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The Tender Bar


It was just a bar, but it was also his sanctuary, where he regularly returned to share the triumphs and tribulations of his life. At Publicans, he found a listening ear, a comforting pat, the guiding hands and all the memories that would eventually become his bestselling memoir of the name ‘The Tender Bar’. It was reminiscent of Central Perk in Friends, or MacLaren’s Pub in How I Met Your Mother.

As S stood near the stove and patiently stir fried the onions like he always did, it just hit me. This was where I came, lugging beer and chicken, when I wanted to get away from it all and just be at home. It was where we could open our heart out and speak of the torments, the absurdities and the loneliness of the lives we led in this foreign land and expect to be understood. The alcohol would soften our hearts and loosen our tongues and the chicken curry that he prepared would keep the thoughts of our actual home at bay. It was a ritual between the three of us. Sometimes we met outside, but nothing beat the comfort and intimacy of being there at Dauerwaldweg.

And as he stood there, I realised I had found my Central Perk, my Publicans.

My Tender Bar.

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