UPDATE FROM LONDON

We stumbled into a little pub called the Nag's Head, where little appears to have changed since whenever it opened, my guess being 1327. The man at the bar took our food order mainly by telling us what we wanted to eat, and he was right. When I attempted to order a "lager," he looked alarmed and said, "What, don't you drink beer?"  I had, stupidly, believed that lager was beer, but apparently it is not, at least not in the Nag's Head. So I said, OK, I'll have a beer, which suited him better,  and he gave me a beer, and I have to say it was excellent.

There are also many historic museums, palaces, monuments, churches, etc., in London, and we have admired them all, including the gift shops. Also of course, as required by the British constitution, the government is having a sex scandal.

We're staying at a charming little place which -- like so many charming little places here -- was built before the discovery of plumbing and electricity. Both of these things have been added, but they are intruders -- random-looking pipes and wires snaking around in a haphazard manner, unsure of themselves, not working much, clearly temporary. Kind of like us tourists.

Comments

[Miracle]

and don't try ordering a "LITE" lager !!..ooops forgot about your war on LITE beers

[Jacki]

Good Morning Dave.

If you happen by the Ealing suburb, stop in at a little pub right at the top of the subway entrance, I think it's called Damen's - and tell them the girl from America says hi.

[O. the U(manity)]

Dave,

Try ordering a good, strong Irish stout, like Guinness ... see whut happens ... (HAR!) ...

It's OK to be a tourist Dave ... make sure you bring back plenty of memories for Sophie to enjoy in her growin'-up years ...

[tropichunt.com guy™]

Morning, Dave.

Have a pint for me while you're over there! I may join you...in a month or so!

[fivver]

Have a great time Dave! If you get a chance, take a day trip to Chester. You can walk entirely around the town on a wall that dates back to Roman times.

And remember, Mind the Gap and No Busking.

[Mikey]

Doesn't "Charming" mean the bathroom is down the hall?

[slyeyes]

Is "playing croquet at grace-and-favour home Dorneywood" one of those quaint British euphamisms for "dipping his pen in the company inkwell?"

[Meanie the Blue]

So Dave, you "stumbled into" a little pub - was that how you came out, too? And while British food is not reknowned for its savory delicacy, you can thank the absence of electricity for the fact that the British know how to make beer that can actually be enjoyed without its being nearly frozen.

Do enjoy your trip!

Unsolicited travel tip: I understand the Queen adores a good booger joke.

[Melissa]

Anyone know what a "What the Butler Saw" is?? Dave?

[Dr. Doug]

I thought you were on a Caribbean or Mediterranean cruise!

[Ye Olde Punkin Poo]

So "croquet at Dornywood" is English slang for, what...sex with a goat? If so, Charles has been playing croquet for many years...

[BS]

Melissa

It's a pre-electricity, Coney Island
porn machine

[BS]

Dave,

You will now be known as the url of Nag's Head, but try very hard not to url your (not you're) beer (not lager)

[CoastRaven]

"It is believed he breached his own staff"

Yup - nuff sed.

Have fun Dave!!

[Melissa]

Thanks, BS!....sounds like fun! Dave, what did you see in your "butler saw"??

[judi]

another rugby update (for all i got out of it).

the pub sounds great dave. are you sure you don't need me to come over there and help you with anything?

[Tamara Rhymes With Camera]

Ditto what Sly asked!

[LucyVanPelt]

No Crapcam(tm thingie)photo's yet Dave?

I was really looking forward to the spotted dick eatin', Awwwdry laughin', beer drinkin', thigh shootin', double decker bus ridin', government sex scandel coverin', Dave Barry Montage....

Hope it's still a fun trip though!

[daisymae MBE LP]

Ditto what Tamara and sly said.

Glad you're having fun, drinking beer. That pub looks like the pub out of "Lord of the Rings."

Can you understand people (I know they speak English, but the accents...)?

Have you been to Harrods? Don't forget to try the kidney pie and fish 'n chips.

