Canadian Rules Drinking

It was a scorcher of a day in London on Sunday - well, a scorcher for the UK anyway. I was having a drink with a friend in Covent Garden and the sun was beating hot on our faces as we stood a patio. Considering how seldom this happens in the UK, it was pretty glorious. My friend then asked me if I have ever been to the Maple Leaf bar around the corner - it's a Canadian pub. I had heard of it, but had never been.

So off we went. As you walk in, it's exactly what you would expect of a Canadian pub. There is Canadian memorabilia everywhere - hockey sweaters, a fake stuffed bear, and the obligatory wood cabin motif. We got up to the bar, and I checked out the beer on offer. I knew that no self-respecting Canadian pub wouldn't have Moosehead, Labatt's or Molson's, but I was truly impressed to see Sleeman's Honey Brown - on tap. We got a table and noticed there was a hockey game on TV - Sweden vs. Russia, the bronze medal game of the World Championships. I was feeling pretty nostalgic by this time. Here I am on a beautiful day drinking Sleemans and watching a hockey game that was simulcast from TSN. It nearly brought tears to my eyes.

As the gold medal game was showing right aftwards, the pub was filling up rather quickly with Canadians wearing either red, hockey jerseys, or Roots gear. This last one caused a couple of sniggers to escape from my friend's mouth. He's Australian, and where he comes from, "to root" means to have sex, and not in that expression-of-lifelong-love-and-commitment sort of way.

It was a bit of a homecoming for me. The menu offers wings, nachos, quesadillas, as well as the ubiquitious burgers and fish n chips. The salsa is spicy in the Maple Leaf bar, unlike in many British establishments. The staff are all Canadian, and when someone asked the floor manager the score of the hockey game, he replied that "Sweden is getting totally hammered." I heard someone say that they were out of maple syrup, and someone else was eating a Crispy Crunch. I was wondering where you could buy the Crispy Crunch bars, when my friend told me that there is a Canada store next door with all "Canadian stuff" for sale, like KD and Twizzlers. I'm sure it's ridiculously expensive though.

Everyone in the place really looked Canadian. You can definitely tell the difference in looks between a Canadian and Brits or Irish. I've discussed this with a few friends here and it's widely agreed that most Canadians - at least the ones over here, naturally look healthy and sporty. Compared to the pasty pallour of many Brits and Irish, Canadians perpetually look like they just came back from a hike. My Aussie friend agreed that the crowd in the bar that afternoon did have an overall freshly-scrubbed, healthy appearance.

I really wanted to stay, it was going to be a great night, you could tell. But it was not to be. I had a flight to catch back to Dublin in a few hours. I was so disappointed.

Even though nearly everyone in the bar probably works in London, and aren't just passing tourists, Canadian rules definitely still apply there - despite being located in the heart of Covent Garden. I was up at the bar waiting to get served, and a man came up after me. When the bartender asked for his order first, he said that I should go ahead. No Brit does that. A Brit goes ahead and orders, and then turns around and apologises. A group of people asked us if we were staying for the game, and when I said no I had to catch a flight, they asked if they could have our seats when we were done - but no rush. One of the guys volunteered to send me a text with the score since I had to leave - and he did. I got a text after every period. As we were leaving, a couple noticed us getting up from our chairs and asked if they could have our seats. I said that someone else already had dibs, and they accepted that response and politely moved on.

Something tells me I'll be watching other sporting events from those screens in the near future - or maybe checking to see if they are having a Thanksgiving dinner. When I move over to London in September, I already have a hangout.