Sometimes putting the spotlight of publicity on bureaucracies doing deeply stupid things works, as the Amsterdam city council has decided to review its policy against people drinking alcohol on pub terraces whilst standing. For some reason this idea that people were drinking beer without sitting down for it was deeply offensive to the numbnuts of stadsdeel centrum especially, which led to a fine for Brewery ‘t IJ, one of the places where you least expect alcohol related trouble. Now the city has, while not abandoning this policy, chosen to be much more casual about enforcing it. Which is just as well what with the ban on smoking in pubs that came into force last July. Hopefully this relaxation of the law will mean no more warnings for the pub, which otherwise might have to close.