The Britannia |
We all went up to the bar to order and it was incredibly crowded with other patrons trying to put in their drink orders. We waited in front of the cash register for nearly ten minutes before we found an available employee to order from. The next problem of the night occurred when the woman taking our orders informed us that someone had hit the emergency fuel stop button on the fryer so any food would take at least an hour to be prepared. After much discussion, it was decided that we would find another place to eat at. An employee at the Britannia recommended the Black Boy, another pub that was of of the main road.
Turning off of London Road onto Old High Street, we began to walk along a residential road with few street lamps. It was very dark and the rainy drizzle was still coming down. I was expecting the Black Boy to be just a little ways off the main road, but as we kept walking I wondered just how far away it was. We walked ten minutes before the pub came into view (about 0.5 miles).
Inside the Black Boy looked very fancy with black leather chairs arranged around tables with white tablecloths and crystal wine glasses. Mr. Stamm approached the hostess who told him that they were fully booked, though at the time we could only see about four people eating in the establishment. Perhaps there was supposed to be a large party there later in the night. Keep in mind, it was about 8:00 pm by now. It seem like people here in Britain eat very late when they go out, often sometime after 8:00 pm or even 9:00 pm.
The evening was turning into a real pub crawl as we headed back to London Road. My roommates and I rarely eat out so we had no where to recommend except Posh Fish but we eliminated it from the choices because it has only about four tables, not enough for the eight of us. We ended up at the Royal Standard Pub, only two doors down from the Britannia where our pub crawl began.
The Royal Standard |
This third pub had almost the same food offerings as the Britannia, so I did end up ordering the Beef and Ale Pie. Libby, Amy and I shared a pitcher Fruit Salad, a drink containing orange juice, Smirnoff Ice, some kind of melon flavoring and lemonade (lemon-line soda). It was a pale green and slightly thick (probably from the orange juice), not at all what we were expecting. I only drank about half a glass because it had alcohol in it and I do not really feel comfortable drinking yet, even though I am of legal age in Europe.
It was nearly 9:00 pm when we got our food (we probably should have just stayed at the Britannia and we probably would have eaten by then). My dish came with the Beef and Ale Pie, brown gravy, peas, and a mound of mashed potatoes. The amount of mashed potatoes was probably the equivalent of at least one entire baked potato, probably more. The pie had very hard crust that was hard to cut, even with the knife, and contained only chucks of beef and gravy. I really did not care for the pie because it tasted to much like beer. I think I will stick to chicken and mushroom from now on, but at least I can say I have tried a traditional English dish.
GM pushed OM to ground, hand around his throat. OM tried to kick GM, but GM grabbed onto his shirt and completely ripped off OM's shirt, in a manner quite reminiscent of the Hulk. Now, Orange Shirt Man was technically No Shirt Man. They began rolling around on the floor, hitting each other until they were at our table, though at the other end from where I was standing.
At this point I looked up, expecting to see one of the bar employees stepping in, or at least calling the police. The young man attending to the bar was just standing there smirking, like he was enjoying the free entertainment. He just stood there until another employee, a young blond woman, hit him in the arm and seemed to be telling him to get someone from the kitchen. I was absolutely amazed that he would just stand there and not do anything. I would think that anyone working in a bar would have some training as to what he or she should do if a fight broke out.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Amy walking to the door, and I automatically followed her, thinking that the safest course of action would be to leave. I missed the rest of the fight but Libby and Caitlin, who left after Amy and I, told us what happened.
Libby and Caitlin were moving to leave when GM, after banging OM's head into the floor, picked up a chair to hit OM with. That is when John, Mr. and Mrs. Stamm's friend, stepped in and told him to put down the chair. Mr. Stamm ushered Libby and Caitlin outside as a woman in the pub, presumably someone who knew the men, began yelling, "That is enough. Stop, that is enough." I could see through the window that Maureen, John's wife, was beckoning him to come with her and leave.
Once everyone was outside, all we could talk about was the fight. Caitlin, who was closer to the men than I was, said she saw blood all over OM's face after GM bashed his head into the floor. I am glad I left when I did because I really did not need to see that. Less than two minutes later an ambulance sped by in the direction of the pub, and we watched to see if that was where is would stop but I think it kept going. If it was going to the pub then their response time is amazing. Later, when we were nearly back to our dorm a police car raced passed us, blue lights flashing, and we guessed that was the response for the pub fight.
This was one of the few fights I have every seen in my life, the only one that involved grown men. During high school, there were several fights a year but I only witnessed two in my entire four years there. More than once I walked right by a fight and did not notice it because I was so focused on getting to class on time.
The evening was certainly eventful, though I am afraid it gave Amy's parents the impression that Oxford is a dangerous city when it is actually quite safe.
Love this title! :)
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