New British pub in DC!

Dear England, Following my posts about Union Jacks in Bethesda and the Elephant & Castle on Pennsylvania Avenue, there's now a new British pub in DC - in Columbia Heights!

Columbia Heights has seen a lot of development in recent years, and now includes the Commonwealth Gastro Pub, a pretty upscale pad offering all your faves from Yorkshire pud to Toad in the Hole! The one drawback - the drinks are a little pricey ($8 for a Strongbow - what's that all about?) This drawback amuses me somewhat, given the tagline being used - "the People's Pub."

Anyway, good to see another British pub in the city.

Cheers!

Hubert Selby Jr. - quote of the day!

"The responsibility of the artist is to transcend the human ego." Hubert Selby, Jr.

Hubert Selby Jr. wrote Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream, both made into decent movies. I just finished watching the documentary of his fascinating life, "Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow" (2005). He goes from tough kid / only child in Brooklyn, skipping school, to a merchant seaman who contracted a terrible disease from the cattle being transported to Europe at sea in World War II, to spending years in a hospital, having a lung removed, becoming a heroin abuser for the pain after getting hooked on morphine, drying out and quitting booze at 40, then surprising everyone and living for another thirty years (and writing some amazing and pretty dark fiction).

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Enough said!

Here's the last thing Hubert 'Cubby' Selby, Jr. wrote:

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A List of Indignities

Birth
Death

Beijing Olympics Medal Count!

Dear England, As you can see from this chart we're not doing bad in the medal count so far!

The UK has 2 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze, putting us in 10th place! You can see the breakdown for our Gold (Cycling and Swimming), Silver (Cycling and Canoeing) and Bronze (Horse riding x2 and Swimming) at this link.

Come on England!

Shouldn't that telephone box be red?

As telephone boxes are fast disappearing from the UK altogether, they're surviving on the campus of George Washington University - albeit in blue. Dear England, we miss our red telephone boxes!

China - don't ban our Vegemite!

Vegemite is a much loved food in Australia, worshipped with an equivalent love/hate that we Brits have for our Marmite.

Click the image to read the article - the small print says "C'mon China, don't ban our Vegemite!"