[Meanie the Blue]

Ditto what Judi asked!

[Sondra]

admitting the affair?...

I feel like we came in at the tail end of a much juicier story than playing croquet.

[insomniac]

sometimes playing croquet is a bit of a sticky wicket, eh, what?

[Schadeboy]

Dave,
That last paragraph was very poetic. Clearly you have a talent here. Have you ever considered writing?

Just wondering.

[queensbee]

well, gor blimey dave. bob's your uncle.

[herb]

G'day Dave,

"It's very difficult to say why somebody should get �130,000 a year for playing croquet."

, , , Give me a break. The British should only know what officials in this country get paid for playing GOLF -- not to mention what they get paid whilst having REAL sex scandals during work hours. Obviously, newspaper stories regarding Mr. Prescott and his croquet-stick would be a more, ah, stimulating read if he were paid a higher salary. I'm sure that the "Backbenchers" would be "lashing" him even more, but at least he'd be enjoying it.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Relax, enjoy, and take time to smell the bowers. Wish I were there.

[philintexas]

Dave..when you stumble from the next pub, shout three times as a loud as you can: Get off me Falkland Islands! The Brits love that sort of thing.

[Annie in Texas]

The next pub you stumble into try singing a chorus or two of Gary P. Nunn's "London Homesick Blues". I got more free beer that way.

"When you're down on your luck
And you ain't got a buck
In London, you're a goner

Cause even London Bridge has fallen down
And moved to Arizona
Now I know why

And I'll substantiate the rumor
That the English sense of humor
Is dryer than the Texas sand

You can put up your dukes
And bet your boots
That I'll be leaving just as fast as I can

(Everybody sing along now and wave your beer bottle or glass back and forth)

I wanna go home with the Armadillo
Good country music for Amarillo and Abilene
The friendliest people
And the prettiest women you ever seen . . . ."

Ad nauseum

[Layzeeboy]

Dave, whatever you do don't ignore the "mobile ( pronounced MO-BIAL) phone signs" at the pub. If you pull out the crap cam TM they're liable to toss you out. Then you'll find yourself out on the street doing the Ron White "I wasn't drunk in public - I was drunk in the bar and they threw me into publiK" routine.

Have fun. Say hello to the Queen for me.

[Layzeeboy]

Oh, one more thing. In the "affair" article it states, "Last night Downing Street said..." You gotta check THAT out, Dave. A talking street.

[Annie Where-but-here]

uh-oh. Dave's prose is getting as lilting and meandering as British plumbing.

[Boris the Spider]

Your lodging sounds like the place we spent the first nights of our honeymoon in Glasgow, called the Babbity Bowster. We had a wonderful view of the carpark from our 7' x 9' room, complete with bed shoved into the corner. But it was a very old building with a nice pub in the lobby, serving wonderful single-malt scotches and thick stouts. And if you complained, you were likely to get an "Awayanbileyerheid!"

[Cat R.]

So, Dave, seriously. How many times so far have you nearly been killed stepping into the street because you instinctively looked to the left first, instead of to the right?

Yeah, well, me too, and I never quite got it, even after 10 days. Almost ended up on the bonnet of a car. (Bonnet....tee hee.)

Crazy people, those Brits.

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

Driving is fun over there. Not so much the opposite side, but where you keep wanting to position yourself in the lane. I remember a few Yikes! moments when I visited there.

[Matt]

Curse you Dave for outing my favorite pub in London. Now we will be overrun by toilet-humour spouting American tourists. :(

I will stop by the Nags Head tonight if you have the guts to show yourself. Jack Bauer himself won't be able to protect you. ;)

[me!]

Loved London, but I'd go back to York in a Yankee minute! (There be Vikings up thar.) My son's packed and ready to go again, but I'm still reeling from the cost of EVERYTHING.

Dave, any thrifty travel tips for us?

[Matt]

So you were a no-show, eh Dave? I thought you would wimp out. Of course you may have come in while I was blind from all the cider I drank. :O