The Dew Drop Inn Virtual Rugby Pub, Amaile

First topic message reminder :

Hello and welcome to the Virtual Rugby Pub, a place where you can come in for a sly beverage and discuss whatever's on your mind, or just eavesdrop on the regulars if you fancy a break from all the rugby chat.

The pub has made its way to Amaile on the eastern-most tip of Upolu Island in Samoa - the first place on Earth to usher in the New Year.

So hop on a hammock and let one of the locals pour a kava down your throat as you are trying to read Tusiata Avia's famous poem: "Wild Dogs Under My Skirt" to the sounds of the Yandell Sister's "Sweet Inspiration" blaring in the background.

The only rule in this pub is one of mutual respect for everyone in it, oh and no tampering with the pictures of George Pisi, Census Johnston, Paul Williams, Tony Greig, Christopher Martin Jenkins, Mike Nicholls, Babsy and Jeremy Su'a above the bar.




Previous Pub: https://www.606v2.com/t38437p950-the-dew-drop-inn-virtual-rugby-pub-edinburgh

Ah Notch!

That is just not true!

Granted we are not as cosmopolitan as London but there are places to scource good ingredients here. Even 20 years ago things were not as bad as you imply!

There were at least 2 supermakets stocking ingredients from the East at that time and there are many more now.

Glas a du wrote:Oroight, ooi wuz awnley jawkin maite.

I'm not sure what to make of that Glas, it starts off OK but runs into what appears to be Yorkshire dialect. Jawkin should most definitely be jowkin and maite would scan better as mayt, I think. Gud effut tho shag.

On the food thing, a local saying goes "Om so clammed ah cud ate a scabby oss." It appears to be closer to the truth than many would like to think.

One of my best mates is a Sikh, Notch. His sheekh kebabs are wonderful.

For sure, we have a range of cuisines in London and some places are more 'authentic' than others. For really pukka Indian food you have to go to one of the local Indian clubs. You don't have to be a member to get into most of them.

We have very good Chinese restaurants, but you have to go to central London for a real mix.

MrsP - I suppose my meal has come from far and wide.

As I said, I've the time to source, and cook, some decent meals.

Any smokies?

I used to be a regular at a Mongolian barbeque next to Chiswick Park tube, lovely stuff.

One of the decent things about going into Brum is the Balti Triangle, great food and you take your own booze so it's a dirt cheap night out too.

I prefer the triangle they have in Edinburgh

Aye PJ. I had my first Balti in Wuss a few years back. Lovely

We also have a couple of really good 'kebab' houses locally, where you can have a really good scoff sat down at the back, and bring your own grog.

I haven't tried any in Edinburgh, Leicester has some good ones and Brick Lane used to have a cornucopia of eastern delights, I haven't been there since I moved back about 12 years ago though, so if it's probably like Disney Curry now.

haven't tried any in Edinburgh...

It's not curry that's on display...

MrsP wrote:Ah Notch!

That is just not true!

Granted we are not as cosmopolitan as London but there are places to scource good ingredients here. Even 20 years ago things were not as bad as you imply!

There were at least 2 supermakets stocking ingredients from the East at that time and there are many more now.

Yeah, you're probably right- this is the psychological difference between being on foot and owning a car though! I simply don't think about the rest of the city. Belfast is a city of villages and I've no reason to go anywhere else (unless I'm visiting my Grandparents over on the East, in Orangefield and Knock). My Belfast goes into the city centre via the Dublin Road and the Ormeau Road and includes the City Centre, the Golden Mile, the University area, the Ormeau Road (as far as Ravenhill), Botanic Avenue and Gardens, Stranmillis Village and the Upper Malone Road. It pretty much cuts off there! And I only ever go past Stranmillis Village for work.

The fact I have no reason to go anywhere in Belfast outside walking distance is why I've been supremely unaffected by the Trouble around East Belfast even though I grew up near that area and am following events closely.

But Belfast IS incredibly monocultural, even if the ethnic Chinese and Polish/Eastern European populations are on the rise. One of the things I miss about walking down a street in Edinburgh and Glasgow is being able to hear three or four languages spoken. The cultural melting pot that is London is even more fascinating from that perspective.

My mum tells me about going out to visit families now in East Belfast where the parents are switching between Chinese and English and the wee child opens her mouth and comes out with a right thick wee East Belfast accent, so she does

Glas a du wrote:

haven't tried any in Edinburgh...

It's not curry that's on display...

Dare I ask, or should I just surmise? I'm guessing there's sauce of some description involved?

They call it the 'Public Triangle' or something like that.

Glas a du wrote:They call it the 'Public Triangle' or something like that.

Yes, very salacious. Had some friends who went there when I was a student. Not my thing at all. Bit of a weird one, don't think I would like it.

Public? You mean like civic dogging?!

No, no, you're quite right.

PJHolybloke wrote:Public? You mean like civic dogging?!

No! Don't tell me you haven't heard of the Pubic Triangle?

Glas a du wrote:

PJHolybloke wrote:Public? You mean like civic dogging?!

