Rough pub stories
Discussion
Lotus Notes said:
I give you Brambles Farm Hotel Middlesbrough..
Not doing so well now
There was a pub in Holbrooks, Coventry whereby the local nutter wanted to play pool with his new mate (me..) and subsequently picked the black ball up and put it in the pocket, the locals just backed-off and let us play
It's funny that growing up in these cities makes you street wise.. I feel pretty safe in most places (..except Mexico City where the cost of human life is not so great)
I went to Poly in Boro, no accommodation, so council gave the Poly a tower block next to the Bramble Farm Pub. We were first in Jan 1983, first Sunday night before Poly restarted I remember bar full of prostitutes chatting up the boys from Liverpool and having a great night.Not doing so well now
There was a pub in Holbrooks, Coventry whereby the local nutter wanted to play pool with his new mate (me..) and subsequently picked the black ball up and put it in the pocket, the locals just backed-off and let us play
It's funny that growing up in these cities makes you street wise.. I feel pretty safe in most places (..except Mexico City where the cost of human life is not so great)
Spent many a Thursday/Friday night in there yes it was rough cheap and entertaining
fttm said:
Many many moons ago I worked for a then small brewery , part of the job was delivering to pubs . Great fun turning up at some "cash only customers"in Knowle West, St Pauls ,Hartcliffe etc and have a landlord count out 500 or more in notes in front of a bar full of dodgy punters . Used to get the "stick a barrel in the back of me car mate" comments on a daily basis but nothing more .Good times
I bet they were!I can remember the Queens Head and the Elm Tree on the way into Withywood, but what was the pub at the bottom of the hill as it then went up to Dundry? The Rising Sun? And also the red brick pub behind the old Symes Avenue shops in Hartcliffe? Some lovely people in each of those... Knowle West was always a bit too much of a hike for me, though I do remember a couple of fine nights in the (aptly-titled) Fighting Cocks and the Shield and Dagger, both at Whitchurch, and I had the Maytree Tavern as an easy stroll away if I still needed a shady hit.
As someone else has already pointed out, you learned to keep your wits about you. Later, I lived near the Devonshire in Easton - another 'fine' establishment, but really didn't feel anything like as threatening as those in the estates.
Edited by PomBstard on Monday 6th July 07:59
A bit vague I know but does anyone remember a white tiled pub in Halton Lea shopping precinct, Runcorn.
I did a locum at Boots Pharmacy the pub had graffiti on the wall about rapists and grasses and the boots staff said they went in once but left when the Rat racing started with real rats.
I did a locum at Boots Pharmacy the pub had graffiti on the wall about rapists and grasses and the boots staff said they went in once but left when the Rat racing started with real rats.
Sunny in Dubai said:
Lotus Notes said:
I give you Brambles Farm Hotel Middlesbrough..
Not doing so well now
There was a pub in Holbrooks, Coventry whereby the local nutter wanted to play pool with his new mate (me..) and subsequently picked the black ball up and put it in the pocket, the locals just backed-off and let us play
It's funny that growing up in these cities makes you street wise.. I feel pretty safe in most places (..except Mexico City where the cost of human life is not so great)
I went to Poly in Boro, no accommodation, so council gave the Poly a tower block next to the Bramble Farm Pub. We were first in Jan 1983, first Sunday night before Poly restarted I remember bar full of prostitutes chatting up the boys from Liverpool and having a great night.Not doing so well now
There was a pub in Holbrooks, Coventry whereby the local nutter wanted to play pool with his new mate (me..) and subsequently picked the black ball up and put it in the pocket, the locals just backed-off and let us play
It's funny that growing up in these cities makes you street wise.. I feel pretty safe in most places (..except Mexico City where the cost of human life is not so great)
Spent many a Thursday/Friday night in there yes it was rough cheap and entertaining
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!
That'll be 'The Bitter End', amongst many other names it had over the years. My old man was offered the job of doorman there in the 70's. He declined.Brads67 said:
Been in the Gunner a few times. It's as bad as you imagine.
Drank in a few Edinburgh dives over the years but all seem posh compared to the Gothenburg in Prestonpans during the 80's. It's an arty micro brewery pub now and has been restored to it's stunning splendour, but in those days you were likely to be hit with a machete for saying the wrong thing, which could have been anything really.
Some of the dodgiest people in East Central Scotland used to conduct there business in there.
