Drinking a Fernando sure to bring a smile

In the 1970s, I tended bar at Drake's Drum, a neighborhood joint on Manhattan's Upper East Side that catered to rugby players, their groupies and a host of characters who gravitated toward the bar simply because it was a friendly place and the drinks weren't too expensive.

Indeed, a cartoon appeared in the Village Voice close to St. Patrick's Day one year, depicting people walking away from the end of the annual parade on Fifth Avenue. One of them says, "Let's go to Drake's Drum. It's not Irish, but it's cheap."

Lots of Irish people did go the Drum, though, along with English, Australian, New Zealand and American folk who were either into rugby, or just wanted a joint where they could hang with like-minded people.