Lady turned Ladette

As a girl who has always prided herself on her avoidance of alcohol, London is definitely challenging my resolve... It's not that I'm being more social in my new town, both in Sydney and New York I met with friends most days of the week, it's just that we met for coffees or tea... Whereas in London, you catch up for a bevvie or two, and more than likely indulge in a bottle or three! My poor body doesn't know what's hit it.

Reading my fave free afternoon papers London Lite and Metro, it appears I'm not the only one in London binge drinking. Over the past few weeks there have been countless articles on the forming of a new 'ladette culture,' and a study reporting that female office juniors (influenced by the heavy drinking practices of their male co-workers) are twice as likely to die from alcohol misuse as the general population, with overindulgence in the UK estimated to cost the country £10 billion a year. Sadly, we're turning into a bunch of Bridget Jones' before she's saved by Mark Darcy. At least the new smoking bans are ensuring the air is clear while we're drinking away our young lives!

Scarily for this Intern, the Daily Mail (23 August, 2007) suggests that young people who carry out tasks such as "photocopying, delivering mail and data entry," are the highest at risk... could it be that the lack of brain power required for these mundane tasks is forcing us to drink?

Last night I went out to celebrate my birthday with friends. Determined not to drink myself into a stupor I imposed a 3-drink limit... those glasses were downed before the dinner was even served, and as a group we proceeded to get through another four bottles. This morning I woke up feeling every one of my twenty-four years, and then some. Lucky I'm only inputting stats into Excel today, otherwise my brain would be enduring the same strain as my liver!