Alex Massie Alex Massie

Department of Unintended Consequences

My thanks to the ever-vigilant Mr Eugenides for alerting me to this wee gem:

Pubs [in Edinburgh]  are launching marathon cheap drink offers in a bid to beat new licensing legislation.

The new rules, introduced last week, aimed to prevent “happy hour” offers by forcing publicans to keep drinks at the same price for a period of 72 hours.

But rather than abandon their drinks offers, bars have been extending them to last for 72 hours or more.

The Tun in Holyrood Road – close to the Scottish Parliament – has launched a Happy Days promotion with pints of Strongbow, Heineken and John Smith on offer for £2 all day Monday to Thursday…

Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: “People are going from having a happy hour to having a happy 72 hours.” Well, fancy that! This is the kind of news, mind you, that risks giving one hope and I’m not sure that’s either wise or particularly healthy.

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