Unfiltered Story #186992

(This happened years ago. I went for a carvery meal at a local pub with my parents and brother. I’d just turned 18, he was 15. My brother and I both ordered an alcholic drink with our meal. This is back when pubs were just starting to get strict about ID, so sometimes you could get one with a meal without showing ID. I didn’t drive or have a valid passport at the time).

Waitress: “I’m sorry, do you have any ID on you, please?”

(My brother and I don’t, so we just order soft drinks instead.)

Mother: *angry, to us* “What are you doing?” *to waitress* “Why won’t you let them have alcohol?”

Waitress: “It’s illegal for us to serve alcohol under 18s. I’m sorry.”

Mother: “That’s ridiculous!” *points at me* “SHE’S 18! Give her some alcohol. What’s the matter with you?”

Waitress: “I’m sorry, but without ID, I can’t confirm that she’s 18. We can only offer under 18s soft drinks, unless they have ID.”

Mother: “But they’re having a meal! What’s wrong with you? What’s wrong with this place?! It wasn’t like this when I was young! We used to go to the pub when we were teenagers! It was much better in the seventies, before this country turned into a FASCIST STATE!” *shouting* “This is how Nazi Germany started, controlling what everyone wants to do! Why can’t young people just have some alcohol. It’s not like this in the rest of Europe! It’s just this bloody country! Why are you doing this?! You don’t even look any older than they do! Do you drink alcohol? Do you?!”

Waitress: *calm but uncomfortable* “I take ID with me when I do, so it isn’t a problem.” *reads back our order, then looks at me and my brother* “And that was two colas for you? Ok, I’ll go and get your drinks, and you can go for your food whenever you’re ready.”

(We went up to the hot buffet to get our food, and the drinks were on the table when we got back. I kept going to the loo, hoping I’d see the waitress on the way to apologise, but I didn’t see her again. My dad told me later he left a big tip for her (me and my brother were outside with my mother at the time, listening to her rant). We didn’t go back to the pub again).