I worked in a petrol station in the UK for a few weeks when I was about 18. There were two customers who did exactly this little charade, every day. One was an older gent who arrived exactly at the time we were allowed to start selling alcohol, every day. His whole thing was that he'd buy a half of cheap whiskey 'because buying a full liter would be mad, wouldn't it?' He'd be back for another half around midday, though. The other customer was even sadder as I'd been to high school with her daughter. She'd always come in and be really friendly, and walk around the store talking about what she was buying ('Oh yes I'd better buy some bananas, too!') Then once she was at thr checkout and I'd starting scanning her items, she'd 'suddenly remember' that she was 'having a party' and she needed two huge bottles of rotgut cider. Basically, this sketch absolutely nailed it.
Reminds me of when I used to work at a convenience store here in America when I got out of high school in the mid-80s. I'd have regular customers who would come every day and buy a pack of cigarettes, and maybe something else like a cup of coffee or soft drink. After knowing they were a regular I'd suggest the moronic concept of buying a carton of cigs at a time instead of a pack, since a pack was around 3 bucks but a carton of 10 was around $20. I don't think any of the regulars bought cartons, but I do recall selling cartons to other people who WERE capable of performing simple math. The few times regulars would bother to give any excuse it was always "If I buy a carton I'll smoke more". Uh-huh, yeah. I don't care if there is a huge thunderstorm, hurricane, or it's raining fucking lava, your ass if going to get in your car and drive here if you run out. I would think this but never say it of course. Both my parents were smokers so I knew what the fuck I was talking about...
I was behind an old boy in Asda the other day, A 4-pack of bargain bin stout on the conveyor, he was getting them in "for the tradesmen" you know? just so he "can give them a couple of cans as a treat". Was heartbreaking, and 6:05 AM.
One Sunday morning when I was working at my convenience store job this girl came in looking like she had a very late and very rough night. She got a big cup of coffee and a newspaper IIRC. As I was ringing her up she said "Don't I know you? and I thought "I don't recall knowing anyone that looks as rough as you do" ;-p Then she says "We went to the same school!". In 6th and 7th grade I went to a private school. There was a girl in my class who was very pretty and I kind of had a crush on. She had two older sisters and one older brother who also went to the school. They were all one year apart; 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th. The two older sisters were even prettier than the sister in my class, with one of them being considered the most beautiful in the school by far. Yep, it was her! I was impressed that she remembered me since we were never in the same classes, and considering she still had a serious buzz going and reeked of alcohol. We chatted for a few minutes where she told me the sister I knew was doing great. Of course I was wondering WTF happened to THIS sister? It pisses me off to see someone born with the winning genetic lottery numbers, and then later that they used the ticket to wipe their ass and throw the ticket away. What a pathetic waste. I never saw her again.
@@SirReptitious I dunno man, sounds like they'd just had a Saturday night out! Nothing wrong with that, surely? I mean, if they were just buying a paper and a cup of coffee, I don't understand your issue.
@D B well it depends. someone who gets beaten up or an injury ok someone who drinks alcohol and is somehow surprised that its addictive and destroys your body not realy no. we know what alcohol does and its not a surprise to anyone and adults in general can and should be held accountable for their actions
Alcoholic here, three years sober now. Yes, I used to walk around the shop trying to calculate the highest concentration of alcohol per volume for the lowest cost. This is one of the most highly relatable videos I've seen.
Robert Sievert Was K cider for me, used to buy 4 cans and a small bottle of vodka in the morning. neck that, have breakfast and go back out for a bigger bottle of vodka. smoking weed helped me stop my drinking problems.
Robert Sievert - Congrats for staying sober Robert, I'm not an alcoholic but I've seen people who are, so I can only imagine the level of willpower it takes.
Sadly, after working in a Wine store for several years, I can confirm that people like this do in fact exist. Same innocent act every day, but get the same bottle of rotgut every day.
I love how Hugh is constantly looking up at the cashier for any look of disapproval before immediately seeing it and then looking away. Not actually being deterred by his disapproval, just slightly ashamed. But then he realises that all of that shame will be gone in a few minutes by the end of the second can.
