Used to live a few doors down from the bunch typical local boozer really had its moments but you would only get trouble if you where looking for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by sambajustice
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Used to live a few doors down from the bunch typical local boozer really had its moments but you would only get trouble if you where looking for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by sambajustice
Yep.Quote:
Originally Posted by patch1875
I played darts in there a few times maybe 4/5 years ago and it always seemed ok.
Sure there was trouble there if you wanted it but on the whole it just seemed a pretty standard local if you kept yourself to yourself.
Was a busy pub in the past when Alan Pentland ran it. Love the history behind the name of the pub. In bygone days the pub was a favourite haunt for railway workers who ventured in for a sneaky pint or nip, they could only do so if no railway management were present. When the coast was clear the pub landlord would place a bunch of roses at the window to signify they were good to enter.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pretty Boy
I have no idea about pubs in Edinburgh these days, but there used to be a place down on The Shore in Leith called "The Happyland" ...
Round about where "The Granary" restaurant is now. Could be lively as I recall.
Has anyone ever seen the sign out outside that canny mans pub in morningside? It must list about 6 things that u can't do in the pub, no mobile phones ect
What was it called before that used to go on? :greengrinQuote:
Originally Posted by happyhibbie
Think it used to be called the Roll Inn, there was a bakery nearby, if the workers wanted a sneaky pint they had to make sure bosses weren't in drinking, if coast was clear publican would place a bag of rolls on the window to signify coast was clear 😁Quote:
Originally Posted by Future17
The Cuiken inn - Penicuik
What do i win ?
Been in there a couple of times with a mate from Penicuik, was okay.Quote:
Originally Posted by HibbyAndy
It's actually awrite if you ken everyone...Decent wee pool table tae.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scouse Hibee
RE the Raeburn Bar, formerly the dean bar on dean st which was mentioned earlier in the thread. It got its windows tanned in the other night and it turns out the current owner or manager is Norval Barclay, good hibs man who recorded the Back Home To Leith track prior to the 2012 cup final.
http://m.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/...pree-1-3785525
Has he also got the pub prydes in gorgie old robertsonsQuote:
Originally Posted by Mr White
No idea tbh. I didn't know he had anything to do with the pub trade, I just remembered his name from that song.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cod Boy
I didn't either - he was just singing when I left Edinburgh. He's a good guy and both he and his dad Bill are Hibs daft.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr White
Is that bill barclay that used to do the tannoy at easter road back in the 80's and 90's?Quote:
Originally Posted by Peevemor
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr White
Certainly is.
:aok:Quote:
Originally Posted by Wembley67
We certainly have some dives in bad areas, particularly in the past, but overall Edinburgh has nothing on pubs I've experienced in other places, namely Glasgow and Manchester. Without doubt the worst pub I've ever seen was called the Butcher's Arms in a poor part of Manchester. Went in there twice with an uncle who thought he'd give me an eye opening experience, and by God were my eyes opened. On both occasions the place went up in the air - fully up in the air - free for alls, like a western saloon: bottles, pool cues, chairs across the room, women fighting men. The most frightening violence I've seen. I think was place was shut was down by the council because it was happening every week.
Not Edinburgh but my memories of the Eagle & Child pub in Liverpool are pretty scary. Finally closed in the 90's, they had a bowling green so went there a couple of times each season. Scary place, where outsiders not welcome, folk mugged in the toilets, firearms, and other weapons on show, famous quote from there, "I was minding my own business watching a fight, when a snooker match broke out".
The Gunner. :boo hoo:
http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.co...huts-1-3799020
Always sad to see a local boozer go.Quote:
Originally Posted by silverhibee
What's left pub wise in the immediate area now with the Ferry Boat long gone, The Gunner gone and am I right in thinking the Doocot is closed as well?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pretty Boy
Both these pubs appeared to be very much open for business when I went past on the bus 3 weeks ago :confused:
They both underwent refurbishment fairly recently which might have led to the misunderstanding. To be honest I thought they were both away for a while until I saw life.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hermit Crab
I'm abroad and can't read the bit about the gunner but it's a shame in a way. They are focal points for communities regardless of location and it's a step in the wrong direction for neighbourly relationships. The guy who pops in once a month might not be on speaking terms with someone who lives a few doors down if they didn't both have a chat about nonsense in their local.
Maybe it's just the way we are heading in general with transient populations and cheap beer from supermarkets.
