by Jeremy Quinton
Home >> The Red Lion
The Red Lion is one of the most popular pub names. It has its origins in the 14th century, when King James VI of Scotland became the king of England. He decreed that the Red Lion, which was on his coat of arms, be displayed all over the place. Many innkeepers thought it might be wise to humour him, so it appeared outside pubs all over the country.
Pub names can come from many different sources – here is a list of some of them:
o relating to its location: The Three Arrows, The Railway, The Church o reflecting local trades: The Mason’s Arms, The Square and Compass o local sporting activities: The Cricketers, The Fighting Cocks o a noted individual: The Marquis of Granby, The Lord Nelson o an historic event: The Trafalgar, The Royal Oak o with a royal or aristocratic association: The King’s Arms, The King’s Head, The Queen Victoria, The Duke of Cambridge o with the names of two objects which may or may not be complementary: The George and Dragon, The Rose and Crown, The Dog and Handgun, The Crow and Gate o with names of tools or products of trades: The Propeller, The Wheatsheaf o alluding amusingly to everyday phrases: The Nowhere Inn Particular, The Dewdrop Inn, The Drift Inn (known locally as the “stagger oot”)
Some pub names that appear nonsensical may have come from corruptions of older names or phrases. For example, the name The Goat and Compasses is apparently a corrupted version of the phrase “God encompasseth us”.
Many people navigate using pub names. If you ask for directions in England, don’t be surprised if you’re told to turn left at The Dog and Duck, and straight on until you see The Unicorn!
The pub that people visit most often is called their local. More often than not, this will be the pub nearest their home, but sometimes people choose their local for a different reason. This could be because it’s close to work, it’s where their friends go, or because of a specific beer or it’s non-smoking.
Our local in Donostia is called Etxaniz – it’s not the nearest but we love their pintxos!
What’s your local called?
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This weekly letter uses material from the Wikipedia article “Public house�? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pub), the British Pub Guide (http://www.britishpubguide.com/cgi-bin/pubnews.cgi) and the article “Pubs in the UK – what are they?�? (http://www.pubutopia.com/pubs_public_house_information.php)
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“I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society,
except that which makes the road safer, the beer stronger,
the old men and women warmer in the winter, and happier in the summer.”
—Irish novelist Brendan Behan
Amen.
When I was younger, my friends and me went to “ca’juancri” or “paché”.
You can eat or drink all night long for 500 pts.
Great, 3€, now, I can’t go out after a week of work, because I have got too many things, that I need to make at weekend.
I don’t know if I work for live, or I live for work…
Best 4 U
I don’t normally go to pubs nor bars. But I do go to cafes a lot. Could I call my favourite cafe “my local”?
Anyway, my favourite cafe is Cafe Literatur. It’s at the Heidelberg City Library (which explains its name, right?). I go to the library every week, so it’s very convenient for me to meet up with friends and acquaintances there.
I have four Spanish friends who are there very often. When we have a coffee at Cafe Literatur, our voices get louder and louder. Many of the regular clients are there to read books while sipping their drinks. They glare at us, and then we remember that we’re in Germany and have to lower our volume!
Thankyou for your great comments!
A cafe in a library? That sounds great!
I must say that after we go to the bar for pintxos, we more often than not go to a cake shop opposite for dessert… In fact, now that I think about it, we probably go there more often than the bar – in which case that should be our local!
Got a list Dave (or Dónal!) of typical pintxos “northern style”??!
There was a restaurant on the corner of the block of my childhood home called The Red Lion. Apparently it wasn’t successful because it was eventually bought out and renamed The Panda House. I’ll bet you can’t guess what kind of food that was.
Anyway, in San Sebastian it’s hard to have a (one) local…we like to go to several for pintxos and zuritos! Goiz Argi for shrimp on a stick, Astelena for foie (I don’t like it but supposedly it’s good)...never been to Etxaniz, though. After those types of places, there are night “locals,” but that’s very different…
The Rose and Crown? That was the pub at my hotel in Tunisia, full of dumb tourism (the kind that goes across the world to drink beer at an English pub).
Another day I will talk about the volume of the Spanish Language, Paola. I don’t think even we can avoid being loud in it!
