Topic: Housing, Sports, Food Drink

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY
ENGLISH FACULTY
----

DISCUSSION
Topic: Housing, Sports, Food & Drink
Subject: British Culture
Teacher:
Group:
Class:

Hanoi, 2021
EVALUATION
1


No.

Name

Class

Task

47

•

48

•

49

•

50

•

51

•

52

•

2

Evaluation
of supervisor


CONTENT

3


I.

Housing

1.1 Different kinds of houses
•

A detached house: this type of house is quite expensive for most people. The
“traditional” building materials of brick (the walls) and slate (the roof), the
irregular, “non-classical”, shape, with all those little corners, the suggestion of a
large front garden with a tree and bushes, the garage is hidden discretely way
A detached house has long been the property that most Britain aspire because
not having adjoining walls with neighbouring houses makes for a quiet life.
Detached houses give Britain the advantage of not sharing party walls with
neighbours, which means they should be able to make more noise in your
property without attracting complaints, an important advantage if you like to
sing or play music at high volumes. It is also much more likely than any other
type of property to have a substantial garden area though detached homes built
during or since the 1980s tend to be on much smaller plots than earlier ones. A
large, detached house not only ensures privacy. It is also a status symbol.
Therefore, detached

•

A semi-detached house: these houses can be found, street after street, in the
surburbs of cities and the outskirts of towns all over Britain. The most common
material is brick. A semi-detached house is the building with two separate
households. Each one is the mirror of the other, inside and out, the separate
front garden for each house, the side is access to the back., the house has two
floors and three bedrooms.

•

The town house: the town house, which can be found in the inner areas of most
cities, are an expectation to general pattern. There is great variety regarding
both design and use. They often have three or more floors, perhaps including a
4


basement or semi-basement. Sometimes, they are ‘self-con-tained’ flats (they
have washing and cooking facilities); sometimes, they are ‘bedsits’ (bed-sitting
rooms, residents have one room to themselves and share washing and cooking
facilities with other residents)
•

A terraced house: this kind of house usually has no way through to the back
except through the house itself, each house in the row is joined to the next one.
They usually have two floors, with two bedrooms upstairs. Some have garden
back and front, others only at the back and others no garden at all.

•

A flat: not having a separate entrance to the outside world doesn’t suit British
tastes. although it is densely populated, Britain has the second lowest
proportion of flat-dwellers in the EU.
Britain

Different kinds

Vietnam

- Having five mains types of - Having some popular types

housing in British:

of housing in Vietnam:

+ A detached house

+ Rural house: This type of

+ A semi-detached house

house

+ The town houses

families, which are often
found

+ A terraced house

serves
in

farmers’
agricultural

settlements in small rural

+ A flat

villages. Each small farmer

Almost everybody in Britain family lives on a separate,
dreams of living in a detached closed campus.
house

+ City Villa: Homes are
surrounded by gardens and
access to nature in many
5


directions (3-4 directions),
often built on the periphery
of the city or alternately in
large blocks far from the
center.
+ Homes (adjacent block):
The narrow plots are close
together so that the main
house is also block each
other, only the ability to
create garden in front and
back. The house only has
one or two directions of
natural contact.
+ Single apartment: This
type of house is sharing
corridors and stairs. Each
family

lives

contained

in

a

self

apartment,

located along a corridor or
surrounded by a shared
staircase. It ranged from one
to three floors, the other
stacked up the other.

6


A detached house is the most In Vietnam, rural areas tend
desirable British home.

to build houses more similar

-> because they like privacy to those in the UK, with a
very large yard and garden,

and independence.

