With all the health propaganda pumped out of government in this day and age everyone is pretty aware that the price we pay for alcohol is not just the cash handed over at the supermarket counter or across the bar. Lawyers themselves are not immune, 9% of cases dealt with by LawCare are booze related and the stats for lawyers generally are fairly telling – between 20% of women and 30% of men over do it. The Scottish Government’s brave?? attempt to tackle the problem, which it has described as an "epidemic" costing £2.25 billion a year, consists of plans to make the country the first in Europe to impose minimum pricing for alcohol.

Whatever one thinks of the politics of the move, the idea has already run into legal problems. According to The Scotsman , it has learnt of at least two trade and retail organisations that are planning a legal case against the proposals, claiming they contravene EU and competition rules.

Gavin Hewitt, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said: "It is hard to believe any Scottish Government would bring forward proposals that are likely to be both illegal in international trade law and risk damaging the whisky industry."

However, if the legal challenges fail and the proposals go through, Carlisle might just become an unintended beneficiary. Studies in Finland show that once their government reintroduced higher taxes, consumption of domestically produced alcohol dropped but booze cruises to Estonia mushroomed. Could Carlisle will become Scotland’s Calais?