No! Don't tell me you haven't heard of the Pubic Triangle?

Not fair. You definitely wrote public.

Beastly man.

Re: The Dew Drop Inn Virtual Rugby Pub, Amaile
by Notch Today at 9:36 pm

.MrsP wrote:
Ah Notch!

That is just not true!

Granted we are not as cosmopolitan as London but there are places to scource good ingredients here. Even 20 years ago things were not as bad as you imply!

There were at least 2 supermakets stocking ingredients from the East at that time and there are many more now.

Yeah, you're probably right- this is the psychological difference between being on foot and owning a car though! I simply don't think about the rest of the city. Belfast is a city of villages and I've no reason to go anywhere else (unless I'm visiting my Grandparents over on the East, in Orangefield and Knock). My Belfast goes into the city centre via the Dublin Road and the Ormeau Road and includes the City Centre, the Golden Mile, the University area, the Ormeau Road (as far as Ravenhill), Botanic Avenue and Gardens, Stranmillis Village and the Upper Malone Road. It pretty much cuts off there! And I only ever go past Stranmillis Village for work.

The fact I have no reason to go anywhere in Belfast outside walking distance is why I've been supremely unaffected by the Trouble around East Belfast even though I grew up near that area and am following events closely.

But Belfast IS incredibly monocultural, even if the ethnic Chinese and Polish/Eastern European populations are on the rise. One of the things I miss about walking down a street in Edinburgh and Glasgow is being able to hear three or four languages spoken. The cultural melting pot that is London is even more fascinating from that perspective.

My mum tells me about going out to visit families now in East Belfast where the parents are switching between Chinese and English and the wee child opens her mouth and comes out with a right thick wee East Belfast accent, so she does


I don't know Notch.

Maybe you're the parochial one.

My 2 youngest kids are at the local primary and I can think of at least 10 or 11 different origins of the kids in their classes without even knowing all their backgrounds. I can think of about 8 kids I know personally at the school who have come with virtually no English in the past couple of years and there would have been lots before that.

Korea, Singapore, India, Spain, Poland, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangkok. All in my kids classes alone.

It's great! I know there are schools where the numbers of kids who arrive with no English can really put a strain on the staff who are trying to teach a whole class where hardly 2 kids speak the same tongue but the level we have near us is just fantastic.

The schools my older ones are at are probably even more diverse.

You need to get out more lad!

Don't hit me!

I let my guard down outside a hotel I was staying at in Hanoi and bought what I thought was a Vietnamese style 'hotdog'. After the first bite something didn't taste right. Funny how you can avoid something for a week every day - then for some reason you feel as though you better buy something off the old lady in the stall out the front on the last day of a stay in some foreign place. The buns were fine though.

The bloke at the front desk had a good laugh and I can honestly say I've never had so many soft drink chasers to try and get rid of the taste. It was the same time as that 2006 SXIV Final between the Crusaders and the Canes in the fog where you couldn't see the players or the ball for most of the match.

Also (it's hard to verify) I think I had roosters testicles in some weird looking soup in Saigon - but I just kept telling myself they were 'pork balls'. The host thought it was the funniest thing ever to see the look of horror/disgust on my face.

Jeez Glas, you makea the onea mistakea...

Like I said, the little schitt deserved it, probably.

Hi Breaker, I'm guessing the hotdog was boiled Fido then?

Yea that's right notch SIT DOWN!!! And don't dare answer back again!

Yeah PJ and judging from the few (still alive) emaciated, boil-ridden, rabies-infected pooches I saw in the Old Town... it tasted how they looked.

Kind of like a cross between and old pair of sweaty socks and meat that's been sitting in the back of the fridge for a year or two!
They add some salt (and God knows what else) to it to take the edge off it though.

Sorry Breaker, must have been something you ate.

Oh, and a description I didn't need.

I thought he was describing Stephen Donald PJ

thanks for reminding me... whoever brought the subject up!

I witnessed worse things in the outer suburbs. Incredibly cruel things going on out in the open. They have a completely different take on what we would call 'pets' over there. You wouldn't want to be a fish or an eel either!

WillyGilly wrote:Yea that's right notch SIT DOWN!!! And don't dare answer back again!

Oh no WillyG.

Answering back in this context is good!

It's called a "conversation"!



Now, you SIT DOWN!

Not there!



How are you anyway? No signs of equine protein in M&S burgers I bet!

prop_lyd wrote:I thought he was describing Stephen Donald PJ

If only biglad, if only. Truth be told Donald isn't THAT well thought of. I'll miss you at the weekend bud.

Different strokes isn't it Breaker? One of the most wonderful things about travel is the opportunity to observe other cultures objectively. Something that largely passed our Victorian ancestors by, apparently.

Just realised we have lots of sports journalists from the UK presenting the latest sports news here. A breath of fresh air. One guy has a really strong Northern accent and it's hilarious listening to him trying to pronounce some curly indigenous names and place names.

One of them is interviewing a football commentator called Ian Holyman right now. Any relation PJ?

Probably Breaker.

PJ is from the branch of the family they never caught!

Anyone following the tennis this year? It's going to be a scorcher in Melbourne today. 39 degrees... but obviously much hotter out on the courts.

Andy Murray struggled a few years back but you have to give it to him given his form over the last year or so. He's much better prepared these days. He's playing Joao Sousa later on today.

PJHolybloke wrote:

prop_lyd wrote:I thought he was describing Stephen Donald PJ

If only biglad, if only. Truth be told Donald isn't THAT well thought of. I'll miss you at the weekend bud.

I know fella, only up the road in London too.........have a on me!!

Way too likely Breaker, way too likely. There aren't many of us about and the highest concentrations in the UK are in the Black Country and Lincolnshire.

I got caught for whistling on a Tuesday once, but it was deemed melodic and not in the public interest to prosecute. I'm a good boy I am.

prop_lyd wrote:

PJHolybloke wrote:

prop_lyd wrote:I thought he was describing Stephen Donald PJ

If only biglad, if only. Truth be told Donald isn't THAT well thought of. I'll miss you at the weekend bud.

I know fella, only up the road in London too.........have a on me!!

Bummer, can't you sort of nick off for a bit? Also, I don't wish to come across as ungrateful, but do you mind if I swap the for a ?

MrsP wrote:

WillyGilly wrote:Yea that's right notch SIT DOWN!!! And don't dare answer back again!

Oh no WillyG.

Answering back in this context is good!

It's called a "conversation"!



Now, you SIT DOWN!

Not there!



How are you anyway? No signs of equine protein in M&S burgers I bet!

Yes mam...



To be honest given the 'class' of the usual m&s customer I wouldn't be surprised if they were disappointed we don't do horse burgers.

Do you mean they are so cosmopolitan they would be likely to give them a go or that they are too stupid to notice?

OR BOTH?

Or more likely... Yah,horse, good to ride, let's see how they are grilled. Such fun.

I've heard tell of people buying rotisserie chickens for their dogs, fresh salmon for their cats and cox apples for their horses... So option 1 definitely...

"My mum tells me about going out to visit families now in East Belfast where the parents are switching between Chinese and English and the wee child opens her mouth and comes out with a right thick wee East Belfast accent, so she does"

Most of the kids in London these day speak a language we call 'innit', no matter where they're from.

Everything they say ends with "innit".

Some pals try to educate their kids to 'talk properly' but they know the kids will just go back to 'innit' as soon as they leave the house.

Cockerney, ain't what it used to be me ole chinas.

Off up the apples, drag off me Harpers and dahn for a feather.

Good evening all.

Hey Stag, just in time to catch Hound going wobbly bob.

WTF is Harpers?

A barf man turning down ?!

It's good evening Stag and nos da from me....early start tomorrow!

Yeah, but I isn't from Barf, innit. So in my yard it's , seen?

BTW, just got Harpers & ...

Harpers & Queens mate. Jeans.

Don't worry about the 'feather' bit - I don't use the whole chicken

Feather and flip = kip.

I don't know the origin of that either, I just know it's the slang term.

MrsP wrote:
Korea, Singapore, India, Spain, Poland, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangkok. All in my kids classes alone.

It's great! I know there are schools where the numbers of kids who arrive with no English can really put a strain on the staff who are trying to teach a whole class where hardly 2 kids speak the same tongue but the level we have near us is just fantastic.

The schools my older ones are at are probably even more diverse.

You need to get out more lad!

Well thats good to hear, its a VERY far cry from when I was growing up. I think almost (but probably not quite) every single child in my school (Strandtown Primary, East Belfast) was white protestant. Of course- that was before the Good Friday Agreement.

I actually have friends from a very diverse range of backgrounds who either live in Belfast or did until recently, because they are international students I met through the MA or PhD programmes at Queens. I just don't mention that because its not reflective of the wider population

Seriously though, this change is not necessarily borne out in the workplace and I would be interested to see how the GFA has affected immigration figures because if families started moving over here more from 1999 onwards, any kids they might have would be of school age. This is all supposition based anecdotes without actual facts, but its interesting to think about.

Eira mân, eira mawr

"Small flakes make for big snow"

Hey all! Hope everyone is good.... flat out at the minute.. no idea what is going on in the rugby world right now... !

Watched Stephen Nolan show tonight and wish I hadn't.......

Hound_of_Harrow wrote:Harpers & Queens mate. Jeans.

Don't worry about the 'feather' bit - I don't use the whole chicken

Feather and flip = kip.

I don't know the origin of that either, I just know it's the slang term.

I worked on a site with a bunch of London lads about 8/9 years ago and me and a couple of mates .
used to drive them nuts with our inability to get the rhyming slang.

Ow you goin me old China mate? Off up the Apple and stairs with yer April tools? Don't forget to wipe yer daisy boots before you go into flat 4, it's got the rugs in. Oh, and make sure you got yer titfer hat on cause the site agent's about.

It took a good 6 weeks to break em, they was tough cookies.

They finally cracked when we started making up our own "rhyming slang".

Glas a du wrote:Eira mân, eira mawr

"Small flakes make for big snow"

Cool aphorism bro!