In the UK, maybe due to a sometimes with long alleys
better quality of life, the leading to the house
houses are mainly aimed at depending on the terrain
spaciousness,
Best choice

environmental

comfort

and because it make people feel

friendliness, comfortable and free.

most of which have large or
small premises

- In urban area: in big cities
in Vietnam, apartments are
the

preferred

type

of

apartment because of the
crowded land, the demand

for Land use is increasing, so
apartments located in many
high-rise buildings become
more common.
British don’t want to live in a Vietnamese

will

choose

flat because it provided the houses that are suitable for
Worst choice

least amount of privacy

their

income

High-rise blocks failure in conditions
Britain as they do not suit
British attitudes

I.2 Private property and public property
7

and

living

While a detached house can be clear between private property and public domain, flats
may not have. Clear separation between public and private domain shown in law and
custom.
Detached house is usually private property and flats are uncertainties, communal living
unsucessful in Britain. Besides, house barriers limition is also focused, including owner’s
domain and custom.
For example, people have no general right to reserve the road directly outside their house
for their own cars. The castle puts limits on the domain of its owner as well as keeping out
others. It also limits responsibility. It is comparatively rare, for example, for people to
attempt to keep the bit of pavement outside their house clean and tidy. People prefer to
live in houses a little bit set back from the road. They announce to the world exactly
where the private property begins. That is the reason why almost everyone in Britain
don’t want to live in flats.
Britain
Private and public property

This is very c

1.3. The importance of home
1.3.1. House according to abstract meaning:
8


A house is a construction with a roof, surrounding walls, and doors for living, serving
individual and collective activities of people, and having an impact on people's lives.
Mentally, home can be related to a state of being in shelter or convenience.
1.3.2. Another meaning:
"Housing is a home". House is where needed both quiet and noisy. It’s possible welcome
you back at any time you’re happy or sad, success or failure. Husband and wife, children

hold hands to enjoy all the joys, overcome all sorrows in life, that is also "Home"
1.3.3. Comparison in view of the British and Vietnamese houses

House from British view

House from the Vietnamese view

The house will be sold when the time and price They will never wait for house prices to rise to
is right

sell, they just buy land and wait for the right
time to sell

The houses themselves are investments

Vietnamese people don’t see it like an
investment. They will work, save to repair,
build bigger and bigger houses so that they can
live more comfortably

The house is usually decided to sell after the Vietnamese people often inherit property as
owner inherits

home and land from their parents. Usually, they
will live in that house all their life. They only
sell it in a compulsory cases

The house is where they can make a profit

Vietnamese people will only be in the house

and go out to make money, not consider home
as a place to make profit

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1.3.4. Individuality and compliance
British view

Vietnamese view

Apartments are said to be unpopular because Apartments in Vietnam are not popular for
they do not provide enough privacy

households. Usually, it is only suitable for
people who go away from home and want to
have their own lives for work

Individuality depends on whether they want it Vietnamese

people

like

to

build

many

or not, whether they give it enough space for bedrooms, divided into kitchens, living rooms,
individual expression

front yards, backyards, terraces, gardens. Each
room has a different function to ensure privacy

To show individuality, they often choose the Vietnamese people do not create privacy
color of the door according to their taste, or through arrangement and decoration in a
some difference outside the house as a sign for common style for the whole house to
the territory

distinguish one house from another; but privacy
is merely as long as in the family, each person
has separate space for activities, especially in
each person's bedroom, will be decorated
according to that person's wishes

The most personal expression is shown in the Individuality

is

reflected

in

the

home

way they decorate the garden, depending on construction style of the owner. Each home will

their creativity to make their own mark

almost take care of everything to complete its
own house, privacy is the unique style of each
house

In an attempt to achieve individuality, some In Vietnam, there is no need to name the house
people like to name their homes

because every house has its own style. We can
easily find each other without spending too
much time

They wanted to claim individual planning In Vietnam, we can do everything on the land
rights in densely populated areas, so later a we have ownership. For example, self-design
10


planning permit appeared

and build houses at our discretion; Planting and
improving land without having to apply for a
government permission first

1.3.5. Interiors: The importance of cosiness

British view

Vietnamese view

For many people, tradition is part of coziness, Vietnam's cozy view is to gather, eat together,
especially when surrounded by old furnitures. chat, and bond with the family; not the more
It means that “If you want to be cozy, you have furniture, the more cozy
to fill the room with furnitures”
In the UK, most people desire a fireplace Vietnam's fireplace is placed under the kitchen,
because it is considered the perfect traditional used for cooking, not just for heating. It also
symbol of the kettle, and moreover it is carries a long-lasting spiritual value
associated with the past and has a value of time
The coziness is also reflected in the privacy in It is not important for Vietnamese people to
the arrangement of the room, the reception divide into two living rooms to seek privacy,
room will be built outside, the personal living but treat guests like family, sometimes even
room will be located in the back

inviting them to stay for dinner...

