Cold goes to revellers' heads

Dec 12 2010 by Ian Robson, Sunday Sun

WE’RE a hardy lot up here in the North East but we’re also incredibly stupid.

Did you know that Geordie lasses were on the lash last week in nothing but their party dresses?

Police were so concerned that they issued a reminder to Geordies to wear coats.

We all know drinkers in Newcastle are famed for going out without a top layer. But I didn’t know the principle of style over substance was so ingrained into the regional psyche that revellers have to be reminded to put a coat on in winter.

Northumbria Police feared that wrongly-dressed people might become ill when waiting for taxis or public transport during the traffic chaos of recent weeks.

Temporary Superintendent Andrea Henderson said: “People on nights out over the weekend should be aware of the very cold conditions and dress appropriately – bearing in mind that they may have longer to wait at taxi ranks and bus stops.”

Well done to the police for issuing the warning, but it should not have been necessary in the first place.

We may have thicker skins in the North East, but it seems some of us have thicker brains as well.

On a similar note, walkers have been risking life and limb by stepping out on the iced-up lake at Leazes Park, Newcastle, and other stretches of water.

Others have been wearing slippy trainers – and even high heels – in inappropriate conditions.

You can only assume the cold has gone to their heads.

WHAT are Pizza Hut playing at?

The fast-food outlet asked a group of black men to pay in advance because the restaurant manager did not like the look of them.

They happened to be five Bournemouth players who could probably afford to buy the place.

A group of white men who arrived later were not asked to pay in advance.

Pizza Hut say a new policy of asking “certain” customers to pay up-front has been introduced.

The trouble with that kind of policy is that it’s up to individual discretion and decisions can easily be misinterpreted.

Pizza Hut should make everyone or no one pay in advance because, when it comes to being treated equally, it really is black and white.

OTHER commentators can pick at the details of Chris Hughton’s sacking as manager of Newcastle United.

I’ll be content with the observation that he was a good manager who kept his team in more or less a mid-table position, popular with the players and popular with the fans.

He was never going to last in a club which has a tendency to press the self-destruct button every so often.