I suppose this is somewhat blasphemous to say, but I definitely think this year’s UK Canada Day ranks among the best Canada Day celebrations I have had!
Most of London’s Canuck travellers and expats make a pilgrimage to Trafalgar Square every year on the 1st of July to celebrate the Great White North, don red and white, and wave a few maple leaf flags. Tim Hortons, Canadian bands and artists, Molson Canadian and Sleeman all join in on the festivities and we give London a little taste of what it means to be Canadian (which apparently centres largely around beer, donuts, and poutine).
A stone’s throw from Trafalgar Square is the Maple Leaf pub, a “Canadian pub,” where expats gather year round but is absolutely bursting at the seams on Canada Day.
We met lots of Canadian here – mostly from Toronto or Vancouver – including a chap in a red and white sweatsuit from Brantford, where I lived for two years, and a girl who was apparently in the same program as me at uni. We never met in Canada, but we share mutual friends.
We were sitting under a portrait of Mr. Molson when John Sleeman passed by, stopping to take photos with pub patrons and complement those drinking his brew on their taste (apparently he shows up every year).
A few doors down from the Maple Leaf, there is a Canada/Australia/New Zealand/South Africa store selling products from the former English colonies. We stocked up on some treats to enjoy with our Canadian brews.
Of course, WB had to have poutine. Unfortunately, as expected, it was made with mediocre chips and shredded cheese – not the squeaky curds that make poutine well…poutine!
And I had to have a Bloody Caesar.
All in all, it did feel like a little piece of home, even if the beer was not the best Canada has to offer and the poutine was a sham. It reminded me that there is a lot to love about Canada, and even made me a bit excited to be going home in a month’s time. A little bit.