That is also reflected in the fact that they have The concept that the more the merrier,
both front and back doors. While the front door Vietnamese people always like to gather, invite
is used for people as well as people using the relatives and friends to organize meetings to
living room, the back door is used only by foster affection and improve the level of
family and close friends

relationship

1.4. Owning and renting
Most British people do not “belong” to a particular place. They usually grow up in
a long-established family house to which they can always return. Perhaps this is why they
11


are not usually content to rent their accommodation. Wherever they are, they like to put

down roots. The desire to own the place where you live is almost universal in Britain.
However, house prices are high. This dilemma is overcome by the mortgage system,
which is probably a more established aspect of everyday life than it is anywhere else in
the world. About 70% of all the houses in the country are occupied by their owners and
almost all of these were bought with a mortgage. At any time, half of amount of houses
are owned by people who have borrowed 80% (or even more) of their price and are now
paying this money back month by month. The normal arrangement is for the borrower to
pay back the money for twenty to twenty-five years. The financial institutions are known
as “building societies” were originally set up to provide mortgages. Although nearly
everybody wants to own their house, it was only at the end of the twentieth century that a
majority of people began to do so. By 1977, two-thirds of all tenants lived in these
“council houses” (or, in some cases, flats). Council rents are subsidized, so they are low.
The order of preference is worked out by a complicated set of priorities. Once they are
given a council house, tenants have security. It means that they do not have to move out
even if they become rich. People are happy to take out mortgages because house prices
normally increase a bit faster than the general cost of living. Therefore, most people can
make a profit when they sell their houses at a profit and move into a more expensive
house.
From 1950 to 1980 the proportion of 'owner-occupiers' gradually increased. The
ambition to own was made easier by policies of “tax relief”. Some of the interest which
people paid on their mortgage could be subtracted from the income tax they had to pay
and people selling their houses did not have to pay ' capital gains tax ' on any profit. With
both owner-occupiers and council tenants increasing in numbers, the percentage of people
who rented from private landlords became one of the lowest in the world - and continues
to be so. Then during the 1980s, the number of owner-occupiers increased more sharply.
A major part of the philosophy of Thatcherism (under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher)
was the idea of the property-owning democracy '. Council tenants were allowed to buy
their council houses and were given financial incentives to do so. The deregulation of
12

mortgage - lending (see above) also encouraged house buying. So did an increase in the
financial help given to owners who wanted to make improvements to their property. At
the same time, local councils were severely limited in the number of properties that they
could build and were also encouraged to sell their properties to private housing
associations '. As a result, the number of council tenants decreased. By the mid-1990s, the
trends of the previous decade seemed to have halted. In the early 1990s, it became clear
that a few local councils run by the Conservative party had decided to keep their
properties empty, instead of renting them to families who needed them, until they found
buyers for them. The idea was that the buyers would probably vote Conservative - while
people who could only afford to rent would probably not.
* Compare with Vietnam
British

Vietnamese

- The British actively buys Opinion

- They accept to live with a

mortgage houses and limit

large family, or rent a house

renting, accepts the risk of

for a long time to serve the

buying

most

and

selling

a

convenient

working

mortgage to be able to own

purpose so that they can

a home as soon as possible,

accumulate as much money
as possible to buy land and
build the house like their
wishes

- The British government Government policy

-

The

Vietnamese

wants to have a monopoly

government actively assigns

on ownership by building

land use permission to the

all kinds of council houses

people of each family so that

for people to rent and buy.

