Our Sister Pub, The Princess of Wales
A lot of folks that frequent the Horse Brass know about our Sister Pub in London. The story of how it happened is just one of the many tales that have been told in the pub. Here's how it really happened.
About ten years ago, the late Jim Kennedy, the Horse Brass Pub's good friend and longtime beer distributor, was the distributor for Widmer Brewing Company. He and his wife Bobbie threw a party at their home. They poured from a keg of Widmer, which was fairly new back then. The export manager for Young's Brewery was there, and they all had a great time chatting about England, beer, and other interesting subjects, including a mutual love for the game of darts.
Anyone who knows Don knows that he is almost always in a state of creative brainstorming, and much to his credit, in a spirit of universal appeal (win-win situations are something he does best). He talked about how great it would be if the best dart teams in the Pacific Northwest were to play against Young's Brewery teams in England. And Dan Kopman loved the idea -- he agreed to sponsor an expense-paid holiday in England for the best Northwest dart team to compete with teams from various Young's pubs in London.
For ten weeks, playoffs were organized at different taverns in Oregon and Washington. Before long, the best team from Oregon was matched with the team in Washington. The match was to be played in Seattle at D.B. Coopers. The date was set, the road trip organized, and a bus load of Horse Brass fans headed for Seattle. This would be a bus trip to remember for a long time. Even the destination sign on the front of the bus was changed from "Portland to Seattle" to read "Portland to London". They had a great time, but the greatest trip of all was still ahead of them. A dream was becoming a reality.
As it turned out, the team from Oregon was victorious! A few weeks later, Art from Washington, Don, and four team players from the Horse Brass were headed to London to compete against Young's Brewery teams. Other fans, paying their own way, went along to support the dart-shooters (and to have a good time).
The first night, they stayed in London in a hotel on the Thames. As promised, Dan had arranged nightly competitions at various London pubs, and they had a blast. Then on the very last night of their stay, they had a choice of where they wanted to go. It was unanimous --- everyone wanted to go back to the Princess (at the time, the Prince) of Wales in South London.
No one can say exactly what it was or how it occurred, but all agreed that it was a magical evening. Friendships were made that night that would last forever. Everyone played darts, talked and enjoyed each other's company 'til the early hours of the morning.
Since then the Horse Brass has arranged groups to travel back to England to visit our friends at the Princess of Wales. Each time, the hospitality and warmth we are given is absolutely incredible. It's magic.
Our British friends have reciprocated with trips to Portland. Everyone gets excited about their arrival, everyone starts planning trips to the beach and mountains, everyone who is able offers their extra bedroom or their couch. At one time the Horse Brass established "Bucks for Britain", where a patron can buy coupons for beers and a portion of the funds would go into a main fund to contribute to airline costs for British friends wishing to travel here. It's all about friendship!