Start of the (pub) crawl

There were lots of other blips in the can, but there was really no contest in the end, not on the day that's in it.

We began the evening in the Forty Foot bar in Dún Laoghaire to raise our glasses to Arthur (Arthur Guinness, that is). The celebrations were timing to begin at 17:59, marking the signing of a 9000-year lease for the Guinness brewery in the year 1759, so 250 years ago. Lots of venues around the world were joining in the fun, with kick-off in the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. We didn't manage to raise our glasses at the magic hour, but I did time placing my order with great precision. It's a pity the till uses ama nd pm on printed receipts, but 5:59 pm will just have to do, I suppose.

I have to say that the Forty Foot pint wasn't the best, and we certainly didn't feel like staying there for a second, so we moved on. Next stop was Weirs, where the pint was better, and cheaper, but still not as creamy as it should be. From there we stopped in Dunphys: cheaper still, and the best yet (though perhaps too cold). When it came to finishing our mini pub crawl and our tribute to Arthur, there was only one choice possible: O'Loughlin's, for the best pint in Dún Laoghaire. They didn't let us down. The pints were the cheapest of the lot, and by far the best.

It was after 9.00 pm by this stage, and tummies were rumbling. We went to Monkstown and had a very pleasant meal upstairs in The Pub (which may or may not still be connected to F X Buckley's -- we think it is).