People are being urged to avoid drinking alcohol this week, as scorching and potentially record-breaking temperatures hit the UK.
Although many Brits only need to catch just a glimpse of sun to prompt grabbing themselves a nice cold tipple from the fridge, or heading on down to their nearest beer garden to make the most of the warm weather before it inevitably disappears in a couple of days, experts are actually warning against that this week.
And there’s a very good reason for it.
In case it’s somehow passed you by, the Met Office has officially issued a Red weather warning for extreme heat in the east of England, the Midlands, and parts of the North West for today and tomorrow in what is the first time in UK history – with temperatures forecast to reach record highs of 40°C in some areas.
An amber warning for heat is also in place across the rest of England, Wales, and some parts of southern Scotland.
People are being urged to avoid drinking alcohol during the UK heatwave / Credit: Fred Moon | Will Stewart (via Unsplash)
When the warm weather hits, most of us will naturally reach for a drink to cool down and are generally aware of doctors’ advice us to keep as hydrated as possible, but what we choose to drink is more important than you may initially think.
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Alcohol is classed as being a diuretic, which basically means it makes us wee more, and of course, when you wee more, you become more dehydrated – hence why experts over at alcohol advice platform Drinkaware are warning against people drinking to excess over the next couple of days.
“Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it encourages the kidneys to lose extra fluid,” Drinkaware’s website reads.
“That is why you tend to go the toilet to urinate much more when you drink alcohol.
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“Alcohol also makes you sweat more [and] the combination of sweating more in the heat, and going to the toilet more, means you lose more fluid than you take in and can become dehydrated unless you replace that lost fluid by drinking water.”
The Met Office is calling the forecasted temperates over these next two days as “absolutely unprecedented”, and is urging people to treat the warning it is issuing “as seriously as you would a red or amber warning from us for wind or snow”.
The national weather service is urging people to “follow the advice”.
“Stay out of the sun, keep your home cool, think about adjusting your plans for the warning period,” the Met Office says.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has also published a number of resources outlining the risks of the expected heat and actions you can take to protect yourself and others over the next couple of days – which includes a ‘Beat the Heat: Keep cool at home checklist‘, and is available on the Heatwave plan for England page.
Alex Sanderson summons Rudyard Kipling as Sale Sharks scrape into the semi-finals
Danny Jones
Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson referenced the famous Rudyard Kipling after Sale Sharks managed to book their place in the playoffs of this year’s Gallagher Premiership following a nail-biter of a fixture against Exeter Chiefs.
The Sharks sealed their spot in the semi-finals with a 30-26 win over the Chiefs on Saturday night, with a trio of tries, a singular pen and calmness when it came to conversions proving just enough to make it to full time.
Speaking on the narrow score at Sandy Park, Sanderson himself applauded that same composure during his post-match duties, casually quoting Kipling ahead of the next big game.
Writing on social media after nerves had just about settled, the club simply said: “Apologies for raising the heart rate, Sharks Family… but Saturday we go again.”
Beginning with an expression of that same defiant spirit that has seen them across the line on so many occasions, the 45-year-old told TNT Sports, “We got another Monday in us.”
The Sale Sharks coach went on to add: “So if you can keep your head, when everybody else is losing theirs – I think that’s the old Rudyard Kipling poem – you’re in such a better place on the back of that, knowing what we can fix from the Leicester game and what we can do better from today.”
It’s not every day you hear sportsmen calling up the poetic words of the beloved British-India writer, but it certainly impressed plenty of supporters, though Sanderson has always been popular among fans for his candour and charisma in interviews.
Ultimately, it was Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, Bevan Rodd, Luke Cowan-Dickie and George Ford that the Greater Manchester outfit had to thank for the electrifying finish
You can see how much it meant, clear as day…
Not done yet…
Thank you for your support Sharks Family, it’s truly appreciated!
Sale Sharks will now take on Leicester Tigers (who the local side finished just behind in third place following the result against the Chiefs) in the Premiership semis as they look to get revenge for previous painful meetings
Are you feeling hopeful, Sharks Family?
You can see the full highlights from Sale Sharks’ tense victory over the Exeter Chiefs down below.
Alex Sanderson channelled Rudyard Kipling and Sale scrapped like true Sharks.
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
18th July 2022 
