\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My idea of the \u201cperfect public house\u201d is not one with a fireplace (this is, clearly, a safety hazard) or China mugs or different bars (this is, clearly, a social hazard). My ideal pub is by no means quiet and I can always order dinner there (but one must consider that, on a student\u2019s stipend, \u201cdinner\u201d oftentimes means \u201cchips\u201d).<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Like George Orwell<\/a>, I have yet to stumble across my own \u201cperfect pub,\u201d but I\u2019ve come close. The Court<\/a>, located on Tottenham Court Road, has the atmosphere I\u2019m after. The music is loud, and usually American, but encourages no dancing (Andrew Russell and Megan Liberty \u2013 who will dance anywhere \u2013 are excluded). Customers stand out on the corner with pints and fags in hand, puffing and sipping away and enjoying the views of the bustling city that closes around 7 on a Saturday night.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Note: When in Londinium\u2026 talk to strangers in pubs. Bum a light or ask or just strike up conversations. You\u2019ll find that \u201cpissed\u201d Londoners are generally much more amicable than sober ones (unless football is on, in which case you should avoid the pub scene entirely if you value your life). You\u2019ll meet people like Pete \u2013 an unnaturally animated world-traveler with no regard for personal space \u2013 or Mikey \u2013 the green-clad, leprechaun hat-wearing music student who holds a stuffed duck (plush, not real) and finds endless amusement at squawking it in your ear. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Though The Court has the atmosphere, the people, and the music that I\u2019m looking for, the food at The Marlborough Arms<\/a> is superior, and their White Zinfandel is 25 pence cheaper. For the health-freak, vegetarian foodie, ordering the Meze platter at the Marlborough Arms is a must. For roughly 8 quid, you can sample: greek olives; warm, seasoned pita bread with oil and aged balsamic vinegar; marinated artichoke hearts; feta cheese; roasted red peppers and; an amazingly smooth hummous sprinkled with pine nuts. Not exactly the classic bar food one might be used to.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The history of the Museum Tavern<\/a> pub, however, trumps all others. It is not a particularly memorable pub, though the Strongbow is good (but then, where isn\u2019t<\/em> the Strongbow good in the UK?) The atmosphere is dull, there is no music and no one speaks much louder than a completely inaudible whisper (Note: Loud Americans will<\/em> receive dirty looks), but, alas, it is here that Karl Marx<\/a> wrote his Communist Manifesto<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So if you find yourself in London again, or perhaps for the first time, do go out and experience the pub scene for yourself. It is an integral element of British culture, and a valuable source of entertainment, Squawking ducks, leprechaun hats and Andrew Russell\u2019s dancing included.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My idea of the \u201cperfect public house\u201d is not one with a fireplace (this is, clearly, a safety hazard) or China mugs or different bars (this is, clearly, a social hazard). My ideal pub is by no means quiet and I can always order dinner there (but one must consider that, on a student\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[736,92],"tags":[1379,759,1324,1376,1375,1380,15241,1377,1369,1378],"class_list":["post-1804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anya","category-pubs","tag-the-moon-underwater","tag-andrew-russell","tag-george-orwell","tag-karl-marx","tag-megan-liberty","tag-museum-tavern","tag-pubs","tag-the-communist-manifesto","tag-the-court","tag-the-marlborough-arms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1804\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}