I was lucky to have a few business trips to England. The last one I took was to the town of Beverley in Yorkshire, which is in northern England about 30 miles from Scotland.
On this trip, I traveled alone and stayed at the Beverley Arms Hotel. I spent my days working at British Aerospace (BAe) and the evenings meandering around the streets of Beverley. Most nights I would eat at a local pub, the town had many. The food was always good and the patrons were friendly.
I had acquired the nickname, Half-pint on a prior trip, due to my always ordering a half-pint of ale or lager. Most customers would say "Give me a pint" but, not me. So the nickname was appropriate, plus my short stature, 5 foot 5 . . . err, almost.
After a week of wandering around town and eating at various pubs, I felt at home. A pub is short for public house, which seems to be much more than a drinking establishment like a bar in the US. Beverley is a small town with a population of just over 20,000 with only a few American visitors. On this trip, I didn't come in contact with any other Americans so maybe I was flying solo in Beverley. I do know that whenever I entered a pub and requested a half-pint they knew I was from the states and they also unknowingly knew my nickname, but I never said anything about that. I sat alone, but only for a short time since there was always a Brit that came over to talk.
I enjoyed the casual conversations and friendly atmosphere. I even had a guy show me his restored Jaguar that he drove to the pub. The trips to England were good memories. I like to talk with people who have accents. I've never thought of myself as having an accent, it was always the other person that had one. The truth everyone has an accent but it's only noticeable when your not in your hometown. I feel more international now that I know I also have an accent.
Mark, my BAe counterpart along with another invited me to a pub crawl on my last night. It sounded like a fun English experience, so I accepted without hesitation. They met me at my hotel and we walked not crawled to the first pub. The pubs were old, very old with ornate and gnarly wood bars. The wood floors were warped but added to the character of the establishment. I ordered a half-pint of bitters, which I learned over the course of the week is what many drank. They had a ample selection of lagers and ales, but very few of the US brands. And why would they, who comes to England and orders a Budweiser? Nobody I knew.
We walked from one pub to another and each one was unique in its own way. The last pub we stopped by was the oldest in Beverley. Old has a different meaning in England than it does in the US. This pub was established over 450 years ago. That is literally the definition of old. I recently had the Apple tech guy tell me my MacBook Air was not just old, but ancient. I bought the laptop in 2011.
This pub named, The Sun Inn was the last of seven pubs we went to that night and the most interesting because of its age. The floors were so warped that it felt like you were walking on waves. They had a chocolate-flavored ale. I was intrigued but not enough to order as glass. A bartender in England is called a barman. He was kind enough to let me have a taste. It was different, but not in a good way.
The pub crawl was a great experience, something I will never have an opportunity to do again especially with two guys from England. I've thought about a lot of things during this pandemic and for me, experiences are the most important. They far outweigh material possessions. I’m sure there are many that will agree. Not all experiences are good but all have value.
One other thought I had was the similarities and contrast between societies. England has pub crawls and the US has bar hopping and although I have limited experience I have neither seen anyone crawl or hop from one drinking establishment to another. While I will admit it's not out of the realm of possibility. "Just Saying . . ."
On this trip, I traveled alone and stayed at the Beverley Arms Hotel. I spent my days working at British Aerospace (BAe) and the evenings meandering around the streets of Beverley. Most nights I would eat at a local pub, the town had many. The food was always good and the patrons were friendly.
I had acquired the nickname, Half-pint on a prior trip, due to my always ordering a half-pint of ale or lager. Most customers would say "Give me a pint" but, not me. So the nickname was appropriate, plus my short stature, 5 foot 5 . . . err, almost.
After a week of wandering around town and eating at various pubs, I felt at home. A pub is short for public house, which seems to be much more than a drinking establishment like a bar in the US. Beverley is a small town with a population of just over 20,000 with only a few American visitors. On this trip, I didn't come in contact with any other Americans so maybe I was flying solo in Beverley. I do know that whenever I entered a pub and requested a half-pint they knew I was from the states and they also unknowingly knew my nickname, but I never said anything about that. I sat alone, but only for a short time since there was always a Brit that came over to talk.
I enjoyed the casual conversations and friendly atmosphere. I even had a guy show me his restored Jaguar that he drove to the pub. The trips to England were good memories. I like to talk with people who have accents. I've never thought of myself as having an accent, it was always the other person that had one. The truth everyone has an accent but it's only noticeable when your not in your hometown. I feel more international now that I know I also have an accent.
Mark, my BAe counterpart along with another invited me to a pub crawl on my last night. It sounded like a fun English experience, so I accepted without hesitation. They met me at my hotel and we walked not crawled to the first pub. The pubs were old, very old with ornate and gnarly wood bars. The wood floors were warped but added to the character of the establishment. I ordered a half-pint of bitters, which I learned over the course of the week is what many drank. They had a ample selection of lagers and ales, but very few of the US brands. And why would they, who comes to England and orders a Budweiser? Nobody I knew.
We walked from one pub to another and each one was unique in its own way. The last pub we stopped by was the oldest in Beverley. Old has a different meaning in England than it does in the US. This pub was established over 450 years ago. That is literally the definition of old. I recently had the Apple tech guy tell me my MacBook Air was not just old, but ancient. I bought the laptop in 2011.
This pub named, The Sun Inn was the last of seven pubs we went to that night and the most interesting because of its age. The floors were so warped that it felt like you were walking on waves. They had a chocolate-flavored ale. I was intrigued but not enough to order as glass. A bartender in England is called a barman. He was kind enough to let me have a taste. It was different, but not in a good way.
The pub crawl was a great experience, something I will never have an opportunity to do again especially with two guys from England. I've thought about a lot of things during this pandemic and for me, experiences are the most important. They far outweigh material possessions. I’m sure there are many that will agree. Not all experiences are good but all have value.
One other thought I had was the similarities and contrast between societies. England has pub crawls and the US has bar hopping and although I have limited experience I have neither seen anyone crawl or hop from one drinking establishment to another. While I will admit it's not out of the realm of possibility. "Just Saying . . ."
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