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As It Happens

A cold, wet one: after pub patio floods, 2 guys sit down for a pint

Once they realized they couldn't stop the flood water from swamping the U.K. bar's beer garden, John Kelly and Steve Holt took a seat and had a pint.
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Kirkstall Bridge Inn owner Steve Holt (left) and manager John Kelly (right) on their flooded patio. (Maria Terron/Leeds International Beer Festival)

Ever wondered what it would feel like to have a beer sitting in cold, waist-deep water?

"After a few minutes, your body got used to it and it got quite pleasant," says John Kelly. "The flow of water around your legs while you're having a pint was quite enjoyable."

There's nothing that can't be solved by having a good pint of beer.- John Kelly, pub manager

Kelly is the manager of the Kirkstall Bridge Inn in Leeds, England. When the patio near a river began to flood on Sunday, he and pub owner, Steve Holt, started to try to sandbag it. But it was too late. So they decided to make the best of it.

Steve Holt and John Kelly on the submerged beer garden of their pub in Leeds, England. (Maria Terron/Leeds International Beer Festival)

"It was a pretty stupid thing to do, but it seemed like a bit of fun," Kelly tells As It Happens host Carol Off. "There's nothing that can't be solved by having a good pint of beer."

The river water was about one metre deep and many of the patio tables had been carried off by the force of the flooding.

"We got a stern telling off from Steve's wife to get out of the water before we died."

And, just because:

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