A Little Snow and Cold: No Deterrent For Tough Aussies
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MEMBERS OF THE AUSTRALIAN COUGARS football team at Mahony's Irish Pub (L-R) - Stuart Grills, Tony Cooper, Craig Shepherd, Peter Campion and Scott Sheen. |
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CELEBRATING Australia Day are (L-R) Aaron Winkler, Erin Beatty and Tom O'Sullivan. |
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EVAN WHEATLEY, Kristin Schwab (server at Mahony's) Anton Mayer, and Kim Cornish. |
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - January 26 is Australia Day and since the owners of Mahony and Sons Public House are originally from Down Under, they featured one of the biggest Australia Day parties in Vancouver.
Colleen and I took a drive out to the UBC area to take in some of the celebrations.
During the early afternoon, in an adjacent field to Mahony's pub, a Gaelic football game was held between the Vancouver Harps and the Australian Cougars football team.
The weather had turned cold with plenty of wet snow but both teams being of hardy stock played on to the bitter end.
Colleen and I decided not to attend as a snug at Mahony's was much cosier. After watching the frozen players and spectators crowding into Mahony's afterwards, we knew we'd made the right decision.
That was before Stu Grills, the captain of the Australian team, suggested that I was falling down on the job for avoiding the field. But when I asked both the Harps and the Cougars about the final score, nobody knew.
They just knew that the Cougars had won by three points - and they wonder why I wasn't out there freezing at the field? Actually, to give them their dues it was just a friendly game.
The Australians are great party people and when you put them together with the Irish, the "craic" is mighty. Mahony's pub was packed to the rafters, with many Australians wearing the yellow and green colours of Australia painted on their faces.
Chris Mahony, owner of Mahony and Sons, had one side of his face painted yellow and the other side green.
I also learned that Victoria Bitter (VB) is one of the most popular beers in Australia, and another specialty is Bundaberg Rum or as the Australians call it the "square bear."
As Colleen and I were leaving Mahony's, they were firing up the barbeque in the snow to serve some Australian specialties: lamb chops, sausages, and shrimp on skewers.
Dessert was an Australian speciality called Lamington, which is sponge cake with chocolate and coconut.
There can be no doubt the first Australia Day party at Mahony and Sons was a huge success. Don't miss it next year!
Mahony and Sons Public House is located at 5990 University Boulevard, across from the War Memorial Gym at UBC. For more information, call (604) 827-4444, or visit: www.mahonyandsons.com.
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