If you can't decide which of the big games to watch tomorrow night, we at The Olde Bell can take the agony of choice away from you! We've got two UBC boxes and will be showing both games live simultaneously at 10pm - as well as the Super 14's Rugby from 1.30pm and Sydney Swans v Port Adelaide at 4.30pm!

I'm not in Chiangmai and wouldn't be interested in football or rugby, anyway, but I am curious to know if the pub's name Olde Bell is a reference to a pub of the same name in your home country. Or do you have an old bell hanging in or outside your pub, perhaps a bell a customer can ring when he wants to offer a round of drinks to all present?

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Maestro

That's nice - to have a range of choices, well done!

The name came about because on searching for a suitable name for our new pub 4 years ago, i looked at the list of most popular British Pub names. #1 was Red Lion which my good friend Kevin has already taken to great effect, #2 was The Coach and Horses, which seemed plausible until I ran it past my wife. The Coe & Hoare didn't seem quite so appealing as you can imagine! Thereafter it was a matter of going down the list until we got to a name that both translates and transliterates into Thai and is a name Thais can easily pronounce: The Olde Bell comes out as De owe bew which is similar to London pronunciation and Rakang Borang - roughly Ancient Bell, make some kind of sense in Thai. Thereafter it was a simpe matter of popping down to Baab Tawai and purrchasing an aged bell and we were in business!

So there you are: a short history of ThE Olde Bell British Pub, Chiang Mai!!