Last year, he would have been awake earlier than he was yesterday, ready to start a day-long session of drinking and Irish shanties. Now living in the real world, Otago Daily Times reporter Titus Lambert-Lane headed down to studentville to get a different take on St Patrick’s Day.
Drinks were in, aggression was out — as students were more relaxed than ever this year.
Everyone was a friend and the laughs were flowing as well as the amber liquid.
Previous years had been overshadowed by roof-jumpers and bottle smashers, but this year all one could see in North Dunedin were the students united, albeit in the name of alcohol.
Yours truly arrived at what seemed a late hour for the students but was actually mid-morning.
The Otago Daily Times crew arrived at Brackens View, near the Dunedin Northern Cemetery, about 10.30am, to find a sea of green on the field and more students walking up Lovelock Ave to join the party.
For some students, their drinking session was in its sixth hour, with no signs of stopping.
"Beer with breakfast, we’ve been up since 4.30am, let’s go," one student said.
Despite the early start, the students were convinced they were going to attend a party at the notorious Lake House flat in Butts Rd last night.
One student said they had organised their day "tactically" — a lunchtime nap before heading out again.
Whether they made it, who knows? Drinking at 4am brings ambition but not stamina.
St Patrick’s Day is one of Dunedin’s biggest student events, and there was also an influx of Christchurch and Nelson partygoers.
"We came down to party in the city that does it right — Dunedin," one Christchurch resident said.
Glass bins were placed on the footpath of Lovelock Ave in an attempt to minimise rubbish.
Some students said their reputation for poor behaviour needed to be put in perspective.
"We were all young once ... let us have our time," one said.
The attitude of the students was one of understanding and positivity, despite the occasional bottle on the ground. No glass was flying or shattered.
St Patrick would have been proud.
