Of Pub Culture

So I realized that being in England, I completely forgot to write about the most important part of all: the pub! Maybe it was because most of my pub experiences were concentrated in the first month I was here. Or maybe because I find myself deviating towards bars more because of sheer drink variety (I do not like beer, ironically).

Suffice to say, pub culture in England is what Starbucks is to the states: they're everywhere. There's two pubs on campus alone, the newly opened The Dirty Duck and The Varsity. They are similar to the majority of pubs in the UK in that they serve the same kind of drinks, namely beer (Strongbow, Guinness), cider (Bulmers), wine, and the simple mixed drinks (by simple, I mean usually a juice and an alcohol, don't expect any fancy blenders here). During the winter season, they do have mulled wine and rum as well (which makes Allison happy considering she's addicted to it). Of course, the best thing about the pubs near our college campus are the college nights where certain drinks are a pound or a mixture for upwards of 2 pounds.

The best thing about pubs in general are the cheap food, most pubs will have a meal deal of two traditional English fares for 5 pounds, which is wonderful for the budget traveler or the poor college student. The flip side of that is you have to like English food which I will admit, I am partial to (and that's being kind).


And if you come on Sundays, you get roast beef with Yorkshire pudding!

Reasons to go to a pub rather than a bar:

1) The homely atmosphere. It's the kind of place where you can take your parents (if you're comfortable drinking in front of them) and still feel comfortable since the setting is usually in a small, wood-paneled environment filled with other older people and the bartenders are usually really friendly and prone to making conversation. You do not go to pubs to pick up guys (or girls).
2) Better conversation. You can hear what the person next to you is saying since there isn't any loud music blowing out your eardrums.
3) Cheap food. See my explanation above.
4) The names are better. With such classic names like "Tortoise and the Hare," "The Mad Hatter," "The Wild Boar," and other fun, classically English names, why would you not want to go? At the very least, it's funny.


I have no idea what that name means. It's just cool.