When do you return your empties?

But first – electric scooters!

My Friday habit, if you haven’t worked it out yet, is visiting the tap room of a local brewery. There’s 12 options on tap and I almost always go for a stout, or make a mistake and have an IPA. There’s always a realy tasty sour, but it’s pink and looks like a lady’s drink. And it’s the situation that distracted me.

I don’t do jealousy. Not anymore. That was the old me. I do envy now! Envious of what? His ‘n’ hers electric scooters, that’s what. I’m confused. I’m confused because the scooters were the same spec and I can’t tell whose idea it was. That takes a good, strong relationship to do that. It was her idea, definitely hers. I suspect that they are pescy EU citizens too, with their crazy zero emmission, sensible transport! I’m jealous about sensible continental European transport policy. Envious, damn!

What struck me about the scooter couple was the need to wear helmets. That would not have been seen in continental Europe, that’s very British. Damn those continental Europeans coming over here and integrating!

Don’t get me wrong. Helmets are sesnsible if you’re expecting to fall on your head. At least I think so, because helmets aren’t crash tested. And if they were, they’d be tested on male dummies. So there must be a good explanation. What they have done is to soup up their scooters in breach of EU regulation and they need the extra protection. Good on ’em. That’ll stick it to Brussels! I’m proud of this dangerous couple. None of this has anything to do with glass collection.

I think it’s good manners to return glasses to the bar if there’s space to do so. It’s nice to say thanks on the way out. If your glass is empty and you want another drink, I think it’s a good thing to return with that empty glass, otherwise your table looks untidy. That empty glass is also a reminder of how much you’ve had to drink, and nobody needs that! And at the same time, I frown at the idea of bars and cafes that haven’t cleaned their tables. But times are tough, and staff are kept to a minimum. So return your empties if you think it won’t cause a problem, it’s making the world a tiny, tiny bit better in a totally insignificant way, but it shows a little respect to the people around you and most importantly, the people who serve you.

And wear a helmet. Or don’t. I really dont mind.