I love the costume design of David's character. The way he's wearing a suit but the scuffiness of it, the tie that's too small, the hair, the way he doesn't look like he's washed in a couple of weeks... Looks very much like a man who's trying to put on a charade of being an upstanding member of society but you can see how he's unravelling underneath.
It's not a facade, he's not faking being respectable. He's trying really hard to hold on to a life that's gotten away from him. I've seen hundreds of these, the 'one bad day' stories, where there's a slippery slope and they're constantly trying not to slide down it and constantly losing ground. And the really sad thing about it is, the 'one bad day' actually usually happens long after the slide actually started - it's the divorce or the loss of the job that ends up with them on the street, but it was usually something trivial (a bad relationship with a middle-manager at their company, for example) that started them drinking or doing drugs in the first place. It's tragic because it's so avoidable, if only people actually gave a shit about other people.
I know it's hammed up, but the acting here is really good - the little guilty glances that Mitchell gives - almost grateful to Webb for humouring his story and carrying on the pretence. Bravo.
This scene plays out in our village shop, almost word for word, every day. The customer is an ex school teacher who wears tweed, speaks very well and is highly intelligent but, sadly, has long been in the grip of alcoholism. He is what is euphimistically known as the village character.
I'm a recovering alcoholic and I did the exact same thing, man. I'd say anything to try avert the guilt. Or hide what I was doing. It's shameful and for a good reason. Drinking every day isn't a healthy way to live.
Great to see so much empathy and compassion in the comments section. One of the most difficult things you face when going through addiction is people's lack of understanding - makes you feel more lonely than you already do. Good on you RU-vidrs xx
What really hits home for me is that, when I drank, I'd have a similar inner monologue to Hugh's excuses and explanations to the shopkeeper. "It's the continental way", etc. Paper thin excuses to sustain a horrendous and punishing lifestyle. I'm fit and healthy now so I pity this old caricature of myself.
Your old self was the real you. Deep inside, you know it... Come on then, just another drink for old time's sake... It's what you want, isn't it! Yes, it is...
AuH2O just piss off mate yeah? I don't know whether you are trying to troll or just making a rather poor attempt at humour but just don't. if you are trying to joke there is a time and a place for dark humour, hell the general comments on this video would actually be an alright place for it but not in a reply thread with people opening up about the things like likely nearly destroyed them.
@@lavenderwalrus9875 So it doesn't seem possible to you that he was just spelling out the stupid inner monologues you have when giving in to your addiction? Because to me that was quite obvious.
Yes I think you're right, it is definitely shot in front of a studio audence, and though this scene is clearly shot on location, I guess they still play location scenes in front of the audience to get the laughter. Though I still don't get how anyone laughs out loud at this sketch...dark humour to say the least, the most I managed was a slightly grimaced guilty smile..
@@Mollari42 Yes, BBC comedies are recorded in front of a studio audience. The audience watches the sketches being filmed in the studio; then while the actors are changing costumes etc and the sets are being changed, the audience is shown pre-recorded sketches that were filmed on location (where an audience would not be possible). The laughter is then recorded and put on the soundtrack of the original sketch.
To me, this is their best sketch - mainly because it's hardly a humourous piece, but a sad and depressing look into an alcoholic's mind. My mum was an alcoholic (in the end it killed her) and this is easily something I could see her do - put up a facade and make a grand charade whenever confronted with her issue. My oldest brother visited her a short time before she died in 1998. He said there were bottles EVERYWHERE in her flat. But she denied it all like "oh that's not mine, a friend will pick it up later" and such. Obvious to everyone she was lying, but I guess in her mind (and people with similar diseases) she thinks "If I just play along a little more, maybe they'll believe me (or leave me alone)". Mitchell's look at 2:07 as he grabs the second beer speaks for itself. As much as he tries to hide it, he's deeply ashamed of himself and he fears the judgemental look of the shop owner. Fantastic acting!
It's because it rings true it is humourous. Comedy and tragedy are not that far apart. Last year a met a neighbour outside before noon (On a sunday when you can't even buy alcohol here in sweden) and he was drunk to the point of almost needing subtitles. He was bagering me about dinking sugary drinks which, sure is not great but maybe not as not great as being drunk every day.
