Qype: Cockney Pride in London

London – Pubs & Bars – Pubs

Does anyone remember this huge underground pub which used to stretch from Piccadilly Circus/Coventry St. to Jermyn St.?

I got introduced to it by a British photographer from Farnham who worked for my hometown newspaper in Wolfsburg/Germany at the time.

Since then, I returned to Cockney Pride whenever I was in London (and while the pub was still around).

I particularly liked the fact that, despite the touristy location, Cockney Pride seemed to attract both Londoners and travellers.

My favourite Cockney Pride memory is an evening which involved a singing competition between British and Swedish soccer fans. In one corner of the main hall (which faced Jermyn St.) the Brits started singing their team’s anthem. Close by Swedish fans countered by trying to sing their anthem with an even higher volume than the Brits. This happened shortly before the „Last Orders“ call – you can imagine how the singing teams’ volume increased by 11 p.m.!

[I wrote this under the influence of various songs by my favourite British pub rock duo Chas 'n' Dave. Some of their songs are available for download at emusic - here's C&D's main page at emusic.]

Check out my review of Cockney Pride – I am PJebsen – on Qype

Schlagworte: ale, beer, chas and dave, closed, cockney pride, coventry st., jermyn st., london, piccadilly, piccadilly circus, pub, pub rock