Fantasy Pub Crawl

[StreetCowboy]

The George And Dragon on Acton High Street run and managed by Dougie(RIP) and James 2 Scottish guys. Though through the back it was known as the Shebeen. Sunday afternoons rocking out to Tony James and the FBI playing anything from the Blues Brothers soundtrack to Madness. Great times. Off our tits. Many Mondays off.This was 96 to about 1999. Then the Russians took it over and it went downhill fast.

Forgot to say that the George and Dragon was one the last pubs that some seen before they were hung all those years ago. I believe its the oldest pub in Acton Town.

Meat and juries are hung. The rest of us might aspire to be hanged.

So I suppose its agreed that we make the George and Dragon the last stop on the pub crawl, then.

Perhaps we could combine this with a couple of other threads from a few weeks ago - The Last Place... and Your Last Meal, and stop for a pub supper. I'd have the fish and chips, to answer my question about the best plaice.

http://www.thaivisa....place-on-earth/

http://www.thaivisa....your-last-meal/

SC

[draggons]

Have good memories of nights in the Preservation hall watching Tam White

One of my faviorite places has to be the Clunie Inn at the top of Glen Shiel, middle of the mountains of west Scotland.

One of the best collections of malt whisky anywhere

[smokie36]

I'm adding the Lounge in Lerwick but only before the smoking ban. A great upstairs bar with live folk music.....made many a Monday worth living I can tell you!

[Kickstand]

Just to add a little old world charm, a visit to the Tiger Tavern at Raffles in Singapore would be in order.

[StreetCowboy]

I'm adding the Lounge in Lerwick but only before the smoking ban. A great upstairs bar with live folk music.....made many a Monday worth living I can tell you!

Do you reckon that would qualify as the island paradise pub? How do you reckon Lerwick compares to Bridgetown, Barbados?

SC

[smokie36]

I'm adding the Lounge in Lerwick but only before the smoking ban. A great upstairs bar with live folk music.....made many a Monday worth living I can tell you!

Do you reckon that would qualify as the island paradise pub? How do you reckon Lerwick compares to Bridgetown, Barbados?

SC

A snowball fight afterwards? Some of the best fish and chips in the world? Year round kite flying weather?

Ok I see we're hard to please. I was thinking of adding the Smugglers in Wayeny(sic) Bay on Jersey but I just don't like the locals enough. Great fish pie though and Nigel Mansell has been known to pop in if that's your sport.

But for now I'll add Shore bar in Anjuna Goa. On a Wednesday at high tide with the trance pumping out and an afterparty at Hilltop to enjoy afterwards. My bong will be in attendance.

[StreetCowboy]

I'm adding the Lounge in Lerwick but only before the smoking ban. A great upstairs bar with live folk music.....made many a Monday worth living I can tell you!

Do you reckon that would qualify as the island paradise pub? How do you reckon Lerwick compares to Bridgetown, Barbados?

SC

A snowball fight afterwards? Some of the best fish and chips in the world? Year round kite flying weather?

...

So tell me about Lerwick. What's the plaice like?

SC

Oh, the old ones are the best.

On the topic of oldies

http://www.avo8.co.uk/songs/songs.htm

Does that ring a bell? I used to watch them in the Music Box, which, unless my recollection needs correction, was behind and below the Preservation Hall.

Need to pass on to Patsycat as well...

SC

[Patsycat]

The Athletic Arms (generally known as Diggers for an obvious reason) would be my fantasy pub for a post match pint. In the good old days, it was the only pub I knew that closed on a Saturday afternoon, but you could leave the ground promptly at full time and be queing at the door for 5 pm opening. "Lager Tops, please" "Its not a bloody cocktail bar. Ye can have Heavy. I've poured it"

(not a strictly accurate quote, but close enough for narrative purposes)

SC

I was going to mention Diggers!! Used to pop in there with my driving instructor after my lesson!! Good beer.