That's the problem - £7 for a dozen bottles in Morrisons last nightQuote:
Originally Posted by peter douglas
Punch Taverns and alike want massive returns from their landlords, some pubs are viable but landlords cannot cope paying massive sums every month.
I'm glad I don't see the appeal of drinking in the house, not for me at all thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by BroxburnHibee
I'm not a big drinker either to be honest but a couple with my dinner was ok :greengrinQuote:
Originally Posted by HUTCHYHIBBY
The ferryboat and the doocot are still open I think ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Pretty Boy
The Ferry Boat is still open and you have the Anchor as well down Royston which still trades, the Doo'cot i think is open, but seems to yo yo from being closed for a few weeks then open for a bit then closes again, no music or TV and pish beer/lager in the Doo'cot so struggles to bring in any punters, it is always empty when you drive past it, shame as it was a great boozer to drink in back in the day.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pretty Boy
Mackenzie's pub in Davidson Mains (just been taking over by new owner) seems to be the popular choice for most folk nowadays.
Gunner pub blames bulldozed homes as bar shuts.Quote:
Originally Posted by peter douglas
TELEVISION stars and footballers propped up its bar after it achieved notoriety at the hand of one of Scotland’s greatest authors.
But now The Gunner in Pennywell Road – which once served the likes of Jonathan Ross and former Hibs players Anthony Stokes and Derek Riordan – has closed.
Heartbroken landlady Maria McGovern, 52, claimed she had tried “everything” to keep the pub – a haunt of characters in Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting – open and blamed the loss of hundreds of homes bulldozed in the regeneration of Muirhouse. Maria, who has run the pub for nine years with partner John Burrell, added: “I’m all for regeneration – but at what cost? It could have been saved and it could have worked if they hadn’t knocked those houses down in one go.
“They have ripped the heart out of the community.
“They knocked 950 houses down in the area between 2008 and 2010. That’s 950 potential customers gone. There has been no support for local businesses.”
John, 56, said the pub had lost more than £1 million in the past four years, forcing them to plough their own money into the business just to keep it running.
Customers have been left devastated by the news, with shocked punters turning up to find signs reading ‘Closed until further notice’.
Maria said: “I have had customers at the door crying in my arms.
“There is one guy who has drank in here for 47 years, and I had to watch him standing outside reading the [closure] notice.
“Those are the ones I care about. What are they going to do?”
Maria also pointed to a lack of funding from leaseholder Punch Taverns, which claims it is “impossible” to commit to investment in the pub.
A Punch Taverns spokesman said: “We can confirm that our licensee at The Gunner has made the decision to leave as she no longer feels the business is viable for her.
The area and demographics around The Gunner has changed. With that level of uncertainty as to the future, it makes it impossible for us to commit to invest in the pub with any surety.”
More than £40m is being pumped into the area as the council builds 700 new homes.
And there may be a late reprieve for the pub, with ward councillor Steve Cardownie seeking to broker a deal to save it at a meeting tomorrow with city chief executive Sue Bruce.
He wants to see the city become “sympathetic” landlords to the licensees, adding: “When the council took away all those houses it reduced their customer base and they have not been recompensed in any way by the council.
Sacrilege to say that the Anchor is in Royston.Quote:
Originally Posted by silverhibee
Wardieburn :greengrinQuote:
Originally Posted by stoneyburn hibs
Haha, close enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by silverhibee
granton
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It was no where near the ramps. :greengrinQuote:
Originally Posted by davy malcolm
Good companions oxgangs
Boy that was a long and entertaining read. Been in many of those mentioned without bother. Clock Inn in Dalry Rd definitely full of portraits by Picasso. Scariest place I've ever been in was (I think originally) the Green Tree on Gorgie Road the boozer Robbo took over and apparently full of the fascist no surrender chapter of the Jambo's. It's a Monday, 5:00 3 people in the bar and I want to use the phone (1980s). Could feel the eyes drilling in my back as I made a 30 second call so necked a fresh orange and left with a fast shuffle.
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Just had a wee re-read of this thread (and what a great read it is) and thought it was time for a few updates from our younger posters.
The Hop Poles in Tulse Hill, London.
Early 70s. Very heavy place.
I think in Edinburgh the worst pub was halfway down Leith Walk on the left. I can't remember its name.
I went in there once in the 80s and there was an Indian guy flaked out on the floor, his turban in disarray.
I made my excuses and left.
