Whose health and safety?

I welcomed the new year in by the old stone harbour on Hvar, a lovely island in Croatia. I observed the following risky teenage behaviour: binge drinking of beer, vodka, and fluorescent e-numbered drinks; spitting out lighted firecrackers; random firework displays; topless (male) dancing on broken glass; inebriated climbing on walls above the freezing sea; and jigging around to high decibel music. In reality it was all quite tame and a lot of fun: a gathering of a thousand people of mixed age, with friendly police wandering around. It felt much safer …