they can freely build and use
it according to their needs.
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While the British actively buy mortgage houses and limit renting, the Vietnamese
have the exact opposite opinion. The Vietnamese believe that building a house is a big
deal, so it can't be temporary. They accept to live with a large family, or rent a house for a
long time to serve the most convenient working purpose so that they can accumulate as
much money as possible. After they have earned enough money, they will decide to buy
land and build a spacious and comfortable house to their liking. This difference comes
from two different ways of thinking between the British and the Vietnamese on how to
accomplish big goals like housing. One party accepts the risk of buying and selling a
mortgage to be able to own a home as soon as possible, the other sees it as a kind of
burden that should not be. The other part is due to state policy. While the British

government wants to have a monopoly on ownership by building all kinds of council
houses for people to rent and buy, the Vietnamese government actively assigns land use
permission to the people as stipulated in the "book of law". dump" of each family so that
they can freely build and use according to their needs at the small cost of taxes.
1.5. Homelessness
1.5.1 Origin and status of homelessness
Homelessness in 1993 it was estimated that there were half a million homeless
people in Britain – that's one of the highest proportions of the population in all the
countries of Europe. The supply of council housing is limited and has decreased since the
1980s. In addition, many council houses and flats were badly built and are now
uninhabitable. There are large numbers of people who can't afford to rent somewhere to
live privately, who are not eligible for council accommodation (and who would probably
be at the end of a long waiting list if they were) and who certainly can't afford to buy a
house or flat.
In the early 1990s, many people who previously thought that they were secure in
their own homes suddenly faced the prospect of homelessness. They had taken out large
mortgages to buy their homes at a time when the country was going through an economic
14


boom and house prices were rising (and looked as if they would continue to rise). Many
of these people lost their jobs in the recession and so could no longer afford the monthly
mortgage payments. To make matters worse, the value of houses, unusually, fell sharply at
this time. They had to sell their homes, often for less than they bought them, and so were
in debt as well as homeless.
Most homeless families are provided with temporary accommodation in boarding
houses (small privately run guesthouses or bed and breakfasts) by their local council.
Local authorities have to house homeless families. Some families, and many single
people, find even more temporary shelters in hostels for the homeless which are run by
charitable organizations. Thousands of single people simply live on the streets, where

they 'sleep rough'. The phrase 'cardboard city' became well-known in the 1980s to
describe areas of big cities, particularly London, where large numbers of homeless people
camped out, protected from the weather only by cardboard boxes.
1.5.2 Government solving
Solving the problem of homelessness is not a political priority for the British
government, partly because the level of public awareness of the situation is low (despite
the efforts of charities such as Shelter, who give advice to the homeless and who
campaign on their behalf). In many cases, the homeless are those with personal problems
which make it difficult for them to settle down. In some cases, they are people who
simply don't want to settle down and who wouldn't class themselves as homeless. There
are, for example, several thousand 'travelers' in the country, both traditional gypsies who
have led a nomadic life for generations, and more recent converts to this lifestyle (often
known as 'New Age Travellers'– see chapter 13 for an explanation of 'New Age'). Their
homes are the vehicles in which they move from place to place, and they are often
persecuted by unsympathetic authorities. For these people, the problem is not that they are
'homeless' but in the official attitude towards their way of life.
* Compare with Vietnam

15


The UK

Vietnam

+ Many people decide to Origin

and

status

of + Unemployment persists

take out a mortgage to buy homelessness

for a long time due to a

a house in the context of

lack of timely adaptation to

the country going through

social changes leading to

an economic boom, due to

homelessness

- House prices are high at

-

this moment

modernization

Industrialization

and

urbanization are gradually

- They face the risk of

narrowing the arable land

unemployment when the

as well as the residential

economy is in recession

land of the people
- Due to job loss, the house
- Rising house prices

is sold and the house price
is falling at this time

+ Due to its uncooperative Government solving

+

attitude, nomadic lifestyle

government shows a lot of

and ideological instability,

interest in the issue of

the British government was

homelessness

unable to help too much.
-

Provide

-

orientation

The

Vietnamese

Organize

centers

to

volunteer
help

the

advice for the homeless

homeless

-

- Perform issued many

In

uncontrollable

circumstances,
government

the
had

humanitarian policies such

to

as

suppress the nomadic life

subsidizing

the

homeless, building many
16


social protection centers,
and especially supporting
vocational training for the
homeless

