Rough pub stories
Discussion
basherX said:
The Flying Scotsman on York Rd in Kings Cross. We used to stop by occasionally on our way back to the union from rugby during my university in the 90s. One of the last of the strip pubs in a "pass the pint glass around" sort of way. The barmaid once grabbed my mate's balls hard when he put in 50p and asked for change. It would kick off occasionally when one of the punters did something untoward. Closest we got to trouble was when the same mate, who fancied himself as a bit of a budding entrepreneur, started negotiating with some bloke for some heroin for no reason other than he was bored.
Sawdust on the floor, supposedly the worst toilets in London and glasses you'd never drink from. Gentrified now and doing the whole craft ale thing.
Jesus ... I remember a hungover cab ride past it on a Sunday morning. Traffic snarls up, cab grinds to a halt, I glance out the window and see something I can't un-see wobbling half naked round the pub.Sawdust on the floor, supposedly the worst toilets in London and glasses you'd never drink from. Gentrified now and doing the whole craft ale thing.
There was another place like that just north of Liverpool St station dangling over the tracks. Notice on the jukebox saying "for use of the artistes only". Visitors from the head office in Paris used to get taken down there at lunchtime to scare them. Welcome to London.
Tony Angelino said:
basherX said:
The Flying Scotsman on York Rd in Kings Cross. We used to stop by occasionally on our way back to the union from rugby during my university in the 90s. One of the last of the strip pubs in a "pass the pint glass around" sort of way. The barmaid once grabbed my mate's balls hard when he put in 50p and asked for change. It would kick off occasionally when one of the punters did something untoward. Closest we got to trouble was when the same mate, who fancied himself as a bit of a budding entrepreneur, started negotiating with some bloke for some heroin for no reason other than he was bored.
Sawdust on the floor, supposedly the worst toilets in London and glasses you'd never drink from. Gentrified now and doing the whole craft ale thing.
Was about to mention the Flying Scotsman. After a trip to the darts in the early 00's, we went there before catching the train back oop north. before the pub we went to the cafe just down the road, sat tucking into the full mashings fry up were 2 rough lasses, turned out they were on stage 30 mins later in the pub after the pint pot had been passed round! Sawdust on the floor, supposedly the worst toilets in London and glasses you'd never drink from. Gentrified now and doing the whole craft ale thing.
I walked past it with a colleague earlier this year and told him a few tales, he was horrified!
It’s a bike shop now or something crap.
I've got a personal drinking story -
A couple of years ago, me and my old man went on a pub crawl in London. At one point, we were drinking in an Irish pub somewhere in central London (Cannot remember it's name) My dad is ex army, and as we were halfway through our pints, a pro -IRA song began playing over the speakers. My dad turned to me and pretty much told me to finish our drinks and get out of there.
I still cannot believe it. A pub near central London that was playing that kind of stuff over the sterio speakers.
A couple of years ago, me and my old man went on a pub crawl in London. At one point, we were drinking in an Irish pub somewhere in central London (Cannot remember it's name) My dad is ex army, and as we were halfway through our pints, a pro -IRA song began playing over the speakers. My dad turned to me and pretty much told me to finish our drinks and get out of there.
I still cannot believe it. A pub near central London that was playing that kind of stuff over the sterio speakers.
AlvinSultana said:
Corn Beef Island was the local name for the estate. Grange Park.
I never knew if the Corn Beef referred to the tiny houses that resembled the colour and texture of corned beef, or if a tin of said meat was the staple of the local kids.
Probably both.
Had friends on Grange Park and a few are still on there along with their families. One girl I've known for over 20 years has ( and still does ) refer to it as corned beef island but has always said its because corned beef tins had their own tin opener on the can so they were popular as nobody could afford to buy their own tin opener I never knew if the Corn Beef referred to the tiny houses that resembled the colour and texture of corned beef, or if a tin of said meat was the staple of the local kids.
Probably both.
