Going out this weekend? A few handy things to remember.

Shield

Reposted with permission from TrollHammaren. He is a doorman (door supervisor?), and posts this from his point of view. Most, if not all of it might as well be coming from a law enforcement officer.

It was originally posted with the intention of being read predominantly by young people about to start in third level education, but most of it is easily transferrable to people of any age. It's intended as good advice to ensure you have a good night from start to finish:

- One of the things we see consistently every year is freshers drinking waaaaaay too much and, best case scenario, making fools of themselves, but much worse can happen without due care. My advice may seem obvious, but so many people neglect these measures:

- Don't fall into the trap of drinking excessively; we always get people losing keys/phones/bags/coats/shoes, injuring themselves, getting sick, or having to be carried home. The worst I've seen so far was a girl going into what looked like anaphylactic shock or something like it.

- Always go out in groups - men and women; girls in particular are much easier targets when on their own, and men and women are in a much better position to deal with the unforeseen when in groups.

- Always leave enough money for a taxi home; the last thing you want is to be in town with no money and no idea how to get home.

- Make sure someone knows when you're leaving, and when you're due to arrive back. Have each other's numbers and a fully charged phone.

- Never leave anything, including but not limited to drinks, bags, or coats, unattended. Leave a drink down, and people can put anything in them. We had to throw a guy out for píssing in someone's drink before. I've had to deal with an alarming number of women who we suspected to have been spiked. We've also had handbag thieves running around.

- Be responsible when getting the royd or the shift! You don't need me to tell you to always keep condoms handy if you're looking to bump uglies with someone, but those aren't the only precautions to take. Women - don't leave yourselves vulnerable to assault/coercion (physical or otherwise); let your friends know what you're doing and don't go anywhere you're unfamiliar with/can't make a quick escape from. Men - always make absolutely sure you have consent; if in doubt, avoid it altogether. If you're wrongly accused of assault or anything like it, contact a member of security immediately. (Shield says: Very good advice)

- Never be afraid to ask for help.

I've seen so many people fail to adhere to these precautions and end up in the shít.

Once again, thanks to TrollHammaren for his advice and consenting to repost in ES. If just a few people take heed of this advice, you will have made your night more enjoyable, and may have helped to preserve our Emergency Services for where they are needed the most.

kub

Sheild I agree fully with you as above and thank you for it, but will many of those whom this is directed to, be actually viewing the Emergency Services section of Boards.ie.

Would it be better to perhaps post it in a few other threads on Boards as well?

Shield

Perhaps, but I'm only the mod of ES and took it upon myself to post it in here in the hopes that others would see it and take it seriously, as this is mostly a serious forum (with the odd laugh here and there of course).

Unfortunately, such excellent advice may not be given the consideration it's due in certain forums, so if you wish to repost it in other forums on boards.ie, don't be too surprised if it's seen as patronising or condescending, and responded to as such.

kub

Actually in hindsight I agree with you, good advice like this presented to people of a certain age and of limited intellect will indeed draw a certain amount of 'funny' comments.

Unfortunatly no matter how many times people like this are warned they just do not learn, hence the ES still have to go on picking up the pieces after their brainless activities.

kerry4sam

Shield,

I never read that post by TrollHammaren so thanks again for highlighting it. If people were to 'like' drinkaware on facebook also their are some posts of benefit to people especially this.

Use the circle and move it around. You'll see what is actually the case -v- your own perception whilst under the influence. Allow it load up fully first, it's definitely worth a watch.