Going out underage

[Borderline]

It's a bit of a shame that we West Aussies finish school at 17. There's a number of birds in year 12 who I would've liked to have a pop at if a whole group of us schoolmates were out and about at the same venue. Although having said that the idea of being an adult at school is ridiculous really.

 

[Silent Alarm]

It's a bit of a shame that we West Aussies finish school at 17. There's a number of birds in year 12 who I would've liked to have a pop at if a whole group of us schoolmates were out and about at the same venue. Although having said that the idea of being an adult at school is ridiculous really.

I think it's almost offensive to subject 18 year olds, who can vote and drink and fight in wars, to school – where they're told what to do and how to act. It's not like the UK where you have a voluntary sixth form. There you do a smaller amount of subjects, I think three, which means you're more likely to care about more schoolwork and try harder. You don't have a uniform, and you have way less contact hours. Having that at 18 is very fair, but men and women who are basically fully physically grown being treated barely differently to 13 year olds is ludicrous. But that's the way it's going in WA now, too.

In some ways, I could imagine going to the pub after your last day ever would be really cool. But then again, I think it's good that uni coincides with turning 18... it's less blurry, that time between adolescents and young adulthood.

 

[Borderline]

I think it's almost offensive to subject 18 year olds, who can vote and drink and fight in wars, to school – where they're told what to do and how to act. It's not like the UK where you have a voluntary sixth form. There you do a smaller amount of subjects, I think three, which means you're more likely to care about more schoolwork and try harder. You don't have a uniform, and you have way less contact hours. Having that at 18 is very fair, but men and women who are basically fully physically grown being treated barely differently to 13 year olds is ludicrous. But that's the way it's going in WA now, too.

In some ways, I could imagine going to the pub after your last day ever would be really cool. But then again, I think it's good that uni coincides with turning 18... it's less blurry, that time between adolescents and young adulthood.

Yeah, especially when your most important schooling year is basically clashing with going out, getting (legally) drunk every other weekend. You could see that you'd easily be distracted and hurt your year 12 and exam marks in the long run.

 

[Illinois Nazi]

I think it's almost offensive to subject 18 year olds, who can vote and drink and fight in wars, to school – where they're told what to do and how to act. It's not like the UK where you have a voluntary sixth form. There you do a smaller amount of subjects, I think three, which means you're more likely to care about more schoolwork and try harder. You don't have a uniform, and you have way less contact hours. Having that at 18 is very fair, but men and women who are basically fully physically grown being treated barely differently to 13 year olds is ludicrous. But that's the way it's going in WA now, too.

In some ways, I could imagine going to the pub after your last day ever would be really cool. But then again, I think it's good that uni coincides with turning 18... it's less blurry, that time between adolescents and young adulthood.

Year 12 isn't compulsory. And these days any Year 12 who acts like an adult will be treated as one regardless of whether they've turned 18 or not yet.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Year 12 isn't compulsory.

Unless you want to work at McDonald's for 40 years it is.

 

[The Lemon]

Unless you want to work at McDonald's for 40 years it is.

It would be nice to have that kind of job security

 

[class78]

Ridiculous scenes here. 16 yr old co-worker (Woolies) just successfully bought a six pack from the BWS (inside the woolies). Staff use the same break room facilities either. Co-worker doesn't look old or anything. Shame on you WOW.

 

[chunkylover53]

Best underage going out time I had was on our high school trip to Italy in year 11. Myself and 3 mates heard that if you did Italian in year 11 there's a chance you can go on a 3 week Italy trip - so we enrolled in Italian.

It was us 4 then probably 10-12 nerdy type guys who were nervous about being away from home for so long, so it was basically us just running a muck all trip. We were in Florence and we had a sick room overlooking the main plaza, and as we walk into our room we see a group of about 6 girls (all same age) across the hall from us. We get free time that afternoon so we gear ourselves up for a big night and sneak off to buy some spirits. We get back all excited and hear the girls across the hall and think "****, what's a really funny way to get their attention? We don't wanna be boring and just knock on the door and awkwardly introduce ourselves". So we thought it'd be funny for 2 of us to put on leather jackets and sunglasses and knock on the door and do the Hungry Jacks Stunner pose, you know - this one:



I realize this made no sense and probably doesn't even seem funny, but we were young, stupid and excited. 2 of us got the gear on and knocked on the door, they answered and they stood there straight faces holding an invisible burger. The girl holding the door open just stood there awkwardly for a good 10 seconds and muttered "can we help you?" she was from somewhere in South America, she eventually just laughed and closed the door. We pissed ourselves and the girls re-opened the door and 4 of them were Aussie so they understood the joke and were having a good laugh. We got friendly and invited them to come out with us tonight. They were all exchange students the same age as us.

