Monday, November 17, 2008

Life in the U.K. - 3


Here's an article I find about the oldest pubs in the U.K. And it's getting serious.

Earlier this year, an online row over which pub was the oldest in south Buckinghamshire alone became so furious that Wikipedia was forced to remove the offending articles.
They take their pubs seriously over here. And there is a lot of competition in the four countries to determine which is the oldest in each. Of course, once they figure out the number 1 in each country, they'll start arguing about which is the oldest in the Kingdom.

There is one in Wales that can produce a paper trail back to 1110. Yeah, 1110. 382 years before Columbus sailed for India. And around the time the Vikings supposedly were exploring New Jersey. New Jersey. Is it any wonder they didn't stay.

But the writer does have his priorities in order here:
When all is said and done, though, there is little definitive proof of which pub is Britain’s oldest. But after a pint or three in these character-rich watering holes, you may well ask – does it really matter?
Not to me. But I haven't been here that long.

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