WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en Style: ::cue(c.cyan) { color: cyan; } ::cue(c.yellow) { color: yellow; } ## 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.580 In England, if you want to sell alcohol to the public, 2 00:00:02.580 --> 00:00:04.020 you need a licence. 3 00:00:04.020 --> 00:00:06.680 You can't just set up a bar or a pub anywhere. 4 00:00:06.680 --> 00:00:11.080 And the law about that is set down in the Licensing Act 2003. 5 00:00:11.080 --> 00:00:14.800 There are a lot of details in there, including some exceptions. 6 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:19.440 For example, section 173 makes it clear that as long as you're "on a journey", 7 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:24.840 you do not need a licence to sell alcohol aboard a train, a plane... 8 00:00:24.840 --> 00:00:26.310 ..or a hovercraft. 9 00:00:26.310 --> 00:00:27.711 Anybody can go fast, 10 00:00:27.711 --> 00:00:30.714 but when you come to the first corner, that's when you're gonna get ejected. 11 00:00:30.714 --> 00:00:33.650 It's like drifting cars. It's all about steering, a hovercraft. 12 00:00:33.650 --> 00:00:35.853 Not about going fast, it's learning how to steer them. 13 00:00:35.853 --> 00:00:39.957 The thing is with hovercraft: if you're looking at it, you're likely to hit it! 14 00:00:39.957 --> 00:00:43.794 In a hovercraft, to fly them, you do lean with them,​ 15 00:00:43.794 --> 00:00:46.096 which makes the craft pitch and makes it turn.​​ 16 00:00:46.096 --> 00:00:49.299 So, if you're serving out the back of one, and you lean to give it to someone, 17 00:00:49.299 --> 00:00:53.203 might cause some interesting... control of the hovercraft, 18 00:00:53.203 --> 00:00:55.172 but it's all part of the fun(!) 19 00:00:55.172 --> 00:00:57.041 Yeah, you'll be fine in the back of there.​ 20 00:00:57.041 --> 00:00:59.676 We'll just keep it straight as we can and serve your customers. 21 00:00:59.676 --> 00:01:02.513 And you might think: "Tom, you're just doing this for show, aren't you? 22 00:01:02.513 --> 00:01:05.582 "You're not actually selling alcohol to people?" Wrong! 23 00:01:05.582 --> 00:01:08.986 This is a real beer pump. There is real beer being fed into it. 24 00:01:08.986 --> 00:01:12.389 And this is a working contactless card reader. 25 00:01:12.389 --> 00:01:16.493 It is connected to a company bank account. It is absolutely taking payments. 26 00:01:17.227 --> 00:01:19.329 Right. Let's do this. 27 00:01:45.656 --> 00:01:48.192 I did try to do my piece to camera on the hovercraft.​​ 28 00:01:48.192 --> 00:01:49.226 You couldn't hear a thing. 29 00:01:49.226 --> 00:01:51.695 So I'm gonna explain in voiceover how this all worked,​​ 30 00:01:51.695 --> 00:01:53.597 in between the bits where I have to shout at people. 31 00:01:57.267 --> 00:02:00.270 Full disclosure: there are only trusted friends buying alcohol today, 32 00:02:00.270 --> 00:02:03.607 both for safety, and because while the selling alcohol part does appear to be legal, 33 00:02:03.607 --> 00:02:06.043 I'm pretty sure there are several other Trading Standards laws 34 00:02:06.043 --> 00:02:07.478 that I'm only vaguely following. 35 00:02:07.478 --> 00:02:08.979 Don't take this as legal advice. 36 00:02:08.979 --> 00:02:11.281 But yes, the contactless card reader really did work.​ ​ 37 00:02:11.281 --> 00:02:14.051 And yes, that is a terrible half pint of beer. There was a sparkler along the tap, 38 00:02:14.051 --> 00:02:16.487 and the whole thing had been jostled and vibrated by the hovercraft. 39 00:02:39.510 --> 00:02:41.678 Yeah, that should've been the first clue that I misheard him. 40 00:02:41.678 --> 00:02:45.649 £1.50 was not the price of a gin and tonic. It was the price of a half pint. 41 00:02:45.649 --> 00:02:48.585 Another terrible half pint that's mostly foam.​ ​ 42 00:02:48.585 --> 00:02:51.989 So as Marc the pilot tried desperately to counterbalance me... 43 00:03:01.431 --> 00:03:05.469 I genuinely don't know if he was expecting me to take that glass back somehow, but... 44 00:03:05.936 --> 00:03:09.173 Yeah, we picked that up later. Most of the foam from it got pulled onto me. 45 00:03:09.173 --> 00:03:11.909 Oh, and watch the plastic glass between my knees there. 46 00:03:11.909 --> 00:03:13.911 Yeah, we picked that up later too.​ 47 00:03:13.911 --> 00:03:16.079 Note that I'm using a thimble measure for the gin there.​​ 48 00:03:16.079 --> 00:03:19.049 Free pour of spirits for drinks like that isn't legal in the UK.​ 49 00:03:19.049 --> 00:03:22.152 You're fine if it's a complicated cocktail, but for something simple like gin and tonic, 50 00:03:22.152 --> 00:03:24.154 legally, you have to measure it out. 51 00:03:24.154 --> 00:03:26.657 And remember, we've got to keep moving, at least slightly.​​ 52 00:03:26.657 --> 00:03:29.726 The exemption only works if the hovercraft is "on a journey"... 53 00:03:29.726 --> 00:03:32.663 even if that journey is back and forth across a hovercraft racetrack. 54 00:03:39.336 --> 00:03:41.038 I did not bring a change of clothes.​​ 55 00:03:41.038 --> 00:03:43.207 I drove home smelling faintly of gin and tonic.​​ 56 00:03:53.917 --> 00:03:57.654 Yeah, the hover martini was just gin and vodka on ice.​ 57 00:03:57.654 --> 00:03:59.590 And some grass that got kicked up by the hovercraft's fans. 58 00:03:59.590 --> 00:04:01.358 I am not a good bartender. 59 00:04:01.358 --> 00:04:05.495 And I am amazed by how good Marc the pilot was at flying the hovercraft in a strong wind. 60 00:04:05.495 --> 00:04:08.065 He's a hovercraft racer, along with Rob who helped set all this up. 61 00:04:08.065 --> 00:04:11.168 And this is a track that is all curves and no straightaways.​ 62 00:04:12.636 --> 00:04:15.105 There... yeah, there was a lot of grass in it.​ 63 00:04:15.105 --> 00:04:17.808 So, the big question: Why does this law exist? 64 00:04:17.808 --> 00:04:20.477 Why is there this ridiculous exemption? 65 00:04:26.550 --> 00:04:29.653 Alcohol licences are granted by local authorities in England, 66 00:04:29.653 --> 00:04:31.888 and trains and planes travel through the whole country.​​ 67 00:04:31.888 --> 00:04:34.391 It's meant to cover selling alcohol to passengers. 68 00:04:34.391 --> 00:04:36.893 And while these days, there's only one hovercraft service, and it takes ten minutes, 69 00:04:36.893 --> 00:04:39.930 we used to have massive hovercraft that'd cross the Channel to France. 70 00:04:44.735 --> 00:04:47.337 The law hasn't been updated, because it doesn't need to be. 71 00:04:47.337 --> 00:04:48.205 After all... 72 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:52.876 Who's gonna be ridiculous enough to sell alcohol from a moving hovercraft? 73 00:05:11.161 --> 00:05:14.164 Caption+ by JS* [https://caption.plus]​