Wayne D's Blog

There used to be this pub close to our house. It was frayed around the edges and looked better at night than in the daytime.  Bands performed there on the weekends and for a while they tried having performers on Sunday afternoon.  My kids loved it there because they had a Lord of the Rings pinball machine there that gave three plays for $2 or seven plays for $3.  It was fairly easy to get free games and the regulars would often get good enough that they would get bored before running out of plays and leave the machine with credits on it.  After smoking was banned in bars without seperately ventilated smoking rooms they put in a $1.99 kids menu to attract families.  I was cheaper to take the kids to Limericks than MacDonalds.  Unfortunately one day a sign went up in the window "Closed for Renovations".  A few weeks later the notice from the landlord appeared announcing that the locks had been changed for non-payment of rent.  The space sat empty over the summer, when fall arrived it reopened as a All Star Wings and Ribs.  About the only thing that stayed the same is the wood bar.  The stage is gone and each table has a flat screen showing sports.  The staff is friendly, the food is good but it's not the same.  The pinball machine is history and there is no more live music. 


Another place we used to visit was Shoeless Joes.  It has inexpicably changed it name to Scrappy Joes.  The kids liked it and my brother and I almost saw a fight break out there one night.  I used to occasionally visit a pub called the King Henry's Arms that was located in the same plaza as our local Canadian Tire store.  Then Canadian Tire moved to a new, bigger location 4 kms further away and I stopped visiting the plaza.  Come to think of it since Canadian Tire moved I haven't been to Canadian Tire either.  A few weeks ago I had to go to the plaza to deposit a cheque in the bank that is located there and I dropped by for old times sake. I had a pint and an order of curry and fries, the bill came to $8.88.


Now I am in a quandry as to which bar to lend my allegience.  Stay tuned for the resolution.