He must have been Sikh...Quote:
Originally Posted by heretoday
You should be on the radio with that kind of stuff!Quote:
Originally Posted by Peevemor
Sounds like a bit of a raj!Quote:
Originally Posted by heretoday
He should be on stage, the next one out of Dodge City.Quote:
Originally Posted by heretoday
My mate was manager in the Bull and Bush in the late seventies, early eighties. The owners name was Alan Mercer (any relation?)Quote:
Originally Posted by Silent Boatman
I was barred from the Burnt Post the first night it opened 😀🍺🍺🍺
Dont remember a cage? Just a girl and a huge mirror.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack
One of my brothers managed the Burnt Post in the early-mid 70's.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bangkok Hibby
I was just chatting about this to my laddie, about when Lothian Road was the 'in place' to be around that time.
Ps, The BP was a classy pub to get barred from :-0
GGTTH
Just wandered into The Spey for a laugh (wrong turn of phrase), 50p dearer for a pint than TFOTW. 😲
Had a flat opposite the shrub on Leith walk had interesting nights watching folk a closing time, this was the 80s and some proper characters drinking all the way down the walk.
I remember being in The Jungle (Kings Wark) down at the shore and was in the toilet having a pee along with a couple of other guys, one of whom was legless, head on the wall and feet splayed out in an effort to stay upright. A female walks into the toilet, lifts the wallet from the drunks back pocket, pulls out all the folding stuff before stuffing it in her ample bosom and walking casually out the door.
The shore area used to be such fun back then.
The pub half way down Leith Walk someone else mentioned would be the Volunteer Arms (volley for a swally) which was generally fine, but pubs and pool tables seemed to be a combination just asking for trouble. Interestingly, it sits at the top of Springfield Street (Now Steads Place) which in the late sixties was known locally as the Khyber Pass as a lot of Asian immigrants had been moved into the area.
Still to meet anyone who succeeded in doing the Walk pub crawl. Think it was something like 23 pubs back in the day without turning a corner. Rose street was for amateurs:greengrin
I see that Clarks Bar in Dundas St is to close. It's a bit off topic as there was never any trouble there. Sad though. Great place for a session.
Disappointed to hear that. Had my very first pint in there...Harp lager, which most people slag as peewater, nostalgia makes it the best pint I ever had. 🍺Quote:
Originally Posted by heretoday
Smithies on Eyre Place is set to go as well. Land being bought for flats.Quote:
Originally Posted by heretoday
Two good pubs close to each other going at the same time is sad but I suppose times change. Cheap supermarket booze and a gradual change in drinking habits generally has made the old fashioned boozer a thing of the past.
Owner needs the cash to retire comfortably.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pretty Boy
Clarks bar will have struggled since RBS left opposite.
He'll be able to recline on a bed of dodo feathers, good luck too him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hiber-nation
Smithies is being sold but not necessarily to be flats. It will likely be put up for sale soon and it will go to the highest bidder, likely to be a housebuilder if planning permission approved but it could still be bought as a going concern.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pretty Boy
Love this discussion.
Has nobody mentioned the Jolly Farmer yet ? I was never brave enough to venture in but Saturday and Sunday nights were interesting to watch from our upstairs window.
The scariest fights were all female !
Think that is one pub that I have never had the pleasure of visiting, been in most if not all that side of Edinburgh, dont think Ive missed much 😆Quote:
Originally Posted by KingFranck
Quote:
Originally Posted by MSK
Does that pub still exist?
Is Omans a rough shop? Sometimes drive past going to/from work and there always seems to be folk outside having a smoke, blether etc.
I see they're doing up the Caledonian on Lindsay Road.
Anyone know what's going on there, is it going be another pub?
It's been empty for years.
Nowhere near as bad as it used to be, a few of my ex football team mates drink in there and they are a semi decent bunch 😆Quote:
Originally Posted by Hermit Crab
If you were to pop in for a couple after work Im sure you would be fine 👍
Honestly couldnt tell you mate, Im sure I heard one of my work colleagues saying she had her car damaged when parked in the pub car park, so I assume there is still a pub there of some sortQuote:
Originally Posted by Hermit Crab
Boarded up the last time I parked there whilst visiting someone in the hospital.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hermit Crab
Remember being in the Wark one night and what can only be described as a lady of the night was asked to leave as her fur coat had fleas :faf: and when she left about 6 sailors got up and left also!Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyAsHellas
Bizarre night ended up in the dirty windows which was another place full of characters
Quote:
Originally Posted by KingFranck
The Jolly🙈🙈 used to have lightweight plastic chairs. Was a bit of a dive really.