@@dejdehddh unless you’re in Utah !! I travelled through and was shocked I couldn’t buy anything but 3.5% beer at 5pm on a Friday night as the liquor stores were already closed
Theres a chap like this who lives near me. Lovely fellow always friendly. Always out taking his dog for a "walk to the park" His route to the park always seems to take him right past the Off-license though.. and he works up a perishing thirst on the way. You'll see him sat on a bench, on his own, suppin several cans of high strength lager. Poor bloke. At least the dog gets plenty of excercise.
I knew of a guy practically exactly like this, but in his case it was a hint of dementia along with alcoholism. Which brought on the other is hard to say. He was such a gentleman. Kind, easy to talk to.. but completely oblivious to how others obviously saw him. He came to the TV store/repairplace I worked at with outdated tech. VCR from mid 90's. CRT from late 80's. Grimy, dirty controllers that he couldn't figure out. Mind you this was in late 2000's too. But he was so nice. Acting like a kindhearted, wealthy, well traveled person. If he had money, he'd be the kind that gives and gives and gives. That's the impression he gave me. But his suit was dirty, his shoes worn down. Then one day I was tasked with installing a new decoder at his place. I got in and it was littered with paper all over the place. Dust that had seemed to pile up over decades. The air was extremly heavy. The house itself was actually a VERY nice house, but completely at the mercy of time, weather and negligence. Hadn't seen a handyman since the 60's. He excused the state of the house, showing that he had atleast some awareness to it, but not the mess itself. He said he had just been on a long business trip and that was why his garden was not properly tended to... it was a wreck. But the man was so kind. So pleasant. He was fully aware of his surroundings outside the house and knew what was going on in the world, but not at his own sorry state of affairs. One day he just stopped coming. I never heard he had died, so I hope it's just that someone took care of him. He wasn't really that old either. Maybe mid 60's.. so he might be alive today. Hopefully in a better state.
I work in a small general store and I've had almost exact conversation with various similar characters multiple times, as I sell them the alcohol which is quite obviously destroying them. I feel like an accessory to slow murder.
can you not refuse service? genuine question, i dont know if you can, just if i had it my way there would be a law to instead of having to serve them alcohol ring up a charity or the samaritans to try and help them
You're basically a vending machine. In fact if there was one, they'd use it. So I don't see how you feel like an accessory to murder because you handed somebody their change
gaggle64: I work in a bar. Exactly the same sentiment. Our cleaner finishes at 12 and immediately buys about 7 pints, every single day. He also empties the bins every morning, so it isn't hard to assume where the empty cans that are always in there come from. It's genuinely upsetting, because I always speak to him and he really is a very nice man.
This is a masterpiece of a sketch, managing to find the extremely fine line between comedy and highlighting the dreadful consequences of alcohol dependency and the misery it causes to individuals and families.
This reminds me of a chap who used to wander around Camden Town in the early 90s. Very well spoken, obviously educated, wearing the tattered remains of good quality clothing. Always the worse for drink but holding it well. He used to politely ask people 'I wonder if you could possibly spare 2p, or 5p?' while showing a grimy London bus pass, presumably in the hope that people would think he was some sort of licensed charity collector.
@@ChartreuseDan Being a millionaire's not all that hard these days, if you own a house at all, or stuffed even a tiny amount of your money away from the start of your working life for long-term investment (in the US it'd be something like Franklin Funds or Vanguard) but of course if you became an alkie the house and funds etc would be gone surprisingly fast.
This sketch resonates with anybody who has worked in a convenience store in the UK. I remember a posh, formerly refined elderly gentleman sheepishly buying gin and asking me to dispose of his empties. The saddest was an attractive older woman who used to make comments about having a party, after a few years she would just walk in wearing sunglasses and grab a litre of vodka. Terribly sad. Used to wonder if I should maybe stop them?
Sadly you can't stop them. It's very sad, I've lived an extreme alcoholic and it's a very fucked up life style. Weeds illegal but drink is okay 😞 fuck alcohol.
I’ve been that person, going back to the corner shop for the second time that evening to get another bottle of wine on top of the two I bought earlier. There’s no need to say anything, you can just pay and leave and nothing else. But for some reason you feel the need to say stupid shit like “unexpected visitors” or “turns out none of them are driving.” All you’re doing is trying to convince some stranger you don’t have a problem in order to try and convince yourself that you don’t.
