Meet You At The Local

Strange names for pubs have long been a source of amusement, and were anticipated as a bonus novelty of visiting London – surely, there would be eccentrically named drinking dens in abundance. The trip wasn’t overflowing with ale (more like beset with bakeries), but there were enough oddly named pubs to not disappoint.

One particular pub managed to fill the entire funny name quota in one fell swoop...

Badgers are quite entertaining enough by themselves, but a fat badger... that’s just almost too good to be true...

“D’you feel like a pint after work? Great, see you down the Fat Badger at six thirty”

“Sorry, going to be late home tonight – got to get to the Fat Badger for the meat tray*”

“So, you two met at the Fat Badger? Really?”

Lots of pubs are equal parts historical and funny, with long and convoluted tales of how they got their names. Names like the Elephant & Castle. If you feel like (depending on your point of view) being better informed, or ruining the magic, this might be a useful resource...

But I still think that this one might be my favourite pub name ever. The Tipsy Penguin might not be bad, either.

Sadly, since our return, I've discovered that The Fat Badger is no more, having closed. It used to be found on Portobello Road in Notting Hill, London. Hopefully the locals have found a new (and funny-named) watering hole to replace it...

* Or... the tombola. Oh dear.

All pictures on this post by the Sticky Penguin