Can't remember the name but there was a neighborhood pub near our student hovel on the edge of Clapham/Brixton in the early 90s that probably now serves crudites on bits of slate. Late afternoon pint started with me and Rob sitting at the bar. Displaying the peripheral vision of a pair of bluebottles, we both instinctively flattened ourselves against the bar as a stray pint glass sailed across the pub and shattered next to us. Nothing malicious. It was one of the owner's sons' birthday and he was off his tits. For his next trick he sneezed, covering himself in copious volumes of mucus. His brother too the piss out of him, so Sneezy challenged brother to a fight at which point the publican, his mother, physically threw both of them out onto the street where they attempted to fight. Queue comedy crap fighting on the pavement up and down outside the pub windows for a while till they came back in for another drink. This was at about 4 o'clock. There were kids going home from school. Come closing time they'd switch on halogen flood lights in the bar to drive you out, and if you need more encouragement they let some enormous dogs off the leash. In its favour it was pretty inexpensive.
StevieBee said:
Can anyone recall the name of a pub at the end of Romford market. Opposite what was Woolworths I think. North Street. Propper stabby place!
Woolworths was in High Street - the pub opposite was the Ford and Firkin when I knew it in the late '90s. I think it was the White Hart before, but not 100% sure.Edited by MillenniumFalcon on Monday 6th July 21:31
The Whalley In Moss Side was a pretty interesting place in the late 1980s early 1990s. We lived a couple of blocks away and as well as it being our local pub it was also ahead of it's time, being a "deli" where other choice products could be bought. The only place whereas well as drugs and women and men for sale I've been offered a gun if I wanted one!
Then came along 1990 and "Gunchester". It wasn't the pub that was dodgy as so, but the clientele or the locals or the location in between Manchester gangs, the amount of times you went for a pint and it was surrounded by Dibble or some windows boarded up.
There weren't really that many other pubs close by and as our mates were 50:50 Mancs Poly / Salford Uni in the houses either side we moved to Salford for the quiet life around Brindle Heath and used to go to the Pint Pot off Broad Street in Salford instead for beer and "specials".
I can't quite remember if this is my imagination as I can't google map the name but there was a dodgy pub in Victoria Park in Mancs (near the Internationals concert venues) as well at the time (Rampant Lion springs to mind). By there was a bar maid "Saskia BJ Fox" who was very "rampant". For an extra £1 she'd get her pads out her Wonderbra, put them in your Guinness and let you suck the pad dry, before putting it back in her bra. But only with Guinness!!!!! there was also a high quota of student nurses in that pub and you used to find them stood pissing at the male uinals on a busy Friday / Saturday night and they had a lot better technique than the men! Much less splashing!!!!!
Then came along 1990 and "Gunchester". It wasn't the pub that was dodgy as so, but the clientele or the locals or the location in between Manchester gangs, the amount of times you went for a pint and it was surrounded by Dibble or some windows boarded up.
There weren't really that many other pubs close by and as our mates were 50:50 Mancs Poly / Salford Uni in the houses either side we moved to Salford for the quiet life around Brindle Heath and used to go to the Pint Pot off Broad Street in Salford instead for beer and "specials".
I can't quite remember if this is my imagination as I can't google map the name but there was a dodgy pub in Victoria Park in Mancs (near the Internationals concert venues) as well at the time (Rampant Lion springs to mind). By there was a bar maid "Saskia BJ Fox" who was very "rampant". For an extra £1 she'd get her pads out her Wonderbra, put them in your Guinness and let you suck the pad dry, before putting it back in her bra. But only with Guinness!!!!! there was also a high quota of student nurses in that pub and you used to find them stood pissing at the male uinals on a busy Friday / Saturday night and they had a lot better technique than the men! Much less splashing!!!!!
Brads67 said:
all seem posh compared to the Gothenburg in Prestonpans during the 80's
Fun fact, "Goth" pubs were intentionally awful, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothenburg_Public_Ho...Dan_1981 said:
MC Bodge said:
red_slr said:
My now wife then GF went to Salford uni in the late 90s and their halls were right next to the Brass Handles pub and we went in a few times and had no idea it was quite so "serious" in there. Her dad found out we had been going in and told us never to go in again LOL. Luckily after her 1st year at uni she decided halls were not for her and moved back home.
