Drink and sex

When I was living in Bradford, I got some interesting insights into the vices of fellow young Pakistanis. At the local Co-op store, young men could be seen buying such pick-me-ups as Bacardi, Vodka, JD and Gin. According to the shopkeeper, these people were after the buzz of instant inebriation. With hindsight- given all the media hype on the issue- this sounds like binge drinking. But this was binge drinking without the undesirable social consequences.

On Friday or Saturday nights, you did not have to suffer the antics of Asian drunkards on Oak Lane or walk through sick on Sunday mornings. Yet clearly drinking was widespread among young Asian men. These were secret drinkers who lived at home, where a traditional Muslim culture- which forbids alcohol- prevails. According to the shopkeeper, many of these young drinkers would smuggle a bottle into their bedrooms or, late at night when everyone was asleep, drink in their parked cars and tip toe back to bed.

I did not witness Pakistani girls drinking, though there must be some who do. What I did witness, however, were their secret romantic liaisons and their greater phallic awareness.

My route to work took me along country roads. Parked on the lay-bys I would see sporty-type cars, with Asian blokes and their girls inside, very often in an intimate clinch. There was no need to come out into the country if they wanted to just talk. Often they would be sharing the lay-bays with middle aged English men and women- colleagues having fun. I called one particular spot ‘Infidelity Lane’.

Young men and women would congregate in the centre of Bradford, as happens in Birmingham City Centre. Here they would make eye contact, chat up and be chatted up. They would then repair to the countryside, which in Yorkshire is conveniently proximate from anywhere. There would be dire consequences for many of these young people if a member of their family saw them. But the secrecy is a part of the excitement. Even in the most authoritarian of societies, it is difficult to suppress the fire of youth. What chance in an open society like ours?