The problem of homelessness in Vietnam is generally still unresolved. There are
two main causes of homelessness that are relatively similar to those in the UK.
It can be mentioned that the consequences of industrialization - modernization and
urbanization are gradually narrowing the arable land as well as the residential land of the
people. In rural areas, the loss of land means loss of farming places, a stable source of
income, while the human resources required by young people lead to the elderly not
having a stable job.
Another small part is due to rising house prices. The rate of immigration to the city is
increasing, but the work is not enough for them, unemployment, not being able to buy or
even rent a house in the city is also the reason for the appearance of homeless people.
Anyway, Vietnam has done better than the UK in terms of policy for the homeless. In
addition to volunteer centers to help the homeless, the Government of Vietnam has
issued many humanitarian policies such as subsidizing the homeless, building many
social protection centers
II.

FOOD AND DRINK

2.1. Food
2.1.1. Attitude to food
As George Mikes once said: "On the Continent people have good food, in England people

have good table manners."
Britain is indeed a country that does not have a unique cuisine like other countries in the
world. That has been commented and confirmed by tourists on the continent, who think
17


that British cuisine is quite bland and overcooked, so it does not give visitors an appetite.
Part of the reason is because British people eat very bland and almost no seasoning, they
also do not have the habit of marinating food before cooking. Besides, the British attitude
is also not interested in the taste of the food they eat every day. Perhaps this is also the
main reason why this country's cuisine is not appreciated while this is a large and very
developed country.
Even in fast food restaurants and everyday cafes, their quality is said to be inferior to that
of other countries on the continent. England is also a country without a Widespread
'restaurant culture' or a 'cafe society'. While countries like the US and Italy are very
interested in restaurant culture and are trying to build and develop it, France has had a
long-standing cafe society since the early 20th century. But a superpower As old as the
UK, they don't care about such things, they tend to eat quickly to clear the table. In the
UK, there are a few shops selling coffee every day, but coffee in this country is considered
to taste quite bad. Homemade coffee is as bad as at the bar. Even in supermarkets, there
are only coffees that taste the same. Coffee tastes horrible but British still choose them to
drink every day because they need to stay awake for a working day, they drink coffee
simply because they need to get caffeine into their bodies.
In restaurants in the UK, British people don't care about the ingredients in their food,
maybe they just need to fill their stomachs? The only thing that caught their attention was
when food hit the headlines in the context of its dangers: in 1993, when it was discovered
that 100 of six-year-old beef had been allowed to go on sale; or when a government
minister announced that the country's eggs were infected with salmonella. In the early
1990S, everybody in the country knew about 'mad cow disease' (a disease affecting the
brain s of infected cattle). That said, Britons need to care more about the quality of their

food than just when something really big happens.
British are so conservative that they refer to people of other countries insultingly
according to their eating habits (the Germans are 'krauts". Because of their outrageous
taste for frog 's legs, the French are 'frogs'). The British also say no to wild animals and
plants, and some parts of the British feel nauseous at the thought of eating horse meat.
18


However, until now, the British are very open to the cuisine of other countries. In
addition, there is more and more interest in the pleasure of eating.
Compare with Vietnam:
Britain
Culinary diversity

Vietnam

- England has almost no -

Vietnam

is

world

special cuisine, even being famous for its diverse
commented by tourists as cuisine. There are many
bad and tastes terrible.

delicious

dishes

to

mention.
- They also do not have too
many

dishes

but

only

Vietnamese

food

delicious and cheap.

certain dishes.
Cooking process

- Visitors always praise

- Simple, mostly frying, - Complex, many stages
boiling or baking.

to produce a delicious
dish.. Food is usually

seasoned before cooking.

- The time to make a meal
- Takes a long time

is quite fast
Taste

- Taste bland, no special - There are many layers of
seasoning

different flavors such as
sour, spicy, sweet,...