No idea if it still exists or if the decor has improved though. 😂
Think it shut a while ago possibly a shop now?
Quote:
Originally Posted by scotia44
:tee hee: brilliant!
My Grandad's local for years when he stayed just up from Luca's, never saw any bother but, an "interesting" establishment none the less. I believe The White House was a lot worse but, only ever visited it once.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hermit Crab
Glad to see this thread has been bumped up again! Brings back some memories.
Anyone remember Dizzies in Leith? Jeez what a dive. One of our mates used to like the post match "entertainment" after games at ER. One of those places where every surface seems to be sticky so you try not to touch anything.
Did anyone ever use The Halfway House on Paisley Rd West before a Rangers (as they were then) game? As a young and sensitive Edinburgh lad who'd moved to Glasgow, I worked there at the weekends in the 60s. Terrifying. We waited behind the bar for the game at Ibrox to finish (it was close enough to hear the roars), praying that they'd won so the blue noses would only be celebrating. Minutes after the final whistle, it was often three or four deep at the counter. I was frequently threatened with violence if I didn't immediately serve someone at the back. The bar staff were expected to help break up the fights with broom sticks but I was usually to be found sweeping up in the cellar when they broke out. At closing time, I had to help drag the last of the unconscious drunks out by their feet and collars and drop them outside on the pavement. I can still hear the crack of their heads hitting the paving stones. After we'd cleaned up, I used to run down the street to my car with my car keys in my hand, expecting a thump in the back at any moment. I went back recently to have a nostalgic look but it's gone, probably demolished by the regulars. Ah, happy days!
You posted a very similar post to this about 4 years ago on this thread, I had to go through the thread to make sure I hadn't imagined it!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Sarf
Sorry, my, em, whatsit, you know, memory, that's it, memory isn't em, what it, em, what it, em... em.Quote:
Originally Posted by HUTCHYHIBBY
A bunch of us from the Alloa Hibs bus used to drink in there every home game. Leggy Lorna and Dusty were a couple of the acts that were on regularly. Great place for beers and there are so many stories to tell about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mixu62
I lived opposite Dizzy's in Buchanan St and it was a busy place, especially when the dancers were on. Never saw any trouble there though. A better pint was to be had in that Strathie across the road, or better still at Robbie's. They used to run a double decker from Robbie's to the games at Tiny - christ they were noisy affairs!
4 pints, a pie and the go-gos at Dizzies was our pre-match diet back in the late 70s. Then Hibs went and spoiled the day!Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyAsHellas
Im not a young poster :greengrin but I'll post anyway.
If there is a post on Porty pubs I must have missed it. My first local was The Clifton Hotel on the Prom run by Maurice Demarco. It was more like a gang hut than a bar. A favourite moment was when a pal was in on her birthday. Her dad brought in a cake which said 'Happy 17th Birthday on it'! Maurice just laughed. I went in one Sunday night with a black eye and a chipped tooth after being jumped by skinheads in town the previous evening. Maurice offered to drive me up town to look for "the *******s". That's customer service!
The Pop Inn was rough. I was only ever in once with a regular. It had an X directory phone number so no ones wife/girlfriend could check if they were there. Honourable mentions for The Bluebell and The Galleon which is still there.
Roughest pub I was ever in though was The Spotted Cow in Stockton-on-Tees. Scary place and again it was only cause my mate lived across the road and used to go in to watch the football that I was tolerated. Demolished for houses recently which is no bad thing.
The Western Bar on Great Western Road in Glasgow had a few characters. I was in one time when a guy jumped on a table and whipped down his trousers to show everyone his new long johns!
Probably a good thing these boozers are falling by the wayside.
The roughest pub I was ever was the old duke of wellington on duke street. What a place that was. I’ve drunk in the gunner and the ferryboat in my time and they had nothing on that place. A special mention has to go to the Willie Muir, I walked in there once to meet a mate who hadn’t arrived yet and I went to the bar to order a pint and a guy at the bar said who the **** are you.