A few hours later they snuck into our room for a drink and we got going to that Space Electronic Club in Florence (anyone who's been to Florence would know it). We got in and got absolutely shit faced, the bar tenders loved us and were dishing out custom drinks for us left right and center. The second we got in some bloke in his mid 20s who called himself Bruno was on his own and yelled out "HAHA AUSSIESSS!!!"; we're like "how'd you know we were Aussies?" he replies "I could smell you campaigners from a mile away". He's there on his own and parties with us all night, never to be seen again. We all hook up with the girls, I fingerbashed one of the Aussie girls but she wouldn't jag me due to her Italian boyfriend which was ghey; but all in all it was a belter of a night.

The teachers 100% knew what was up when we had to stop about 10 times to spew on the bus ride the next morning.

 

[Silent Alarm]

That sounds like a lie.

Or maybe that's just hopeful thinking. That Hungry Jacks whopper pose idea was quite possibly the most cringeworthy way to introduce yourself to girls. Far out.

 

[chunkylover53]

That sounds like a lie.

Or maybe that's just hopeful thinking. That Hungry Jacks whopper pose idea was quite possibly the most cringeworthy way to introduce yourself to girls. Far out.

Typical from you

Not a lie, and was cringeworthy (I did mention that) - and we were 16 yrs old, aaaand we all hooked up with the girls so it worked.

 

[Mr X]

Best underage going out time I had was on our high school trip to Italy in year 11. Myself and 3 mates heard that if you did Italian in year 11 there's a chance you can go on a 3 week Italy trip - so we enrolled in Italian.

It was us 4 then probably 10-12 nerdy type guys who were nervous about being away from home for so long, so it was basically us just running a muck all trip. We were in Florence and we had a sick room overlooking the main plaza, and as we walk into our room we see a group of about 6 girls (all same age) across the hall from us. We get free time that afternoon so we gear ourselves up for a big night and sneak off to buy some spirits. We get back all excited and hear the girls across the hall and think "****, what's a really funny way to get their attention? We don't wanna be boring and just knock on the door and awkwardly introduce ourselves". So we thought it'd be funny for 2 of us to put on leather jackets and sunglasses and knock on the door and do the Hungry Jacks Stunner pose, you know - this one:



I realize this made no sense and probably doesn't even seem funny, but we were young, stupid and excited. 2 of us got the gear on and knocked on the door, they answered and they stood there straight faces holding an invisible burger. The girl holding the door open just stood there awkwardly for a good 10 seconds and muttered "can we help you?" she was from somewhere in South America, she eventually just laughed and closed the door. We pissed ourselves and the girls re-opened the door and 4 of them were Aussie so they understood the joke and were having a good laugh. We got friendly and invited them to come out with us tonight. They were all exchange students the same age as us.

A few hours later they snuck into our room for a drink and we got going to that Space Electronic Club in Florence (anyone who's been to Florence would know it). We got in and got absolutely shit faced, the bar tenders loved us and were dishing out custom drinks for us left right and center. The second we got in some bloke in his mid 20s who called himself Bruno was on his own and yelled out "HAHA AUSSIESSS!!!"; we're like "how'd you know we were Aussies?" he replies "I could smell you campaigners from a mile away". He's there on his own and parties with us all night, never to be seen again. We all hook up with the girls, I fingerbashed one of the Aussie girls but she wouldn't jag me due to her Italian boyfriend which was ghey; but all in all it was a belter of a night.

The teachers 100% knew what was up when we had to stop about 10 times to spew on the bus ride the next morning.

Is that you croweater? Accidentally posted in the wrong thread buddy.....