[StreetCowboy]

The Athletic Arms (generally known as Diggers for an obvious reason) would be my fantasy pub for a post match pint. In the good old days, it was the only pub I knew that closed on a Saturday afternoon, but you could leave the ground promptly at full time and be queing at the door for 5 pm opening. "Lager Tops, please" "Its not a bloody cocktail bar. Ye can have Heavy. I've poured it"

(not a strictly accurate quote, but close enough for narrative purposes)

SC

I was going to mention Diggers!! Used to pop in there with my driving instructor after my lesson!! Good beer.

I'm not sure I've ever looked forward to a beer so much. I'd be fantasising about it from the time I finished my half-time Bovril...We'd always stand at the Away End, which, funnily enough, as I recall, was the near end; my friends were all from out of town...

On our crawl, we should take the train somewhere.... I used to join the train home half way through, and no-one was talking, But by Preston, someone would break down and start a conversation. By Lancaster, some one would have to go, and they'd come back with four reds in the ironic tins. Drinking export, on the way home! The next person would have to go around Carlisle, and we'd not be finished the third round by the time we got to Motherwell, but the last person would have to get the round in, and we'd have to race the last one coming into Central. I've made many old friends that way, none of whom I have ever seen before or since. It used to be a good set-up for a weekend in the Wild West though...

Did you recognise the band, Patsy? I guess it was 1988 I went to see them at the height of their fame on their world tour to London at the Hammersmith Greyhound. I forget the name of the band that they were supporting...

SC

[chiang mai]

monday ! always a great day to do a sickie back in the u.k. at the turn of autumn.

fancy a couple of pints tucked away in the dark nooks and crannies of the flask on top of highgate hill in london.

I second and third that recommendation but will add the following:

The only pub in Great Tew Oxon.

The Red Lion in Litton Derbyshire

Edited September 28, 2010 by chiang mai

[PhilHarries]

The Chequers, Crookham Village, Hampshire, England but you'd have to go back to the early eighties. One of the last of the true English village locals. No TV, no music, no slot machine, no video game. Just great beer, great conversation and singing (the village Welsh choir) and then the farmers often brought surplus vegetables in for a few bob in the charity box. Then there was the Xmas day Mummers, one of the real old time entertainments of England. It is said it had been in the same family for around 400 years, but that may be an exaggeration but the landlady can remember the times when the local pub was used as the pre-mortuary, storing stiffs until the police and doctor had done ther bit. There was also the bloodstain that would go away on the wall behind the wood panelling .

Sadly gone now , 'tis a "pub/restaurant" meaning a restaurant with a bar and if you just want a beer you're about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit.

You did say fantasy.

[StreetCowboy]

The Chequers, Crookham Village, Hampshire, England but you'd have to go back to the early eighties. One of the last of the true English village locals. No TV, no music, no slot machine, no video game. Just great beer, great conversation and singing (the village Welsh choir) and then the farmers often brought surplus vegetables in for a few bob in the charity box. Then there was the Xmas day Mummers, one of the real old time entertainments of England. It is said it had been in the same family for around 400 years, but that may be an exaggeration but the landlady can remember the times when the local pub was used as the pre-mortuary, storing stiffs until the police and doctor had done ther bit. There was also the bloodstain that would go away on the wall behind the wood panelling .

Sadly gone now , 'tis a "pub/restaurant" meaning a restaurant with a bar and if you just want a beer you're about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit.

You did say fantasy.

Your own are quite nice, like children

SC

[johnnyk]

The Bambu Bar, Buenaventura, Colombia. No glass on the windows just steel bars. A few tables, wood floor, girls' rooms out back through the passageway. The bar was horseshoe-shaped and had a rain gutter fastened to the bar front about knee high. You could haul out your wang and take a p*ss without leaving your seat. They sloshed it down with a bucket of water every so often.

This was in 1969, probably gone now.

