THE GREEN

Background

The green is the pub / restaurant where Wendy works. She does part time waitress work and also does the accounting books for them. The Green is about a minutes walk from the Pog's (Wendy's) flat in Willesden Green and is right near the train station. It has only been open a few weeks and Wendy got the job because they were advertising for staff before the opening.

The Green was a little different from most pubs we have been to in England so far. It was a little more upper class and it attracted an older group of people. We turned up fairly early and grabbed a seat as Wendy told us seats are harder to get later in the night. This turned out to be quite true. Pog bought the first round, a pint each of Staroparmen. This was the first time I had drunk this beer and it wasn't bad. The pub was fairly empty at this time and we sat quietly drinking our beer and helping ourselves to the complementary olives and nuts. Cashews, Almonds and Macadamias.
Pog grabbed a bar menu and we ordered our dinner. Pog and I had sweet chili chicken with avocado salad at £5.75 each and Donna had a beef burger with cheese at £8.50. Fairly expensive food but Wendy tells us the chef is one of the best in London. We talked through dinner and Wendy told us about Heogaarden. This is a white beer that the pub has on tap for £4 a pint. I think it was Donna who bought the next round and Wendy and I had a Heogaarden. It was a strange tasting beer that reminded me of some beers that I had drunk back in Sydney at a German pub. I didn't think that much of it at first but It grew on me and by the end of the pint I was a fan. One of the bar staff noticed our drinks were a bit low and gave us a new round on the house. This may have influenced my liking for Heogaarden.
By this stage we had started a drinking game using the olives and the empty nut bowl. The rules were simple: Using your thumb, project the olive out of your hand (similar to marbles) and land it in the nut bowl that is positioned in the middle of the table If you get it in the other person has to drink three fingers of their beer.
For some reason Wendy was trying to land the olive in my beer for the first 4 or 5 goes. It wasn't until I got it in that it came to light. Donna and I just thought she was a really bad shot.
One of the guys at the bar came over to see how we were doing. His name was Chris. I later found out that Donna was flicking him on the ear when he was trying to serve customers. He had a good laugh at us,
The game soon fell apart as we got drunker and olives started appearing in peoples pints. Wendy swore she caught me putting one in her drink even though it had been there for a good 10 minutes.
By the time Luke arrived the 2 girls had drunk themselves stupid. Donna ran out the front to sit in the fresh air because she thought she would be sick and refused to come back in. Eventually Wendy and Luke came out and we all went home. On the way I swung Wendy around by the arm and then put her on my shoulder. When I put her down she looked very distressed and didn't know where she was. We then both walked right past her place and had to turn around and go back. Luke and Donna thought this was hilarious.
I had a good time as did Donna and Wendy. It was good to catch up with Wendy again. I'm sure it won't be the last time we make fools of ourselves.