Does anybody remember The Cook Report about Salford pubs? https://youtu.be/t4ohrmjXshk
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/great...
It was rough. At that time it was the most deprived city in the UK, add to that a large student population and you are asking for trouble. All the student union venues were heavily policed by bouncers shipped in from the Moss Side area, they were not there to keep us in order - it was all about keeping the locals out.
In my later years I did venture out to some of the pubs, but we tended to avoid them on weekends and late at night. I’m sure I was educated as much during those pub visits as I was in my university lectures!
MillenniumFalcon said:
StevieBee said:
Can anyone recall the name of a pub at the end of Romford market. Opposite what was Woolworths I think. North Street. Propper stabby place!
Woolworths was in High Street - the pub opposite was the Ford and Firkin when I knew it in the late '90s. I think it was the White Hart before, but not 100% sure.Edited by MillenniumFalcon on Monday 6th July 21:31
some bloke said:
I used to go in the Penny Black quite often when I finished a night shift at the Balmoral at 8am. Sticky carpet and sticky glasses - great combination.
During the Fringe most venues would kick-out at 4am, Pizza Paradise on South Bridge or Darios on Lothian Road for a full sit-down meal then the Penny Black for 6am, 5 deep at the bar with Breakfast TV on the telly.Some more Edinburgh pub memories: there was a rock bar near Tollcross in the 90s where the landlord would stand on the bar and shout "TIME. f
k OFF." as a hint. The Old Chain Pier in Newhaven is great, but back in the day the old dear that owned it used to clear the punters out by going crazy-ape bonkers behind the bar with a .38 calibre revolver loaded with blanks.
This thread does make me laugh at the amount of souls today who regard a Weatherspoons as a benchmark of barbarism. Worst thing I've seen in our local was some complete fairy who grabbed one of those wire-basket condiment things and ran swinging it in big swoops towards a guy he'd been argueing with. (I observed to the mrs that someone was about to get a-salted and she groaned)
Captain Smerc said:
MillenniumFalcon said:
StevieBee said:
Can anyone recall the name of a pub at the end of Romford market. Opposite what was Woolworths I think. North Street. Propper stabby place!
Woolworths was in High Street - the pub opposite was the Ford and Firkin when I knew it in the late '90s. I think it was the White Hart before, but not 100% sure.Edited by MillenniumFalcon on Monday 6th July 21:31
Most of the rough pubs I started drinking in have now been refurbed into gastro fest rubbish. But saying that I lived in pubs (drinking) until I found another path in life so I don't miss the lifestyle 
One pub - which came with the sawdust - was grim given it's sleepy locality in a chipping village.
I was in there one day (underage) watching some blokes playing pool - when a chap stumbled past and walked into one of the locals dog. He was promptly pinned down,had his 'bits covered in pork scratching's/beer and then they let the dog at him
It all seemed like a normal day back then - quite what everybody was thinking is beyond me now
One pub - which came with the sawdust - was grim given it's sleepy locality in a chipping village.
I was in there one day (underage) watching some blokes playing pool - when a chap stumbled past and walked into one of the locals dog. He was promptly pinned down,had his 'bits covered in pork scratching's/beer and then they let the dog at him
It all seemed like a normal day back then - quite what everybody was thinking is beyond me now
markcoznottz said:
MC Bodge said:
red_slr said:
My now wife then GF went to Salford uni in the late 90s and their halls were right next to the Brass Handles pub and we went in a few times and had no idea it was quite so "serious" in there. Her dad found out we had been going in and told us never to go in again LOL. Luckily after her 1st year at uni she decided halls were not for her and moved back home.
Does anybody remember The Cook Report about Salford pubs? https://youtu.be/t4ohrmjXshk
Weaste Lane is full of student lets now and there is a lot of new build at the top end. The Willows is gone. Not anything like what it was like in the 80-90s now.
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff