Make 'em laugh

For some time, the once-trailblazing Baa Bar has been, well, something of a sheep on the bar scene, following on with the same drinks, same crowd and same music as all the unimaginative rivals it inspired. So much so that police called for its closure last month, claiming a sustained catalogue of violence there (see story past).

So when tidings reached us that the Fleet Street bar was finally going to rise above these frankly, unpleasant establishments, it was something to cheer.

“Starting in April, Baa Bar will become host to a series of new weekly events that will aim to attract a more sophisticated clientele,” bubbled the press release.

“With a spectacular new refurbishment, both inside and out, the bar will be the setting for some pioneering new events.”

Such as? Well, weekends promise a change of music from the “funky house style” to a “more sophisticated sound”. It also plans a loyalty card to guarantee late entrance and drinks to people working in the city's service industry.

So far so good. Would that mean the end of the “legendary” £1 shooters then? Er, no. But listen up:

“Thursday’s will become the home of the newest student night…Black Sheep! Which features its very own laughing gas bar and prizes for the best fancy dress.”

Whoa, whoa... Black Sheep? Laughing gas?

Perchance, would that mean nitrous oxide, one-time dental anaesthetic and pick-me-up at fashionable 19th century soirees, right through to the decadent days of Studio 54? The very same.

Merseyside Police revealed that they had never really come across laughing gas in these parts before. So we explained that it was the new best friend of fun loving clubbers and festival goers everywhere, and was used as a propellant in squirty cream cans. What was their policy?

After a bit, they came back and said they didn't think it was illegal, but were aware of the dangers of being under the 'fluence of N20, such as dizziness, falling over onto hard objects (although painlessly) and nausea. Anyone affected, they said, would be dealt with in much the same way as someone tanked up. Eek!

A quick look at the law book, however, tells a different tale, and while possessing and inhaling nitrous oxide remains legal, only pharmacists can supply it in gas form, as a medicine. Anyone else thinking about supplying it for recreational inhalation, even in balloons, will have their collar felt in a big way and could face prison.

This is because it can cause starvation of oxygen to the brain: Ten out of 10 for getting tills, and ears, jingling on a week night; 0/10 for anyone planning to do any thinking the next day. But what student ever did that on a Friday, anyhow?

So that's a new one for everyone to chew over at Baa Bar's licensing review later this month. And while “everyone else is doing it” according to a spokesman, who also wasn't sure, might it be that that's what got Baa Bar into lumber in the first place?

Black Sheep, Baa Baa, Fleet Street, L1. From Thursday.