You're quite right ripov; I went to Edinburgh Uni (early sixties) and only hotels sold alcohol on Sundays, not the pubs. The idea was that people were 'passing through' and used the hotels for 'refreshment', so were permitted to purchase a drink. Nobody checked or even cared that we were obviously local students (even wearing our University scarves!). It was all very sedate however, just a half of McEwans heavy.