The Broad Street Tavern

Pub champion: Broad Street Tavern

From The Times
July 4, 2009

However Barack Obama is celebrating his first Fourth of July in the big chair, it is unlikely to be in the style in which he marked the impending marriage of his half-sister in 1997

In case you missed the revelation of this seminal moment in the President’s life, Obama came to Britain that year for his sister’s wedding in Bracknell, Berkshire, an event that was preceded by the traditional stag night, in this case involving a tour of the merry pubs of Wokingham.

You won’t find this in the President’s official biography but, according to the groom, the party sampled the delights of the cuisine at the Three Frogs before moving on to the Rose, where the appearance of a stripper prompted the young civil rights lawyer with big political ambitions to make his excuses and leave.

Having narrowly avoided career- busting photo opportunities, the political fledgeling no doubt went away from this formative experience with a broader world-view that pushed him one step closer to being qualified for a very big job.

As on other levels, Obama was leading the way. Nobody should presume to take a position of global influence without exposing himself to the rich learning experiences of the British pub, with its democratic traditions, delicate round system and constant, subtle give-and-take.

However much networking an aspirant to high office does, there are few arenas better designed for sharpening your public skills. If you can hold your own in the pub, you can, as they say, make it anywhere.

So why not salute the President’s appreciation of the virtues of the British pub by marking the Fourth of July with the Obama tour of Wokingham? The Three Frogs is still going strong, though whether he visited the now-vanished Old Rose or the New Rose is a question that is no doubt exercising presidential historians. Solve the problem with a visit instead to the Broad Street Tavern, easily the town’s best pub, which pulls the rare trick of being in a town centre and having a great range of beers, all held in place by a manager who has been there for more than ten years. Even presidents don’t last that long.

Richard Brass