My local’s called “Café Comercial”. It is one of the most known cafeterias in Madrid. It was established in the past century, and was the local of many writers, artists and bachelors of that time. Since then until now, the “Café Comercial” has been a place for varied events, like politic parties presentations, social debates, theater works, etc.
Its location, near the city center, and the variety of its customers (tourists, artists and weekender teens) gives it a great ambiance.
There are two floors. The ground one is non-smoking and is usually used for having a quiet beer or a coffee, sometimes accompanied by the music of a piano. The first floor (smokers) is where the debaters, writers and chess players join themselves. I belong to the latters, so if you pass near there (Glorieta de Bilbao), get in, go the stairs up and you’ll find me ready for a chess game.
I frequented Café Comercial when I was 25 and I lived on Calle Fuencarral. It’s a perfect meeting place, very strategically located. I guess it was my local, if local means a place that’s part of your routine, that you naturally and automatically hang out in for some reason or another. When I was 26 and I lived elsewhere, I frequented this club called Whisky Jazz. I indeed became quite a regular there, if not a fixture, so much that when I walked in, or when they saw me, the band would play a few measures of “Dahil Sa Iyo,” an old corny Filipino song they had picked up somewhere and which means “Because Of You.” I can’t say it wasn’t flattering. I don’t go out much anymore. Perhaps my local now is the bakery near the office. Sad, no? That’s where I have my second morning coffee. I could have that in the office kitchen, but I want my second morning coffee professionally done. They make good foamy café con leche in Donosti. They also make good gin & tonics in Donosti. Sometimes I have a shandy across the street, in Bar Lugaritz, with my partner-in-laughing. But that’s about it. No more locals for me! (Sniff.)
My local is my own home. My mom says that this house is Grand Central Station. All the children of the neighborhood come by. If no one’s home, they wait for us outside. We meet here, then go out if it’s a nice day. If it’s not a nice day, we play right here. We have a snack if there is something to snack, maybe a Petit-Suisse or fruit. Usually there’s not enough for everyone. All the kids come here. Even the 2-year-old girl who lives upstairs likes to come here. My mom doesn’t mind, so long as they greet her, thank her, and say good-bye to her properly.
Thankyou all for your great comments!
Mr / Ms Anonymous Anonymous – don’t forget to register – it’s free!
For typical pintxos “northern style”, check out Pintxos Donosti or as it’s nearly autumn, why not try Karlos Arguiñano’s Autumn Pintxo ?
Dumb tourism – I don’t like it either but I like that description. Why do people do that?
“Café Comercialâ€? sounds great, I’ll certainly try and go the next time I’m in Madrid. Sounds a bit like the Corner House Cafe in Manchester. As well as art galleries, a bookshop and live music, they make excellent (if slightly expensive) hot chocolate, complete with marshmallows and squirty cream. Mmm.
Oscar – my wife had that when she was young too. The kids would come round to her house to play because her mum was great and let them. In their own houses they were just told to be quiet!
Dear colleagues,
It’s very funny read this kind of articles at lunch time. Your saliva start to grow in your mouth, and your brain only can process words like Spanish omelette, bravas, bacalao al pil-pil, pub, beer, coke, … white label whiskey, …. Ufffffffff.
Anyway, I’m from Avila, and my city is one of more typical cities where you can drink and eating your pintxos in a cheap way. For only one euro, you can drink an excellent and fresh beer and eating a wonderful paella, or if you prefer, a exquisite ham. In spite of it, I’m a fanatic of the Spanish breakfast. It consists in a big white coffee with a big Spanish omelette pintxo and a fresh orange juice.
I invite you to try it at 11:00, before running for 40 minutes. It really is a delight.
best regards!!!
I couldn’t resist commenting on this article, being the beerlover that I am. On holiday, my local was the summer home of my brother-in-law. He cranked out some bottles of Alhambra 1925 Reserve. Apparently one of those exquisite beers that goes down like water, it’s so good!
One of the best beers I have ever tried, and believe me, I have tried a LOT!
Hi Dave,
It was very nice to read your article, I’ve found it very interesting!
When I go to UK I like looking at the Red Lions that you can see everywhere, it’s amazing! I think my next time in UK I’ll look for the source of each pub’s name I see.
My local here in Madrid is called “Teatriz”, because of its comfortable chairs…
Best wishes,
Claudia