disdain.

[@lukemcevoy2183]

Ditto at 5:28, Abbot butting in saying "let me just say" is a bit like Ian Paisley asking for permission to be contradictory for a change.

[@trollfinger]

It's easy to take pictures of the problems that drink cause when there are young people falling all over the street. How do you take pictures of the people that drink doesn't effect ? "Here is a man walking up a street after a few pints"

[@lustreboy]

Stewart's first point of how much does it save was also discussed in a similar fashion by Doug Stanhope, when he talked about air rage. "oh it's such a terrible thing, he was drunk, he was outrageous, we should ban alcohol on planes. But what about the guy who has a couple of drinks and doesn't freak out, and batter the wailing baby 2 rows back" -- Obviously Doug does it a million times funnier and more insightful. Stewart Lee is class though. Big Fan!

[@cahillgreg]

Shush now.

[@123jataylor]

whats the name of the background track?

[@artorwar]

-adjective 1. formally precise or proper, as persons or behavior; stiffly neat.

[@josephtinkler]

The Artist formerly known as Prince has let himself go.

[@edwardgbell]

Actually starts at 2:20

[@dannykl6883]

Stewart Lee looks permanently pissed

[@nickgotvideo1]

Kim Jong Il has let himself go

[@redlady935]

1:10 what's that tune?

[@Iagoingsoc]

Dianne Abbott's interruptions are dangerous to watch

[@dickhamilton3517]

when all the MPs spent much of their time drinking, we had much better, less ideological, more understanding, more tolerant and more human government. Winston Churchill was a lush who began every day with champagne and orange juice (a buck's fizz), drank wine at all meals during the day, and finished every day with a good brandy. He was tipsy most of the time. Yet he delivered great and coherent speeches, was an inspired leader, and no-one would have said his abilities or his conduct were impaired by his alcohol consumption. Though he was a Tory, and I am not, I have great admiration for him. He was human, considerate, measured and brave. Contrast that with the bunch of weirdos we have now, constantly driven by their own assumed moral superiority to make unnecessary laws ordering us all about. I wish they all enjoyed a drink, it would loosen the buggers up and allow them to see how ridiculous , self-satisfied and self-serving they often are.

[@JazZia]

Wasn't special brew made for Churchill?

[@Gracievision]

Jaz Rhodes Front bench tipple to park bench staple in about thirty years.

[@shambobilla]

Dick Hamilton Didn't he coin the phrase 'Black Dog'.

[@dickhamilton3517]

shambobilla that was the name he gave to being in one of the intermittent bouts of depression he suffered from most of his life

[@mammooification2]

shambobilla Winston Churchill referred to his depression as his 'black dog'.

[@97channel]

The Hoffmeister Bear has let himself go.

[@AnDyPCLAM]

correct. its my business but it's also my problem and mine alone.

[@nicksundby]

Nice little Oxbridge get-together here

[@stumbling]

Stephen Baldwin's let himself go.

[@djpheeze]

Wow dude, that one was low!

[@Webbula]

For most, yes. But a lot suffer because of it.

[@SleazysWonderland]

The problem in England compared to France & Scotland is less pubs and more high street cheap bars and the spread of 'Scream bar style' student hangouts, supplying cheap booze and creating a alcoholic high street with taxis floating on a road of piss and sick.

[@pushthetempo2]

that other guy is so envious of stew, look at his body language

[@gedrooney9305]

Diane Abbots face is quite simply unreal. I refuse to believe it’s her real face. I’ve had a drink. Lee looked well here, nowadays he looks like Bernard Manning. Poor sod. I’m off to bed.

[@UppruniTegundanna]

Video length: 10:58 Jesus, how fast were you drinking them?!

[@sjs260563]

they're all pear ciders when I've finished with them Stu

[@zaygezunt]

Well put, I agree 100%

[@revilo314]

Diane Abbot has the eye movements of a blind person.

[@Ade4fish]

I think Mr Neil is a bit pissed here. Either that or he has a some sort of stroke.

[@adammartin7007]

Who's that Chinese lad at 6:56? Where did he come from?