Why do I love London?

During the recent campaign for mayor, then-candidate Boris Johnson pledged that if elected, he would ban open containers from the London Underground (aka: the Tube). He won. And he did. So effective last night at midnight, consumption of alcoholic beverages on board any Transport for London service became a criminal offense.

What did Londoners do about it? They threw a massive party on the Tube, of course. So massive, in fact, that it made this morning’s Washington Post.

The party was largely organized via Facebook, and the police were out in force. There was some trouble, but not a massive amount, given the number of people and amount of booze involved. Needless to say, not everyone had a good time, and, this being London, there was a bit of hooliganism thrown in.

But coming from Washington, DC, where one can literally be arrested for eating a french fry on board a train, the never-hesitate-just-do-it spirit behind this mass action was darned impressive.