Sometimes, I've started my warm days on Spain vacations with what I call "continental coffee". That is - cheap red wine poured into a coffee cup. It looks like coffee unless you really put a close eye to it.
One of my oldest and best friends died like this. Aged 27. If you're going through something similar to what Hugh is, keep going. Love Robert and David. Peep Show was the greatest.
What's really "amusing" it that "John" doesn't start ringing up the order after Hugh adds the beer. Almost as if he suspects that the transaction won't go through as presented.
Worked in grocery, can confirm, these people exist. We had this older lady who came in every other day, before noon, like clockwork for the six months i worked there. Always buying two 24-pack cases. Could set your watch by here. And without fail, if another human entered her proximity when she was pushing the beer-laden buggy, she'd offer up a very exaggerated eye roll or a sheepish laugh and say either she was having some friends over or her sons were visiting. I'd just smile and nod. Thing was, if she would have just kept quiet and did her shopping, no one would notice her, we dealt with hundreds of customers daily. Not that anyone cared anyway, you want to get sloshed, rock on, but when you draw attention to yourself, volunteering the same A or B lame excuse for months on end you make a spectacle of yourself. I started to feel bad for her after months of this, not exactly because of the beers, but because she felt she needed to lies and justifications about it, means she was at minimum embarrassed of herself.
@@gxtmfa it was a small town. 10minute drive from one end to the other, in traffic. There were only four groceries, including wal-mart. And I'm assuming ours was either the cheapest for that beer, or was the closest to her home. The addict would think, why pay for the extra gas to add on an extra 5minutes both ways? when you're doing this trip almost daily, that adds up over time. Why pay for gas when you can spend that on beer? The shame/embarassment she obviously felt about consuming so much beer was outweighted by the convience of just being able to buy the cheapest volume of whatever our store offered.
Man 48 beers every other day. I hope she was sharing that with someone, perhaps her husband, because that is an UNHOLY amount of beer to be drinking. 24 every day. Whew.
@@TPRM1 4 year old comment i totally forgot about, and it's both tragic and a joke, my father died from alcoholism but i hated him so i joke about his death, i know it sounds evil but he was a cruel drunkard.
@@martj1313 It doesn’t sound evil. If dead people don’t want to be spoken ill of, they should’ve made more of an effort to be nice when they were alive.
Good luck to you, I can empathize with that, having a drunken father doing nasty drunken shit every single weekend and the next day we all pretend nothing bad happened. As an adult I find you just have to disassociate yourself from it all as the past can never be undone.
Having spent far too many of my childhood evenings seeing my "dad" barely conscious on his office floor, I'm glad that this masterful sketch can make me laugh.
Comedians rarely get praise for their acting. But I think both David Mitchell in Peep Show and in this scene for example and Ricky Gervais in the Office acted absolutely phenomenally. Truly brilliantly. But because it's supposed to be funny, light-hearted entertainment, people overlook it.
I worked in a Happy Shopper back in the 1990s. An enlightening experience. Some people would come in and pick up some respectable normal life items and then buy a litre bottle of vodka or one of those boxes of wine with the tap on it. Every. Day. Some desperate souls too. I got propositioned, sex for alcohol (I didnt!), had people come in with jewellery, their CD collection, clothes...all sorts. This is a funny sketch but its also remarkably accurate!
I worked at a Spar shop for 5 years as a teenager. Yeah this is great. The suit, the posh voice and attempt a big words to sound classy. I remember one guy came in as soon as we could sell alcohol and bought a tin of Spar's version of Special Brew. Said 'well it is Father's Day, ought to have a cheeky one'. He did this pretty much every hour for the entire day. Half way through I went outside and he was just loitering around. Clearly done it all day. And each time he would say stuff like 'ah another one for the road' or 'anything to get away from the kids for a bit' 'itd be rude to not have a drink in such lovely weather on Father's Day'. It was the middle of the week
This is so much funnier after actually knowing an alcoholic. The desperate leap in logic to keep up the deception to themselves they don't have a problem is portrayed fantastically well here.
Funnier in the sense that it's incredibly accurate, I suppose. Mostly just saddening for me. Known too many people like this and spent time as one myself. No one really wants to admit that they've fallen this hard. They try to maintain the illusion more for themselves than the people they know they aren't ACTUALLY fooling.
