Havin' just been doon tae the auld toon for Jim's funeral thought I might do this piece.
Arkos and I got the train doon fae the relative tranquility of Highland Perthshire to the stomping grounds of our wild years.
After hookin' up wi Davy and sayin oor farewells tae the Fitsch we thought it only fitting that we head up to a few of the auld haunts.
Aw the pubs where Jim, Davy Arkos, Bobrob and masel used tae have some right laughs are aw changed. The Burke used to be guid place for a few pints and live music. We nivir got tired o' watchin thon lad Billy Jones beltin oot John Prine and Townes Van Zant numbers of a night.
The Garrick was another shop we frequented wi the guid pinball table and a Frogger machine.
Now baith these pubs also had lunchtime Go-Go dancers, but as laddies growing up aroond aboot that area, it wis nivir aw that big a deal tae us. Some auld growler girating tae a few tunes was just a laugh. Some of the bars had a wee stage, some just horsed a bit o' plywood over the pool table. Maist opted for the UV lights which covered a multitude o' sins. The same trick is still used in the lavvies at Perth Sheriff Court so as the heroin users cannae find a vein. Obviously works well wi the varicose kind too.
Tony's Cellar Bar at Bristo Square was the best venue for the UV seediness and also because one o the dancers had a snake. Now she wis nae Salma Hayek, but it was like an underage pint, a bit laugh and a trip tae the zoo aw rolled intae one. Not only that you had auld Tony on the microphone badgering ye tae buy mair drink in his droll Maltese accent. Barry times.
The Pubic Triangle is now a full-on, dedicated, stag party "Lap dancing" area, aw blacked oot windaes and no welcoming looking at all. Clearly no trying tae cater for workies having a pie & a pint on their lunch break or daft layaboot laddies just oot for a bit laugh o' an afternoon.
The Garrick and Jess's Bar are aw changed too. Baith souless places wi aboot 20 big tellys aw showing Bundesliga fitba, which no-one in the place even seemed to be bothered their erse lookin' up at.
Makes a man feel auld and mair than a bit sad.
3 comments:
Those were the days. A good pint and a quick deek at the shakey ladies!
Its aw wine bars n cocktail lounges noo. Yve goat mair chance o gettin a dose o the clap in they places thin yve got o gittin a good pint. Evrythin is in boatles noo nae beer glesses wi some lassies herpes still oan it. whit we called risky drinkin in the day. The only risk noo is the price! An whit aboot o the auld muckers. Like doon at The Fiddlers Arms in the Grassie thir wiz "The Nose" or the boy doon in the pub near Meadowbank whaes wife wid eye come in when eh wiz pished an tell um whit wiz fur his tea! Aye a'll bet thit thir oh gone noo ,like the Fitch they only remain in oor memory. So hears tae absent muckers, shakey ladies an a good pint oh eighty shillin!
Yer mucker, Fitch sounds like a right guid yin, gadgies. Sad movies indeed. If he wiz involved in the Portie baths escapade, he wiz mair o a barry radge than i'd ever huv dared tae be.
Hope this isnae too trite, but yer chat bout his passin has let youse remind aes o the Garrick, where i used to hang prior tae a spot o Hoochie Coochie action plus Tony's Cellar Bar where ah'm fairly sure ah bought ma first pint that cost mair than a quid. I wiz a nervous, plukey 16 year old and happy to be payin over the odds at the time.
Yer mate's sadly gone but clearly never forgotten. Good on ye, guys.
Cheers for the kind words Naldo.
Aye Jim wis a one off. We had lost touch and hadnae seen each other in a long whiles. Still it fair brings ye up short when a mate yer ain age shuffles off through ill health.
Maybe time tae cut doon oan the pints and get oot oan the bike a bit mair.
Ah the Hoochie was quite a place back in the day.
As far going intae Tony's all plukey, ye need no ahve worried. Ye would have looked like ye had well groomed, metrosexual, GQ man skin under thon lights.
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