Once spent the night in the Pig Iron in Middlesbourgh. Dear lord !
the goth is still rough as ****! its full of panners, so yu can put lipstick on a pig, but...Drank in a few Edinburgh dives over the years but all seem posh compared to the Gothenburg in Prestonpans during the 80's. It's an arty micro brewery pub now and has been restored to it's stunning splendour, but in those days you were likely to be hit with a machete for saying the wrong thing, which could have been anything really.
Some of the dodgiest people in East Central Scotland used to conduct there business in there.
Once spent the night in the Pig Iron in Middlesbourgh. Dear lord !
theplayingmantis said:
the goth is still rough as ****! its full of panners, so yu can put lipstick on a pig, but...
Went in there once about 3 years ago after some pitch n put at seaton sands campsite. It looked really nice with old the old features and woodwork. It’s a community owned pub now ? Tyre Smoke said:
Used to be a flat roof pub in Bedminster, Bristol just down the road from Ashton Gate called unsurprisingly The Robin. Always looked as rough as a badger's behind. Particularly on match days.
Seems it's gone now, this would have been 2003/4 I guess.
That was a proper dodgy local place at any time but when City were at Ashton Gate tension went up a notch or six. Back in the late 70s City were in the top flight and visiting fans would be taken by train to Parson St, and walked down Winterstoke Road with mounted police. The Robins would be one of the focal points for local fans, with sometimes predictable results. Seems it's gone now, this would have been 2003/4 I guess.
[quote=speedtwelve]I used to live as a teenager in a complete heroin infested s
thole of a local authority housing scheme just outside Falkirk in Scotland. I worked in the local pub, the delightfully named 'Cottages'. One facially tattooed psychopath would order soft drinks every time. I tentatively asked him if he'd prefer a pint. "no, ah've goat liver failure. If ah drink ah'll die." He was about 25. Some middle-aged bloke I recognised came in one day. "Haven't seen you for a while" I said. "Ah've been in Barlinnie fur cerrying oot "enforcement" wi a machete." The same bloke laid into some local lad with a ball peen hammer outside my house one night. Lovely place.
Wasn’t the one in Hallglen was it?
thole of a local authority housing scheme just outside Falkirk in Scotland. I worked in the local pub, the delightfully named 'Cottages'. One facially tattooed psychopath would order soft drinks every time. I tentatively asked him if he'd prefer a pint. "no, ah've goat liver failure. If ah drink ah'll die." He was about 25. Some middle-aged bloke I recognised came in one day. "Haven't seen you for a while" I said. "Ah've been in Barlinnie fur cerrying oot "enforcement" wi a machete." The same bloke laid into some local lad with a ball peen hammer outside my house one night. Lovely place.Wasn’t the one in Hallglen was it?
Edited by Alan73 on Monday 6th July 12:11
Some shockers on here, that place in Kirby with the Alsatians. 
Roughest pub I've probably been in was The Cart and Horses in Stratford, East London. Just rough as a badger's arse.
Most violent was a pub in Hammersmith where the band Combat 84 played in the early '80s. Skinheads smashing glasses over each other and the gig was just a constant bloody fight with blood all over the floor and up the walls. Tim Kelly who was an enormous Mohican and bouncer at the Lyceum and 100 Club was having a whale of a time cracking heads. Never seen anything like it since, thankfully.
Roughest pub I've probably been in was The Cart and Horses in Stratford, East London. Just rough as a badger's arse.
Most violent was a pub in Hammersmith where the band Combat 84 played in the early '80s. Skinheads smashing glasses over each other and the gig was just a constant bloody fight with blood all over the floor and up the walls. Tim Kelly who was an enormous Mohican and bouncer at the Lyceum and 100 Club was having a whale of a time cracking heads. Never seen anything like it since, thankfully.
Edited by vixen1700 on Monday 6th July 13:03
There was a pub in a town near where Im from not far from the Irish Border (for context) and it was taken over by a guy who looked like a tall version of a strung out Carl Fogarty. He decided to 'add value' to his new enterprise by offering entertainment and a taxi service all 'in house'. Anyway the entertainment involved throwing out the corner snug and putting a pole in it for the Polish barmaid to hang off in her skinnies. He then would bring anyone around late enough home in the back of the Ford Granada hearse he bought with the name of the pub on the side. The pub was rough looking but actually fairly benign. He'd never serve under age so it was mostly trouble free.
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.
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.
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