Meal’s quality

- The quality of the meal is - Vietnamese people are
not taken seriously, British quite concerned about the
eat

only

to

fill

stomachs

their quality

of

their

daily

meals so that they are
always
delicious

19

nutritious

and


What is the usual meal?

- British daily meal is - Vietnamese people have
usually

fast

food

or many dishes to change in

familiar dishes such as meals such as pho, sticky
eggs, chicken, bread, ...

rice, rice, noodles and
bread,…

Food appearance

-

British

dishes

are - Not very pretty. Vietnam

beautifully decorated and should
sophisticated

also

focus

on

decorating the form of
dishes so that it is not
only delicious but also
delicious to the eyes

Coffee quality

- Coffee is totally instant

- Vietnamese coffee is

coffee with bad taste

ground from pure coffee
beans, so it is very
fragrant and delicious

Unlike the UK, which is unfortunately appreciated by tourists for its cuisine, Vietnam has
a diverse and rich cuisine. While the British do not attach too much importance to the
development of cuisine or the quality of meals, in Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese people
believe that eating is an art, it is not only to meet the basic requirements of children.
people, but also have a close relationship to the lifestyle and national traditions, which is
clearly shown through the utensils used in meals, how to behave with people while eating.
Therefore, eating and drinking also proves the history and formation of the culture of
Vietnam. Popular dishes that at the same time show Vietnamese culture today such as
Pho, banh cuon, banh cuon, bun cha, goi cuon, etc. are very famous and popular not only
in Vietnam but also in the world.

2.1.2. Eating out
20


Although less unusual than before, dining out is still a relatively rare event for most
Britons. Regular restaurant visits are mainly among the wealthy in society. However,
when diners come to a restaurant, they are not sure what they are eating because going to
a restaurant is like a show of class and social status. At these restaurants, the food is often
used in foreign languages, especially French, and most of the time, no English. So it can

be said that diners do not know what ingredients are in their food. Very few restaurants in
the UK are actually British. Every town in England has at least one Indian restaurant and
possibly one Chinese restaurant. It can be said that the British are quite fond of Indian or
Chinese food? Larger towns and cities have restaurants representing cuisines from around
the world. However, in this country, the most popular shops are probably fast food
restaurants because it gives a comfortable feeling regardless of rich or poor compared to
other luxury restaurants. People of almost all walks of life feel comfortable there.
Compare with Vietnam:
Britain
In the past

Vietnam

- Most people who go to - Prefer cooking at home to
restaurants to eat are the eating at restaurants, most
richest people in society.

people

only

eat

at

restaurants when they don't
have time to cook.
Present

- Going to restaurants is - People prefer going to

more common than before, restaurants than before, they
but it's still considered rare

can reward themselves with
a

relaxing

weekend

by

going to a restaurant every
week with family, friends,...
Comfortable

- Most comfortable at fast -Whether it's a sidewalk
food restaurants

eatery

or

Vietnamese

a

restaurant,

people

still

bring each other a feeling of
21


comfort and closeness

Thus, it can be seen that although British cuisine is expanding, there is still a clear
division across restaurants in this country. In the UK, the most popular people are fast
food restaurants but in Vietnam fast food restaurants are not so popular because of the
price and grease and also because it is not as delicious as traditional Vietnamese dishes. If
it is said that a British restaurant is not necessarily a real British restaurant, a Vietnamese
restaurant is definitely Vietnamese.
II.2

Drink

2.2.1. Drink
2.2.1.1. Alcohol & Pubs
* Alcohol
Over the last century, the overall amount of alcohol consumed per person in the UK has
risen and fallen repeatedly. Since reaching a peak in the mid-2000s, consumption has
been falling steadily – especially among young people. Today, average consumption per
adult is about 9.7 litres of pure alcohol per year – or about 18 units a week.
Attitude of people with alcohol: The attitude to alcohol in Britain is ambivalent.
On the one hand, it is accepted and welcomed as an integral part of British culture. The
local pub plays an important role in almost every neighbourhood and pubs, it should be
noted, are predominantly for the drinking of beer and spirits. The nearest pub is

commonly referred to as 'the local' and people who go there often are known as 'regulars'.
Even getting drunk to a certain extent is acceptable. As long as being drunk doesn't lead to
violence, there's nothing to be ashamed of.
On the other hand, the puritan tradition has led to the widespread view that drinking is
something potentially dangerous which should therefore be restricted, in terms of both
who can do it and where it can be done. Most people, including regular drinkers, consider