[smokie36]

The Bambu Bar, Buenaventura, Colombia. No glass on the windows just steel bars. A few tables, wood floor, girls' rooms out back through the passageway. The bar was horseshoe-shaped and had a rain gutter fastened to the bar front about knee high. You could haul out your wang and take a p*ss without leaving your seat. They sloshed it down with a bucket of water every so often.

This was in 1969, probably gone now.

Sounds great...but just in case its closed a decent alternative at the Pelican bar in Port of Spain. Thursday is latino night and the local Trini girls will be strutting their stuff.....these girls have eyecatching rhythm just walking down the street so added to great music its a true pleasure to visit. The corn soup aint bad either and the rum.....!

Can someone add a top swim up pool bar as I've never had the experience of getting pissed at one of these......does such a thing exist I wonder?

[MZurf]

Ned Kelly's Last Stand Jazz Bar, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

It's been open since 1972. I was there in 1988 and had a great time. Went back last year and had a serious case of deja vu. All furniture and decorations exactly as before! Only the waitresses and the band had changed. Again, had a great time.

http://www.myspace.com/nedkellyjazz

[T_Dog]

Street Cowboy.... Saw you mention Diggers. Are you referring to a place in Edinburgh? Always made a point to drop in there in the late 80's. Is it still open?

[Patsycat]

T-Dog.

I'll let you know after Christmas!!

[StreetCowboy]

Street Cowboy.... Saw you mention Diggers. Are you referring to a place in Edinburgh? Always made a point to drop in there in the late 80's. Is it still open?

? And is it still closed till 5 pm on a Saturday?

I was last there the same time as you, do you not remember?

You were at the bar, ordering heavy, and I was stood next to you, doing the same. Surely you remember that?

SC

[T_Dog]

Street Cowboy.... Saw you mention Diggers. Are you referring to a place in Edinburgh? Always made a point to drop in there in the late 80's. Is it still open?

? And is it still closed till 5 pm on a Saturday?

I was last there the same time as you, do you not remember?

You were at the bar, ordering heavy, and I was stood next to you, doing the same. Surely you remember that?

SC

I DO remember that! Wasn't that guy from Glascow (who I could not understand one bit) pissed? I'm still trying to figure out what a "wee nabit" is.

[draggons]

The Last Waterhole Saloon in Amsterdam. Great bar 5 mins walk from the station. Good bands use to play there in the 80's.

The sign outside the bar was a huge picture of the Fabulous Freak Brothers, kind of summed up the place

[PhilHarries]

The Bambu Bar, Buenaventura, Colombia. No glass on the windows just steel bars. A few tables, wood floor, girls' rooms out back through the passageway. The bar was horseshoe-shaped and had a rain gutter fastened to the bar front about knee high. You could haul out your wang and take a p*ss without leaving your seat. They sloshed it down with a bucket of water every so often.

This was in 1969, probably gone now.

Oh man, you have just described the Tamanaco, El Palito (nr Puerto Cabello), Venezuela except they did have proper toilet fercilities. Ah the memories of happy evenings after a 12 hour day on the refinery upgrade project, ice cold Polar and the grease from the pollo en brasa dripping off our elbows.

[smokie36]

The Bambu Bar, Buenaventura, Colombia. No glass on the windows just steel bars. A few tables, wood floor, girls' rooms out back through the passageway. The bar was horseshoe-shaped and had a rain gutter fastened to the bar front about knee high. You could haul out your wang and take a p*ss without leaving your seat. They sloshed it down with a bucket of water every so often.

This was in 1969, probably gone now.

Oh man, you have just described the Tamanaco, El Palito (nr Puerto Cabello), Venezuela except they did have proper toilet fercilities. Ah the memories of happy evenings after a 12 hour day on the refinery upgrade project, ice cold Polar and the grease from the pollo en brasa dripping off our elbows.

Or Cabana in downtown Port of Spain. Great snake show with imported Venezuelan girls. Use your imagination......

[StreetCowboy]

Street Cowboy.... Saw you mention Diggers. Are you referring to a place in Edinburgh? Always made a point to drop in there in the late 80's. Is it still open?

