I went out again last night for a few festive beers.

I started out with the very firm intention of only having 'a few', going easy and not rushing off to get the last train back home.

It's starting to become a bit habitual now - we meet up, have few, then go off on a bit of a pub crawl to see who has the best bar in their neighbourhood.

In the last three weeks or so i've seen Irish pubs, american sports bars, Ozzie watering holes, pseudo english pubs .....

My fave is still the drinkers version of a stock market. It's somewhere near Opéra, a bit old and worn looking aaaaaaannnnnd as has screens all over the walls.

The screens show the prices of different beers at a given moment, the idea being that as more people drink the same brand, the price of that brand will drop !

Consequently, there's this strange scene where people are standing, with empty glasses, transfixed by the 'beer market'. Then, as a suitable price pops up, the herd mentality kicks in and everyone rushes to the bar reclaiming whatever beer.... great fun.