世上有一群安抚醉鬼的天使
In the club trade, they are called PIs — it stands for “possibly intoxicated”. It’s a nice way of saying someone has drunk too much, and there is a list of things to look out for: falling over, falling asleep, crying or showing other signs of distress.
The staff don’t want anyone in the club who is overly drunk but they also don’t want to chuck them out on the street. So they bring them to a quiet area that acts as a holding bay and that’s where I come in. I’m part of a team of Christian volunteers called Club Angels, who work inside nightclubs and bars to assist those who are in a state. Sometimes we just provide a listening ear.
工作人员都不愿意看到酒吧里有人喝得烂醉如泥，但他们也不想把这些酒鬼扔到大街上去。于是他们把这些人带到一个安静的类似于控制间的地方，那也是我发挥作用的地方。我是基督教志愿者团队“天使俱乐部”(Club Angels)中的一员，我们在夜店和酒吧里工作，帮助那些出状况的人。有时，我们只是倾听而已。A-level results night was mayhem. All I did was take sick buckets from people’s hands, empty them into the loo and give them back again. I’m not fazed by the sick, I’m being useful. And who else would do it if we didn’t? It’s not actually that bad to deal with: normally the clubbers haven’t eaten, they’ve just been drinking cocktails or Jägerbombs.
一级战备状态的夜晚是一片混乱。我不断地把人们手里的呕吐桶接过来、倒在厕所里然后再递回给他们。我不怕那些呕吐物，我是在帮忙。如果我们不去做，还有谁会做？事实上，处理这个并没那么糟糕：通常来说，泡吧的人都没有吃饭，他们只是一直在喝鸡尾酒或者野格炸弹(Jägerbomb)。
We always have baby wipes, alcohol gel, rubber gloves and hairbands to tie people’s hair back. We also carry sugary sweets and tissues. I focus on the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Croydon. People see stories in newspapers of drunk young people in city centres and they think, how debauched — they are drunk for the sake of it. But often it will be because those young people are dealing with problems, the same reason why older adults drink.
我们总会带着婴儿湿巾、酒精凝胶、橡胶手套以及可以把头发固定到脑后的发带。我们还会带些糖果和纸巾。我主要在位于克罗伊登(Croydon)的“老虎”(Tiger Tiger)夜店工作。人们在报纸上看到关于市中心那些喝得酩酊大醉的年轻人的报道，想到的是：多么堕落——他们是为了喝醉而喝醉。但是，这通常是因为这些年轻人遇到了问题，与年长些的成年人喝酒的原因如出一辙。Meeting someone in a club when they are intoxicated is strange because they open up more than they usually would. Sometimes I sit and listen to someone and I think, I’m not surprised you’ve had a lot to drink. I would have a lot to drink if that happened to me.
在酒吧里与喝醉的人见面感觉怪怪的，因为他们比平时更愿意倾吐心事。有时侯，我坐下来听着某个人说话，然后我会想，难怪你喝了这么多。这事儿要是摊到我头上，我也得喝多。One girl had just had a job interview and the guy interviewing her had come on to her. He said, “If you come back to mine, you can have the job.” The same girl was a full-time carer for her brother, who was very sick. Another person had had a recent abortion, another’s dad had been diagnosed with cancer. They are dealing with heavy problems so they are out drinking to relieve some of that pressure.
有个女孩刚刚参加完一次面试，面试官竟然轻薄她。他说：“如果你默许的话，你就能得到这份工作。”这个女孩还要全天候照顾患有重病的哥哥。另外一个人最近刚流产，还有一个人的父亲被诊断出癌症。他们都在应对难以克服的困难，因此出来喝酒释放压力。By day I’m a Pilates and yoga instructor, and I’ve also done some stand-up comedy. But I first heard about Club Angels at church. A speaker came to talk about it and she said, “This is an initiative we are setting up in London, would anyone like to volunteer?” I thought, that’s something I could do. I could identify with those people who have had too much to drink and need helping out.
白天，我是一名普拉提(Pilates)和瑜伽教练，还会表演一些栋笃笑。不过，我在教会里第一次听说了“天使俱乐部”。一名演讲者来到教会发表了有关它的演讲，她说：“我们打算在伦敦开展这项计划，有人愿意当志愿者吗？”我当时想，不错啊，我可以做。我对那些喝得太多、需要帮助的人们有同情心。My church, Central London Vineyard, is not like others. It’s a group that meets at night in a bar in Soho. It’s not a big building with singing, stuff that people are turned off by. It’s just real people like me.
我所属的教会——伦敦中央葡萄园(Central London Vineyard)，和其他教会不一样。教友都是晚上在苏荷区(Soho)一家酒吧见面，没有那些让人兴趣索然的演唱和宏大的建筑，只有一些像我一样的活生生的人。People are a bit suspicious of someone doing something for nothing. But Club Angels are not preaching, and we don’t try to convert people. We’ve got printed on our T-shirts, “PS We’re Christians, ask us if you want to know more.” And that’s it.
人们会对某些人不图回报地做一些事产生些许怀疑。但天使俱乐部不布道，我们也不试图说服别人皈依。我们的T恤上印着一行字：“PS We’re Christians, ask us if you want to know more（顺便提一句，我们是基督徒，如果你想了解更多，我们有问必答）”。仅此而已。At the start of a shift we pray for the night, the staff, for joy and happiness for the clubbers and for everyone to have a great night. We finish at 3am. If there was lots of drama and tears and stories that night, I’m often still buzzing and stay up for a bit when I get home. I’m a night owl, and the work suits people who still have mindful energy late at night.
每次开始工作前，我们都会为那个夜晚、为那些工作人员祈祷，为泡吧的人幸福快乐祈祷，为每个人都能度过一个愉快的夜晚祈祷。我们凌晨3点结束工作。如果当天晚上非常闹腾、有太多泪水和故事，那么我回到家后通常仍然脑子嗡嗡的，会多再过一会再睡。我是个夜猫子，这份工作适合那类深夜仍然精力充沛的人。I also go out clubbing and drinking — but I don’t drink when I’m on duty. I’m never tempted because it’s not about me. I need to be on my best form. But it’s important that all of us have drunk alcohol and been in clubs so we can relate. I’m definitely not coming at it from a squeaky-clean perspective.
我也会出去泡吧、喝酒——但我不在当值时喝酒。我也从来没有禁不住诱惑的时候，因为当值时不喝酒不是为了我自己。我需要保持最好的状态。但是我们都会喝酒也常出入酒吧，这很重要，因为这样我们才能感同身受。我绝对不会以圣人的角度来看待喝醉的人。