I don't drink, I can't stand alcohol, but my family and friends do, and for my colleagues 65th birthday, I bought him a bottle of red wine (which I found out was his favourite but I just grabbed one that was pricey and looked good) I got it at a shop I frequent and was just taking it to the till like I did with any other item. The bloke was dead confused as he knew I'd never buy alcohol, which I told him it was for a colleague, and he no joke said "Tell you what mate, you're far less subtle about buying it than everyone else." I didn't quite get what he said, but after seeing this, I think I get it now
Any store hiring anyone to work on checkout should show this to new hires as this really is spot on. Short of the "lie down and have a nap" the proprietor handled this pretty well.
Amazing how accurate this is As an alky I recognize this strategy. Others include getting in and out as fast as possible without saying anything. Or making minimal chit chat without smiling.
Most of their best sketches throughout the 4 seasons of that m&w look are laced with pathos and sadness, the quiz show, that final sketch of season 4 of Holmes in the nursing home slays me every time when holmes breaks and has his lucid moment with Watson 😭😭😭
hahah I worked in a spoons for a year and there were about 15 regulars, all middle aged - old men in their 40s, 50s and 60s. They would be in there every single day waiting outside before we opened and they 'd be there until the pub closed. They must have got through about 15 pints a day, shuffling up to the bar every half an hour and buying the cheapest ale that was available at the time with their big red noses and dead, vacant stares. I felt pretty bad, enabling them every day.
I worked at a store like this. Had several alcoholics - men and women - coming in several times a day like this, buying a little bit of alcohol every time. I guess to not seem too alcoholic. Generally older people. It was heartbreaking really.
That's me, that is. A functioning alcoholic. I work every day to provide and care for those that rely upon me. No issues at all ever. I'm as crafty as f*ck though. I take a half day holiday,finishing work at 9.30. Go home and drink the half bottle of vodka that i bought the previous day unbeknownst to my wife whilst shopping, I hide the receipt. So at 9.30am I drink and watch media and conk out till whenever. Pathetic. If I really cared, I'd try to change, sadly I'm not there yet.
@Communist-Doge I really want to, but my daily sh*t is too much for me at the moment. The anomaly is that I could become sober and better deal with life. I do that, then what? I've sorted myself out, yet the problem still remains . It's other people's shit that makes me feel hopeless, and as much as I try, nothing changes.
this hits home, i used to work in a corner shop like that, this bloke chris used to come in everyday for his can, sometimes his card wouldn't work and i'd have to count his change out that his shaking hands put down onto the counter... :/
Many of my friends had alcoholic parents, they despise the thing so much that you cannot make a joke about the topic in front of them without offending them. I often felt it to be an over reaction but I never said anything and complied. Years later with many stories, I realised how much of a trauma alcohol had caused them. No one ever drinks.
I'm not too embarrassed to buy booze the 1st time. I am an alcoholic but not a daily drinker. When I do drink, I really drink a lot. So to hide my alcoholism, I go to another store to buy my 2nd round of booze.
I find it ironic that this sketch ended up in my recommended . Being that guy is a bullet I only just dodged a few years ago. I know the sketch is clever, I know that comedy can be tragedy relived but it sent a shudder down my spine nonetheless.
This the sort of tragicomedy that Brit’s do so well- it’s very funny but some of that humour comes from the fact that we know it is tragically close to the truth for so many people.
Coming up on 3 years sobriety from alcohol, been a fan of these dudes for years and it's spot on dark comedy. As for the cashiers lamenting any guilt, when I wanted a drink I'd eventually find one regardless of someone else's good intention.
Been there and now recovering. I think it gets to the point where you are so dependent that the shame of people knowing you are a hopeless drunk is an absolute drop in the ocean compared to the pain of being without the drink. So willing to go through those soul crushing interactions every day because in an hour's time you've reached oblivion and it all doesn't matter again until the morning. Huge congratulations on your soon to be 3 years, keep up the good work.
I've watched this a few times and only just noticed that when he says "I feel like grabbing something right at hand" when after a drink he walks past a whole shelf of soft drinks to get to the booze 0:50. I wonder if they set that up on purpose like that as a small gag that would normally get over looked.
