Last night Andy and I went out with Erin, a friend from Ottawa who's here for a nursing conference, and two of her partners in crime. We decided the time had come to get "screeched in," a time-honoured Newfoundland custom whereby one becomes a true Newfoundlander.
We decided to go to Trapper John's, which the internet seemed to think was a good place to go. We looked up the website and it said that Fridays and Saturdays the screech in ceremony stops at 10pm due to crowds, but when we got there at 9:30, the place was practically deserted, save for an older couple making out while some salty tars played at the video gaming machines.
Luckily, soon after we arrived and sat down at our tables made from old sewing machines, a group of men arrived with a gentleman in a dress in tow. A bachelor party. Soon after that, the bachelorette party arrived to meet them, and so there were precisely 54 of us ready for the screech in.
The bartender was a crusty sot with a stick who kept yelling at us to shut up as we passed around our 1/2 ounces of screech. It took a while to coordinate, but he got us finally repeating the answer:
"Indeed I is, me auld cock, and long may yer big jib draw!"
Then we suckered down the screech - which tasted like over-fermented spiced rum - and kissed a puffin's ass. And for all that we got a nice certificate with our names on them. For authenticity, Andy's and mine are also soaked in beer. Erin has pictures of the whole shebang, so when she gets back to Ottawa you will see them.
Posted by Ally at September 14, 2008 10:55 AM