I NOTE that Alex Salmond wants these Commonwealth Games to be the friendliest and finest games ever ("The sun rises on Glasgow's Golden Games", The Herald, July 23).

However my experience this week suggests otherwise.

Together with some friends we decided to go into the city centre at night to experience the ambience and to see what had been done to heighten the visitors' view of the city and after an excellent meal at one of the city's best restaurants we decided to walk from Hope Street to Royal Exchange Square along Gordon Street, where hundreds of people were enjoying drinks at the canopied bars.

It was a balmy evening and we decided to have a drink outside one of the bars and it was indeed like sitting outside a bar anywhere in Europe, people-watching and noting the many foreign accents passing by.

Everything was perfect until 10pm, when we were told that we would now have to go inside, since no alcohol could be consumed after this time. Now we were required to go into a crowded, stuffy and hot bar to finish our drinks.

At the table next to us some foreign visitors simply could not understand this arcane law and, when asked, I could not explain the reason for it.

I was embarrassed by this situation and it was obvious that they were completely baffled.

From this experience I wonder what the thousands of visitors to our city think of this prohibition of outdoor alcohol consumption, which surely must give an impression contrary to Mr Salmond's view of "the friendliest games ever".

Surely the licensing body must have given some consideration to this issue but, if so,it apparently came to the conclusion that having an alcoholic drink after 10pm simply cannot be countenanced lest both visitors and locals alike get too carried away with any relaxation of the rules.

I cannot think that, on this issue at least, these visitors were given the friendly attitude that has been promised in the publicity blurb.

I shudder to imagine what were their unspoken views on a city whose citizens cannot be trusted to have a social drink after a 10pm curfew.

For the sake of our city's reputation I hope that someone on the licensing board has the good sense to reassess this medieval law, unless of course it is deemed that any change would lead to some sort of cataclysm.

JB Hamilton,

Humbie Road,

Newton Mearns.