More Time, Gentlemen

If the U.S. has eased everyday existence by instantizing pleasure and automating toil, Britain clings to the notion that the best things in life should not be easy. Drinking, for instance, has remained as serious and satisfying a pursuit as deer stalking, and for the same reason: it takes work.

Pubs, rationed to brief, twice-daily sessions totaling nine hours, hardly open their doors before the cry goes up: "Time, GEN-tlemen, please." A visitor returning with friends to his hotel for a nightcap can legally wet only his own registered whistle. Liquor stores are a mirage; though mostly open when pubs are closed, they cannot sell the stuff until the pubs open up. As a final affront to frustrated topers, sweetshops are allowed to sell "liqueur" chocolates only if they contain no liqueur.

Last week, after thirsty months of soul searching, the government authorized the most refreshing changes in drinking habits since the invention of gin 300 years ago. After-hours nightcaps in hotels became legal--provided nonregistered friends buy their own. Private clubs in London's West End were given an extra hour's drinking daily (mostly until 3 a.m.). Unlicensed restaurants may now serve drinks with meals. Though pub hours remain the same, patrons got one worthwhile concession: in the future, they can ignore "Time, gentlemen" for precisely ten minutes after closing time. The biggest reform permits liquor stores to sell their wares in morning and afternoon hours when pubs are closed.

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