 

[chunkylover53]

Is that you croweater? Accidentally posted in the wrong thread buddy.....

There's questioning the validity of someone's story then there's taking it too far.

You took it too far, **** you

 

[undefined]

Went to school in Singapore. Most of my peers started drinking/house partying at the age of 14-15, and clubbing about a year later.

Surprising isn't it... given the perceived strict nature of the country.

 

[ioppolo]

Went to school in Singapore. Most of my peers started drinking/house partying at the age of 14-15, and clubbing about a year later.

Surprising isn't it... given the perceived strict nature of the country.

That's mainly with rubbish though isn't it?

 

[Dory_77]

15-16 most folks at my school started getting gassed at parties. Used to jump the fence at the local pub in year 11 a couple of times, but being in a dead-beat country town going out was pretty tame most nights and didn't really offer the thrills that hitting clubs in the city would. There was a certain excitement about 'being out' underage, but overall it was underwhelming to look back on.

 

[undefined]

That's mainly with rubbish though isn't it?

It varies. Spitting is frowned upon, public indecency isn't tolerated, littering carries a fine of $500, vandalism incarceration and use of narcotics is strictly forbidden.

Use of false identification/underage consumption of alcohol can result in deportation if you're an expat; police conduct regular raids at clubs.

 

[magic_johnson!]

I'll tell you something that's shit, this law not allowing international IDs. It's just impractical.

You get a **** load of international exchange students in Australia. How many people are really going to go down and get a proof of age, especially when you usually need 125 points of ID. And how many kids are really going to want to have a passport in their pocket at a club? Or what if you've had a big one at uni, need a sixer on the go, and obviously don't have your passport?

How many kids are really going to get a Chinese ID? Or are Korean kids using fake Japanese ones en mass? Or that hick from Alabama state, is that really his brother's cousin's from Illinois?

I never had a single drama using my beaten up, three year old WA proof of age overseas. Bottle shops, pubs, clubs... in half the places they don't even check, not just Hungary but even Denmark and countries you'd expect them to. But this one ****in mole in an Edinburgh pub flat out refused me. This was at lunchtime, when I was ordering a pub meal hungover and the last thing I wanted was one beer let alone 12... it's just shit.

Absolutely. Lived at halls in Melbourne while at uni for a little bit, once was at the bottle-o en route to somewhere with a couple of cars worth of people. One 22 year old american had forgotten to bring their passport (because, you know, how dare he forget to bring his passport to this houseparty we were going to?) and only had his drivers licence. Not only did he not get served, but everybody had to put their grog back, even giving refunds to a couple who'd been served...

Living in London now, and the hardest part about getting in is teaching the bouncers to look at the big numbers on the back of the card rather than squinting into the clear space that cannot be seen in the dark.

 

[MaddAdam]

Of course, I even told a pub where I'd been drinking weekly since I was 16 - The Arthouse, now The Last Jar - that I intended to have my 18th there.

Local bottle in Flem was sweet (corner Ascot Vale Road, Racecourse Road) was sweet, would always serve us as long as we made sure no other people were in the vicinity. No problems taking our collections of change for Fruity Lexia casks. Now I think back on it, I suspect the dude who worked there was moving more than alcohol if you know what I mean. Drive thru deal.

One thing that does get me is the way in Europe, it is legal for 16 year olds to drink beer and wine in pubs without an adult.

I'll be sitting having a quiet pint and look over and there's some dead set kids knocking them back.

 

[MaddAdam]

Nah it was something that has since closed down, can't remember the name but it was very popular with arts students. Sadly most of the cheap inner city and seedy hangouts have been closed.

Edit: It was Public Bar

Silent Alarm

The Public Bar is back in town, though it doesn't do those horrendous Monday night cheap beerathons.

And the stories you have heard are not mythical, they are true.

God I have been utterly trashed in that place.

 

[Gough]

I'd always serve underage if I knew the kid's parents, that village had a big enough Class A problem without turfing 16, and 17 year olds out of the pub, and onto the streets.

 

[Silent Alarm]

One thing that does get me is the way in Europe, it is legal for 16 year olds to drink beer and wine in pubs without an adult.

