Joseph Brean, National Post
Published: Wednesday, June 28, 2006
LONDON - It's usually one of the largest gatherings of Canadians outside Canada, but police said yesterday they cancelled a pub's Canada Day street party out of fears it will be a repeat of last year's "nightmare" of drunken disorder.
More than 5,000 people gathered on Canada Day 2005 at the Maple Leaf pub on Maiden Lane, a cobblestone passage beside the touristy Covent Garden market.
During the National Hockey League season, the downmarket sports bar is famous for Canadian beer, Mountie-and-moose decor and rowdy Sunday-afternoon showings of CBC's Saturday night hockey broadcast. But on Canada Day, it becomes magnetic north for thousands of expatriate hosers.
By the time the party was over, three people were in hospital, and three were in police custody. There was no beer for many blocks around and Maiden Lane itself was a "mattress of broken glass."
"There were too many flashpoints for potential disaster," said Sergeant Philip Ryan of the Metropolitan Police Service, who directs community policing in the area. "Two guys turned up with a picnic table and an icebox at 11 o'clock in the morning and they were still there at 11 o'clock at night."
He said it was only good luck there were not more injuries, and it was only because of a lack of police manpower that there were not five times as many arrests.
This year, access to the Maple Leaf will be by ticket only and police will not tolerate loitering outside.
"We encourage people to have a good time, but they will not be having a good time in Maiden Lane," Sgt. Ryan said.
In fact, Canada Day is likely to pass with barely a whisper in London, as it coincides with England's World Cup quarter-final against Portugal and the city's gay pride parade. With few exceptions, anyone who is not watching one will be watching the other.
There will be a Canadian fair and Ron Sexsmith will play a concert in front of Canada House in Trafalgar Square on June 30, but that is Independence Day for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not Canada Day. Even in their national celebrations, Canadians are forced to be the great compromisers.
"Are they really charging for tickets this year? That's brutal," said Tom Greenberg, a Toronto investment banker who enjoyed the hospitality at the Maple Leaf last year.
He said the party was raucous but innocent, and it "reflected the very best of what it means to be Canadian," including a big pot of Kraft Dinner.
In an e-mail to members of Network Canada, a social club, president Dave Matthews warned them to stay away from Maiden Lane this year "for their own safety."
jbrean@nationalpost.com
© National Post 2006
Published: Wednesday, June 28, 2006
LONDON - It's usually one of the largest gatherings of Canadians outside Canada, but police said yesterday they cancelled a pub's Canada Day street party out of fears it will be a repeat of last year's "nightmare" of drunken disorder.
More than 5,000 people gathered on Canada Day 2005 at the Maple Leaf pub on Maiden Lane, a cobblestone passage beside the touristy Covent Garden market.
During the National Hockey League season, the downmarket sports bar is famous for Canadian beer, Mountie-and-moose decor and rowdy Sunday-afternoon showings of CBC's Saturday night hockey broadcast. But on Canada Day, it becomes magnetic north for thousands of expatriate hosers.
By the time the party was over, three people were in hospital, and three were in police custody. There was no beer for many blocks around and Maiden Lane itself was a "mattress of broken glass."
"There were too many flashpoints for potential disaster," said Sergeant Philip Ryan of the Metropolitan Police Service, who directs community policing in the area. "Two guys turned up with a picnic table and an icebox at 11 o'clock in the morning and they were still there at 11 o'clock at night."
He said it was only good luck there were not more injuries, and it was only because of a lack of police manpower that there were not five times as many arrests.
This year, access to the Maple Leaf will be by ticket only and police will not tolerate loitering outside.
"We encourage people to have a good time, but they will not be having a good time in Maiden Lane," Sgt. Ryan said.
In fact, Canada Day is likely to pass with barely a whisper in London, as it coincides with England's World Cup quarter-final against Portugal and the city's gay pride parade. With few exceptions, anyone who is not watching one will be watching the other.
There will be a Canadian fair and Ron Sexsmith will play a concert in front of Canada House in Trafalgar Square on June 30, but that is Independence Day for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not Canada Day. Even in their national celebrations, Canadians are forced to be the great compromisers.
"Are they really charging for tickets this year? That's brutal," said Tom Greenberg, a Toronto investment banker who enjoyed the hospitality at the Maple Leaf last year.
He said the party was raucous but innocent, and it "reflected the very best of what it means to be Canadian," including a big pot of Kraft Dinner.
In an e-mail to members of Network Canada, a social club, president Dave Matthews warned them to stay away from Maiden Lane this year "for their own safety."
jbrean@nationalpost.com
© National Post 2006
