I had barely settled in my chair when I saw a fellow reveller who had been ensconced on a tall barstool next to the barman fall on his back. He spilled his beer in the process. Moments earlier, he had unwittingly scorched a gaping hole with a cigarette stub on the shirt of an imbiber who was sitting next to him. So heavy was the thud that announced his fall and fellow guzzlers temporarily left whatever they were doing to check on him.