The Rules of Shouting
This is the unofficial rules of shouting from Convict Creations and editted by me. I base this on my experience as an Australian bloke who has done his fair share. The rules from Convict Creations are a very good start and it is important for young Australians to be aware of these rules. Everyone has a friend who is not quite following these rules. If you have a friend like this, please send them to this page. If you are one of those people, please read these carefully and make as many improvements that you can. Most likely your friends are privately shaking their heads at you and calling you tightarse.
I welcome comments, additions, suggestions in order to make this list comprehensive and fair.
From Convict Creations;
Drinking etiquette Test of character | |
Australia's first form of currency was rum. Of course it wasn't an ideal form of monetary exchange as Australian citizens had a habit of drinking all their wages without even needing to go to the pub first. Perhaps realising the dangers of a lone man drinking themselves into oblivion, it became poor form to drink by oneself. As one observer wrote in 1887: " All through Australia, in every class, it is not considered good form for a man to drink by himself. Very few even of the most hopeless drunkards ever do so. The consequence is, that when a man feels inclined to drink, he immediately looks out for someone to drink with" "At whatever hour of the day a mans meets another whom he has not seen for say twelve hours, etiquette requires that he shall incontinently invite him to come and drink. This is a custom that pervades every class in the colony, and cannot be departed from without something more than a breach of good manners." Finch Hatton 1887 Obviously, a society descended from criminals, dubious police officers, corrupt officials and cockney immigrants was going to have a fair share of sly characters looking out for their own self interest. Social alcohol consumption, or "shouting" probably became a type of character test. The shout is a pretence of a gift, but in reality, it is more of a loan. If an individual has a drink bought for them, and fails to reciprocate, it reveals a untrustworthy character looking out for themselves. (*see shouting etiquette below.) As one wowser defined a shout in 1887 : "Shouting", or rather its meaning, is peculiarly Australian. The shortest and most comprehensive definition of "shouting" is to pay for the drink drunk by others. Drunkenness is the vice of which "shouting" is a parasite. No other Australian vice has so large a vocabulary. " Prior to Federation in 1900, a great deal of politicising was underway in regards to who would be the Australia's first Prime Minister. It is no coincidence that the candidate that emerged was an alcoholic. Affectionately known as "Toby Tosspot" due to his fondness for a drink, Edmond Barton's qualifications for the job were noted by his biographer who wrote: "A public man who shouldered these responsibilities needed an ample appetite and a good capacity for alcohol. Barton was able to do justice to all these forms of hospitality". Just as the man who first led a federated Australia was an alcoholic, it is also quite fitting that Bob Hawke, the Prime Minister who changed Australia's national anthem from God save the Queen, was also renowned for his fondness for grog. So renowned in fact that he was immortalised in the Guinness Book of records for sculling 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds.
The etiquette of a round (shout)
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Additional comments from Mick;
- Broke - If someone is broke, then they can say "Sorry, I'm fine thanks, I'm broke and can't afford to go in a round." This is the right thing to do and may well be followed with, "No problems, I'll grab you a beer anyway". If this is the case, the person shouted for free should be very gracious and should do whatever they can to repay the person as soon as possible. Saying "I owe you a beer" is a good start, "This is for that beer you got me the other day [year]" is best. If you don't know the person who wants to buy you a beer, it is quite honourable to say "No thanks" considering your chances to pay them back is quite low. It is unacceptable to accept beers and not shout back without comment.
Questions:
- Can you buy everyone a beer but yourself if you are drinking too much?
- How do you make the shift to spirits? Does it need to be a new round, or can you just get everyones agreement? This does encourage early round volunteering sometimes, but early volunteering has the danger that you might have one and a half rounds.
- What if someone new comes into a round? Do they just get the next round and wear the fact that they missed out on previous drinks, or should they wait?
Again, comments and suggestions greatly appreciated. Also, any good links.
Links:
My Beer Pics;
Me, Felicity, Sarah and Adam drinking Kilimanjaro after climbing Kilimanjaro.
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The Tanzanian Beers - Kili and Safari.
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Drinking Beer in Riga with some boys.
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Sam drinking beer. Sam likes beer.
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Guinness in Ireland. A grand beer.
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Mike and Killian playing beer pong - very popular in America.
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My kind of girl.
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Please drink responsibly. And don't drink and drive!
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