AS East Lancashire marks the last day of the long Christmas and New Year holiday, the region's pub and club proprietors were today moaning that for them the Millennium was a financial flop - because most people preferred to party at home instead of on their premises.

But, really, what did they expect - when so many of them and their staff set out to rip off customers with sky-high drinks prices and admission charges?

Too late, they got the message that people were not falling for that - or for the notion that if they did venture out into the town centres for pub and club celebrations, they might be charged a fortune for a taxi home or might not have been able to get home at all. Sensibly, most people chose the safer and cheaper option of staying close to home.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.