? And is it still closed till 5 pm on a Saturday?

I was last there the same time as you, do you not remember?

You were at the bar, ordering heavy, and I was stood next to you, doing the same. Surely you remember that?

SC

I DO remember that! Wasn't that guy from Glascow (who I could not understand one bit) pissed? I'm still trying to figure out what a "wee nabit" is.

I can't believe somebody from Glasgow would be pissed. Maybe he had a speech impediment...

For a moment, I'd forgotten about him, but now you come to mention it...

I could hardly hear a word he said, over the old codgers washing the dominoes

SC

[T_Dog]

Street Cowboy.... Saw you mention Diggers. Are you referring to a place in Edinburgh? Always made a point to drop in there in the late 80's. Is it still open?

? And is it still closed till 5 pm on a Saturday?

I was last there the same time as you, do you not remember?

You were at the bar, ordering heavy, and I was stood next to you, doing the same. Surely you remember that?

SC

I DO remember that! Wasn't that guy from Glascow (who I could not understand one bit) pissed? I'm still trying to figure out what a "wee nabit" is.

I can't believe somebody from Glasgow would be pissed. Maybe he had a speech impediment...

For a moment, I'd forgotten about him, but now you come to mention it...

I could hardly hear a word he said, over the old codgers washing the dominoes

SC

Yeah... And that lady bartender looked so tough I was almost afraid to order a pint.

[smokie36]

I DO remember that! Wasn't that guy from Glascow (who I could not understand one bit) pissed? I'm still trying to figure out what a "wee nabit" is.

I can't believe somebody from Glasgow would be pissed. Maybe he had a speech impediment...

For a moment, I'd forgotten about him, but now you come to mention it...

I could hardly hear a word he said, over the old codgers washing the dominoes

SC

Yeah... And that lady bartender looked so tough I was almost afraid to order a pint.

She's salt of the earth my sister is.....wouldn't hurt a fly.

I can give you her number if you like.....she's only got a few more months to serve.

[StreetCowboy]

I DO remember that! Wasn't that guy from Glascow (who I could not understand one bit) pissed? I'm still trying to figure out what a "wee nabit" is.

I can't believe somebody from Glasgow would be pissed. Maybe he had a speech impediment...

For a moment, I'd forgotten about him, but now you come to mention it...

I could hardly hear a word he said, over the old codgers washing the dominoes

SC

Yeah... And that lady bartender looked so tough I was almost afraid to order a pint.

She's salt of the earth my sister is.....wouldn't hurt a fly.

I can give you her number if you like.....she's only got a few more months to serve.

You don't really get a choice about ordering a pint in 'Diggers'. The only choice is how many

SC

[madmitch]

Ha Ha - Saturday afternoon drinking! Shortly after all-day opening was introduced in England, we went to the Brewery Tap in Strangeways - "Open 11 - 11!"

'Sorry lads, we close at 3 pm on a Saturday...'; the one day of the week when we could drink all day...

We never went back. I doubt I ever will.

Wouldn't be a choice on a fantasy pub crawl.

I went there once when the Strangeways Brewery was still open and brewing Boddington's the way it used to taste. Delicious. Great beer but the only other customers where men that had just been let out of Strangeways Prison, pooling their small amount of money to buy a couple of pints and then mulling over the sports pages looking for a dead cert so they had enough money for more beers.

No idea whether it's still open. One visit was quite enough.

One for the crawl for the real pub connoisseur: the Lamb in Lambs Conduit Street, Holborn, London. Unique decor, untouched for years, Young's Beer.

[Patsycat]

Have good memories of nights in the Preservation hall watching Tam White

You may have seen me dancing on the table!!

[Patsycat]

OK, folks. This was filmed in 1986.

I just U toobed him and there's loads!! Good memories!!

Edited September 30, 2010 by Patsycat

[Patsycat]

Oh, shit.

I just googled him and he died on the 21st of June.

RIP TAM