So it seems like it could be a sobering start to the New Year for us all if the Health Ministry has its way. These killjoys, who already force us into purchasing alcohol from stores at certain odd times of the day, now have another good idea to save our souls and our livers. Under a new regulation they want to ban the sale of alcohol from any stalls on footpaths, public areas and parks, with the stated aim of reducing road accidents—maybe from all those drunk motorcycle taxi guys using the sidewalk. Violators could be jailed for up to six months and/or fined B10,000. Thankfully, our fun-loving crime fighters aren’t so sold on the idea, with the ministry admitting there could be trouble persuading local authorities to enforce the law, as the police are quite big fans of a roadside whiskey or two.