Pubs: Lamb & Flag

12 April 2012 - Lamb & Flag, Westminster, London


I met an American expat friend at the Lamb & Flag in Westminster for a pre-dinner pint.  As per usual, pre-dinner drinks take place right around the same time as the post-work pub rush, so the pub was full to the brim and spilling out into the street.

This pub is allegedly the oldest pub in Covent Garden.  Like most old pubs it has a dark and convoluted wood beam interior that can get almost oppressive when packed with people.  I procured a pint of Peroni and we headed upstairs in hopes of finding a table.

The Peroni was pretty good.  What was not good was the lady at the next table who stared at me and my friend the whole freaking time we were there.  Okay lady, we're in the middle of London, is it really that unusual to hear two Americans talking to each other?  I suppressed my usual, don't-stare-at-me scowl, since I was with company.



I probably won't go back to this pub.  It didn't really stand out enough to me to warrant a repeat visit.  

Pubs: The Assembly Rooms

30 March 2012 - The Assembly Rooms, Epsom, Surrey

The husband and I visited The Assembly Rooms in Epsom on a Friday night.  We rented a car for the weekend and headed up to Epsom for something we can't get in our town: sushi!  The sushi restaurant wasn't open for dinner yet by the time we arrived, so we took a walk around the center of town and ended up at The Assembly Rooms.  This is another JD Wetherspoon pub and its building allegedly dates back to the late 17th century.  I ordered a pint of the Daleside Monkey Wrench.



As soon as I walked up to the bar and discreetly took the above picture with my phone, this old guy at the bar kept staring at me for the full amount of time it took for my husband and I to order, get served, and pay.  Which leads me to:

I find that some people here in England have a serious staring problem.  Are they not taught as children that it's rude to stare?  I don't get it.  I'm not a big, loud, draws-a-lot-of-attention-to-myself stereotypical American either, not that that would justify it.  Does my snapping a quick pic with my phone really justify that level of staring/rudeness?  I usually respond to the stares by screwing my face into a scowl and muttering "can I help you?" under my breath.  My husband says that my reaction is snobby, but I don't care.  I don't like being stared at.  /tangent 

Anyhoo, the Monkey Wrench was enjoyable and the pub was spacious with lots of light.  I don't know if I'll be back anytime soon, but maybe the next time I'm in Epsom I'll stop by.

Making Friends, UK Style

Ahh friends.  I miss having friends.  Things have been fairly slow in the friend-making department.  I moved here from the US not knowing anyone but my husband and my dogs... and my social circle still pretty much consists of my husband and my dogs.  I've been here less than two months though, so I know that I'm still very new, and I can't expect to just instantly have a group of girlfriends.  But, not gonna lie, it would be nice.  I do miss having friends you can call up at the last minute to join you for a margarita or glass of wine and/or other silly stuff like at-home manicures and reality TV.

In the past few years in the US, we moved around a lot.  I think I've become fairly adept at meeting people and making new friends.  I know that it takes time.  Making friends is a lot like dating.  You don't want to come on too strong, or be too pushy and freak the other person out.  But you still have to show interest and put forth effort.

As an adult, it can be hard to meet people who are open to new friendships.  The easiest avenues for friend-making, school and work, aren't happening here either.  My formal school days are long over, and I'm not working here yet (a subject for a future post).  But I'm doing what I can.  I'm joining Meetup groups, taking an adult education class, and volunteering.  Meetup.com has been very good to me in the past.  I've met some really wonderful people through that site, and hopefully that will hold true here as well.  I've joined some American expat Meetup groups in London, and I've started a couple of local Meetups, so we'll see what happens with that.

Hanging out with Americans has been nice, but I don't want to only have American friends here.  That would kind of defeat the purpose of moving to another country.  Plus, there aren't very many Americans here in my small town, and I really would love to have some local friends.  So I'm trying to factor British reservedness into my friend-making approach.  Don't want to freak them out with my eagerness and my super friendly Texan-ness.  That's kind of a joke, because back home I'm considered pretty quiet and reserved.  I usually have to consciously make myself more open and assertive when I'm meeting new people.  Hopefully I'll figure out how to strike the right balance here.