Brilliant 😆 True story, myself and two mates (Brothers) went into the Galleon one day, first time ever, we walked up to the bar and a midget popped up from behind the taps (later found out his name was Willy) he asked what we wanted, Mike my mate said 3 pints of lager, the midget, who was standing on beer crates to make himself look tallish said to Mike, I will serve you but Im not serving those two, when questioned he said he (my mate who was slightly taller than the midget) was too wee !! and I was too young, albeit a good few years above legal drinking age !! So we trooped out in the huff, my small mate pissed off at getting a kb from a midget and me beaming because of my boyish looks 😆Quote:
Originally Posted by Bishop Hibee
We went along to the Bluebell where we were welcomed 😆
I was thinking it's a hell of a coincidence to have two hibbies work there!Quote:
Originally Posted by HUTCHYHIBBY
Right that's it, I'm doubling my meds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jones28
Haha! The Bluebell had a dance floor and disco at the weekend. My stag do was a pub crawl from The First and Last which was just round from the top of Kings Road to the Promms Bar opposite Porty Baths. They’re both houses now sadly. Other pubs gone in Porty include The Royal Hotel, The Figgate Whins and The Sands and Hamilton Lodge hotels. You’d be sober if you did a pub crawl there now.Quote:
Originally Posted by MSK
Yep, and not forgetting the Tides Inn, Cropleys bar (former bogs) the British Legion and neighbouring Coach house bar, then further along the Seahaven hotel, Pat Stantons old joint, now being converted into flats.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bishop Hibee
The Coach House was my local for a while. All the boys from the amateur team I played for used to drink there. The owner was a a total hun and took offence at us and kicked us out one night. We left to chants of "I'd rather be barred than a bluenose" :greengrinQuote:
Originally Posted by MSK
Coach House after my time I can remember when it was a working garage with petrol pumps... I did 2 summers working in the Marine Bar and also the Plough. Sands main bar of choice but been in them all with the exception of the Pop In.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bishop Hibee
Ormelie was decent, The Temple and Hammy Lodge on the Prom. Occasionally had beers in the Flying Dutchman and The Central. Must've been off my heid... Bluebell was my pals dad's local so in there often too.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bishop Hibee
Did you play for St Johns by any chance? My brother and a few mates did too. Was a good laugh on a Sunday.
Anymore updates for this nostalgia filled thread? 🍻
Did anyone ever use The Half Way House in Paisley Rd West (near Ibrox)? I think it was knocked down years ago, probably by the locals. I worked there to help pay for my digs. A terrifying experience.
Very good. 😆Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Sarf
Just read back through this excellent thread and I see you posted the full story on page 2 at post 40 ....6 years ago :greengrinQuote:
Originally Posted by Dan Sarf
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hiber-nation
Bloody hell I'm getting like my Dad.
:greengrinQuote:
Originally Posted by Dan Sarf
What a great thread to pick up on again. Lots of fond memories of visiting some of our less gentile establishments across the length and breadth of the city. Here's a few that I am sure will provoke some memories.
Being a Nidron of a certain vintage, the Marischal Arms was of course a staple whilst also having visited the notable others in the area, The Castle Tavern and the White House.
From other areas of the city been in the ferry boat, the gunner, the doocot, the artful dodger, the silver wing, the gauntlet, the clerie inn, the jolly farmer, the waverly, the captains cabin, the gardiners. Just to name a few.
Not sure if any oth these types of pubs will be left after the last year with the lockdown and so on. Certainly some characters in all of these establishments.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MSK
hope yer keeping well nowadays K :wink:
Had to laugh at posting it twice but leaving that aside, id imagine any pub in Bridgeton in Glasgow must be a right hoot. Only drove through there once but thoughts of that poor lad who had his throat cut came to mind. I bet there are a few pubs in that area frequented by the worst of the hun support such as bigots, loyalists and general bloody sociopathsQuote:
Originally Posted by Dan Sarf
According to their Facebook page the White House is a"Community owned iconic art deco building".Quote:
Originally Posted by rodhibs55
Quote:
Originally Posted by AltheHibby
Not been a pub for years.
It is.Quote:
Originally Posted by AltheHibby
A great wee community hub now. I used/use both there and Craigmillar library regularly.
It's also a really good looking building.
Naw but you've just reminded me of my one and only visit to the Half Way Hoose in North Fort Street. You were safe enough if you knew the locals, a right mixture of harmless enough auld bloke hardcore peevers and skitzoid youngsters which made it a bit unpredictable. I stayed down there so knew it was best avoided, went just the once for a retirement doo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Sarf
The Vine in North Junction Street was always an interesting pub. I saw a full scale pagger outside there one Friday morning at 7.05am.Quote:
Originally Posted by Santa Cruz
A guy in my office walked past once carrying an overflowing bag of shopping from Asda with a lettuce and a cucumber clearly evident on top. "Vegetables eh?" shouted this jakie having a fag outside. "F****n poof!".