Well they just don't even check. I was in Copenhagen for this street festival called Distortion this year. It was immense, many a stories from there. But it was crazy going into off licences and grabbing beers and seeing kids clearly about 14-years old doing the same. I didn't see many fights, and although I'm not dumb and naive enough to say there weren't, I can see that it didn't seem to cause too much of a riot.

In fact, I never used my passport in Europe. Maybe once at a club in Stockholm. Short of that, my proof of age was enough in the countries that cared (clubs in Holland, Germany, England).

Except for once. I was in Edinburgh. The night before had been big, it was about lunchtime and I went into a pub wanting nothing but a nice, proper pub meal. The woman tells me they aren't serving for another 15 minutes. "Is it alright if I just sit until the kitchen's open?" "No." Alright. So I walk around the town for halfer, come back, and she takes my order (mixed grill. Nothing else. No drink). She looks at my proof of age and without sorry, a "look, my boss is caning us at the moment," she just kept saying no. I told her I'd used it all over Europe and England without an issue, and I showed her a few other things with my name on it to prove it was me. She just didn't want to serve me.

Bizarre since a hostel was about six doors up from the pub. Surely they'd see everything, and realise a guy with an Aussie accent isn't going to be some 17-year old traversing the world on his own.

 

[MaddAdam]

Well they just don't even check. I was in Copenhagen for this street festival called Distortion this year. It was immense, many a stories from there. But it was crazy going into off licences and grabbing beers and seeing kids clearly about 14-years old doing the same. I didn't see many fights, and although I'm not dumb and naive enough to say there weren't, I can see that it didn't seem to cause too much of a riot.

In fact, I never used my passport in Europe. Maybe once at a club in Stockholm. Short of that, my proof of age was enough in the countries that cared (clubs in Holland, Germany, England).

Except for once. I was in Edinburgh. The night before had been big, it was about lunchtime and I went into a pub wanting nothing but a nice, proper pub meal. The woman tells me they aren't serving for another 15 minutes. "Is it alright if I just sit until the kitchen's open?" "No." Alright. So I walk around the town for halfer, come back, and she takes my order (mixed grill. Nothing else. No drink). She looks at my proof of age and without sorry, a "look, my boss is caning us at the moment," she just kept saying no. I told her I'd used it all over Europe and England without an issue, and I showed her a few other things with my name on it to prove it was me. She just didn't want to serve me.

Bizarre since a hostel was about six doors up from the pub. Surely they'd see everything, and realise a guy with an Aussie accent isn't going to be some 17-year old traversing the world on his own.

Where was this in Edinburgh?

Its a uni town though, and I know the cops crack down periodically.

 

[mustlovepurple]

I really dont think anyone in the 70's was of legal age drinking in pubs,my regular haunt was notorious for it,lol..had my own tab at 15,was wild country pub,get drunk,play pool and jukebox,stroll outside ,watch a blue,they would close the front doors and we all kept partying!must have made a fortune!
wouldnt dare do it now...but hey..I survived.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Where was this in Edinburgh?

Its a uni town though, and I know the cops crack down periodically.

I think the backpackers was genuinely just called 'Edinburgh backpackers.' It was right up on the hill, past the bridge, it was mostly black. It had a shit name from memory.

 

[ash_1050]

Growing up in a small country town everyone knew everyone and the local police were happy to turn a blind eye provided you weren't causing any issues. The end result of this was me routinely drinking underage in the pub after playing footy on a Saturday. All was well until some out of town cops were passing through the venue one evening. Not recognising them I quickly started making a beeline for the bathroom, which had the opposite effect than intended by draw attention to my very drunken self.

"And how old are you mate?" ".....18" "Ok, and what year where you born in?" It was here that I made my mistake and started counting backwards on my fingers to figure out what year I would need to be born in to be 18. While the cop who was asking the questions didn't find it amusing his colleague found it hilarious and started laughing as they let me count all the way back to 1988. At the end of it he simply said "You're not really 18 are you?" "No sir". Fortunately they were pretty lenient and agreed to let me head home without any consequences provided they didn't find my frequenting the venue again until my 18th. Given they were out of towners I was more than happy to take the gamble that our paths would not cross again.