22


that it would be wrong to give a child even half a glass of beer. For many people, drinking
is confined to pubs.
For most of the twentieth century, pubs operated under strict laws which limited their
opening hours. These have recently been relaxed. Moreover, many more types of shops
now sell alcohol than previously. However, this lessening of the negative attitude to
alcohol has been balanced by increasing concerns about its impact on health and safety.
• By law: People cannot be served in pubs until the age of eighteen and they are not
even allowed inside one (unless it has a special children's certificate) until they are
fourteen. There are government-sponsored guidelines which state the maximum
amount of alcohol it is advisable for people to drink in a week without endangering
their health. Although millions of people pay little attention to these, the general
feeling that alcohol can be bad for you has increased. Moreover, the laws against
drinking and driving have been strengthened and are fairly strictly observed.
• Who is drinking?
Around 20% of the population don’t drink at all – and this figure is increasing among
young people in particular. Among those who do drink, patterns of consumption vary
enormously:
+ Higher earners are more likely to drink than those on lower incomes
+ Older people are more likely to drink regularly
+ Men are more likely to ‘binge drink’ than women (though this is less the case

among the young)
Most of the alcohol sold in the UK is bought by people who drink heavily. Indeed, the
very heaviest drinkers – who make just 4% of the population - consume around 30% of all
the alcohol sold in the UK. It has recently been estimated that about a quarter of the
profits made by the alcohol industry arise from these very heavy drinkers.
While youth drinking has been falling steadily, consumption among older people has not
changed at the same rate. People aged 55-64 are more likely than anyone else to drink at
higher risk levels, and are least likely not to drink at all.
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Drinking patterns also vary by gender. Historically, men have consumed more than
women and this remains the case today. However, the difference between genders has
narrowed considerably in recent years, so that among younger drinkers the amounts
consumed is similar, in some cases, higher among young women.
* Pubs (Public houses)
• Unique: This is not just because it is different in character from bars or cafes in
other countries. It is also because it is different from any other public place in
Britain itself. Without pubs, Britain would be a less sociable country.
• Nowadays, pubs have become less distinctive. They used to serve almost nothing
but beer and spirits. These days, you can get wine, coffee and some hot food at
most of them as well. This has helped to widen their appeal. At one time, it was
unusual for women to go to pubs. These days, only a few pubs exist where it is
surprising for a woman to walk in.
• The difference of pubs:
+ The pub is the only indoor place where the average person can comfortably meet
strangers, and get into prolonged conversation with them. The atmosphere in pubs is
classless.
+ There is no waiter service. If you want something, you have to go and ask for it
at the bar. To British people, to be served at a table is discomforting. It makes them feel

they have to be on their best behaviour. But because in pubs you have to go and enjoy
your drinks yourself, it is more informal. You can get up and walk around whenever you
want, like being in your own house. This 'home from home' atmosphere is enhanced by
the relationship between customers and those who work in pubs. It is also helped by the
availability of pub games (most typically darts) and, frequently, a television.
• The idea of tradition:
Each has its own name, proclaimed on a sign hanging outside, always with oldfashioned associations. Many are called by the name of an aristocrat, a monarch, some
traditional occupation, rural associations... For the same reason, the person who runs a
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pub is referred to as the 'landlord' (always a man) - even though he is a tenant. Nearly all
pubs are owned by a brewery.
2.2.1.2. Compare with Vietnam
Alcohol
Britain
Attitude

The attitude to alcohol is

- Alcohol is accepted and

- The puritan tradition + t

• People cannot be s
• It can be stopped,

Law

Place

- Pubs
- Expensive restaurants
- At home

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