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WALTHAM ABBEY: Slovak president drops into pub for a pint (From This Is Local London)
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Slovak Republic president Ivan Gasparovic visited the Welsh Harp in Waltham Abbey for a pint of Fosters after watching Olympic canoe slalom
10:23am Wednesday 8th August 2012 in Where I Live
By Clare Hardy, Senior reporter
President Ivan Gasparovic (left) with John Lipsett, landlord of the Welsh Harp
CRIES of ‘na zdravie’ – Slovak for cheers – were heard in a pub as the country’s president popped in for a pint.
Ivan Gasparovic, president of the Slovak Republic, visited the Welsh Harp in Market Square, Waltham Abbey, with his entourage after watching an Olympic canoe slalom event down the road.
The pub’s landlord, John Lipsett, 52, said: “He wanted to come and visit an old English pub and he thoroughly enjoyed himself.
“He wasn’t that great at speaking English, but he tried to shake hands with everyone in the pub.
“We didn’t get any warning, for security reasons. Five or six cars turned up with diplomatic flags on and bodyguards.”
The president, who drank Fosters at the pub, had been watching events at the Lee Valley White Water Centre just outside the town after the visit on Thursday.
The country’s Michal Martikán had won a bronze medal in the men’s canoe single a few days before.
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