The Cathedral Choir: pub

Showing posts with label pub. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Pubs of Layclerk #6

Eagle Inn, Motherwell

A LONG time ago this was owned, or at least managed, by an ex St Mirren, Glasgow Rangers and Scotland footballer called Willie Telfer and at that time my mum and dad worked there behind the bar. This was probably round about 1966/67 or thereabouts and I can still remember going in there after finishing primary school for the day to wait on mum or dad to finish their shift and take me home, so I suppose technically this was probably the first pub I was ever a regular in!

The pub is situated right next to a main railway line and near to a shunting yard so was frequented by many rail workers and there's a story I remember (probably apocryphal but you never know, this was the 1960's) whereby a couple of them in uniform came into the pub and sat for a while while they had a couple of pints each. Eventually they left and another rail worker sitting nearby said that it was about time they had gone, and when asked why he explained that the pair had left a train full of passengers on the line just behind the pub while they came in for a drink!

Eagle Inn, 155 King St, Broughty Ferry

Eagle Inn, Dundee

Old inn, first opened in 1597 apparently, in the middle of Broughty Ferry with some seats outside on the pavement. Very low ceiling, even for a shortarse like me, I seem to remember.

Edwards Bar, 410 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow

Big but quite reasonably nice pub at the busy Charing Cross end of Sauchiehall Street. Used to be very busy on a Friday with the after work crowd, but then a new place opened up nearby and became the new fashion so Edwards is a lot quieter. O Tempore, O Mores! I had my stag night partly in here and partly in The Hengler's Circus across the road. Update: It's been renamed and is now something like The Sauchiehall

Egypt Cottage, 117 City Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne

For those of you of a certain vintage, this is right next door (and I mean RIGHT next door) to the Tyne Tees Studio where The Tube used to be filmed in the 1980's, so apparently some of the biggest names in the 1980's UK music industry have propped up the bar at one time or another.

Nice looking pub with, strangely enough, an Egyptian theme. Decent Deuchars IPA. And the Sallyport Sword Dancers sometimes practice here if they can't get into the Cumberland Arms.

Electric Bar, 291 Airbles Rd, Motherwell

Electric Bar

Happy memories of being in sixth year at Dalziel High School in Motherwell, and having various free periods during the week. Often my mate Dougie Johnstone and I used to take advantage of the good weather and lack of supervision (we were old enough to be trusted - ha!) when our free periods coincided to take off our blazers and ties and leave them in the sixth year common room, and wander across the Duchess of Hamilton Park to the other side where lay ......... heaven!

We used to brazenly stroll into the Electric Bar and have a beer or two and a game of darts or pool, before casually sauntering back the way we came in time to get properly dressed for our next lessons. We thought we were being completely covert by removing our blazers and ties, but this left us wearing black shoes, grey trousers and grey shirts and when I look back on it I cringe to realise we must have been so bloody obviously Dalziel pupils! But they served us anyway!

The Electric is still the unofficial Dalziel Former Pupils pub and after a gap of many many years I briefly went there enroute to a 40th birthday party for a former school mate and when I walked in at least half a dozen people sitting at the bar were instantly recognisable as being contemporaries of mine at school who hadn't quite escaped the clutches of the Electric. I swear they hadn't moved off the bar stools since 1980! Since then over the past years I've been in a few times for various school reunions, and yes, it is as boring a building as the photo suggests!

On another note, when I read Margrave of the Marshes, the biography of John Peel, I discovered that apparently he visited here, took part in the music quiz, and got royally pissed when visiting a friend in Motherwell. I have since mentioned this to people who still drink there and they knew nothing of it. You'd think they'd have a plaque up or something! Or at least use the connection as a bit of free publicity.

Exchequer, 59 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow

Exchequer

Former Sunday lunchtime venue of some members of the choir of St Mary's Cathedral, and Glasgow Chamber Choir also sometimes drank here when we rehearsed in the chapel of the Western Infirmary across the road. Now too studenty by half, but I suppose that's OK if you're a student!

I drove past it quite a while back and it was actually called something like The Clinic, presumably because it's across from the Western Infirmary, but it was closed even though it was during normal drinking hours although it has since reopened as a night club called BoHo

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Pubs of Layclerk #5

Dalziel Arms

Not terribly well placed, but to be fair the building does predate the horrible one-way system (which is actually two-way again, now that I think about it!) and underpass. This was where the good people met to discuss the foundation of an Episcopal Church in Motherwell, in the late 19th century so presumably it wasn't as rough-as-a-badger's like was the last time I was in!

From the Episcopal Church Website: "Holy Trinity had it origins in a meeting held in the Dalzell Arms Hotel on April 25th 1882 to consider the possibility of starting a Mission in Motherwell in connection with the Episcopal Church in Scotland. A congregation gathered and services were held in Mrs Keith's schoolroom until, in June 1884, a corrugated iron church was opened. This building is now the church hall. A building committee entered into negotiations with the Duke of Hamilton for a building site, and the foundation stone of the present church was laid on 29th September 1894. The new church, built in red stone and dedicated to the Holy Trinity on September 28th 1895 is Early English in style. The building was consecrated on November 21st 1896."

Holy Trinity Church Hall

On reflection, I guess it was maybe a previous incarnation of the Dalziel Arms in which the meeting was held!

As an aside, the original corrugated iron church referred to is now the church hall as seen in the photo (right), and a while ago they applied for planning permission to knock it down and build flats, but I've no idea what stage that's at.

As another aside, this is the church in which I was baptised and confirmed and where I started singing in the choir as a treble.

Doublet, 74 Park Rd, Glasgow

Former regular drinking place of the choir of St Mary's Cathedral in the 1980's. Very small, quite crowded, and used to be fairly smoky, although smoking is now banned in all Scottish pubs so that won't be a problem today.

Dr Gormans, 50 Upper Craigs, Stirling FK8 2DS

Dr Gormans

Now I don't say things like this lightly, but this pub served the BEST burger I have ever eaten in a pub or restaurant. And it was two for the price of one!

Four of us went here in August 2006, which was towards the end of my temporary period of working in Stirling, and it was all in all a very good place to have lunch. Pretty well right in the centre of Stirling, just round the corner from the Thistle Shopping Centre, it's a modern interior with quite a few plasma screens on the walls, but no outrageously loud music, which was a blessing. The screen nearest us was actually tuned to BBC News 24, although since the volume was muted it would have been nice to have had subtitles displayed.

I can't comment much on the beer, we were in at lunchtime and it would be a bad thing to drink during working hours (although I confess I was the bad lad who ordered a pint of lager - I was leaving after all!). So four meals, 3 soft drinks and a pint of lager, all for just over sixteen quid. And both of us who had the burger agreed that it was very nice indeed.

Verdict: Go there.

Drouthy Neebors, 142 Perth Rd, Dundee DD1 4JW

Drouthy Neebors

Went there once with a colleague. A couple asked us if they could sit down at our table (it wasn't all that busy) and we said yes. They lit up cigarettes and blew the smoke in our direction. We left and went to Braes, just down the road a bit. Five minutes later they came in too, and asked if they could sit at our table. We left sharpish! Freaks.

Drovers Inn, Inverarnan

Drovers Inn

Famous pub right next to the far north of Loch Lomond. Good food, but very busy on Sunday lunchtimes.

The last time I was in (years ago) it was apparently being renovated so we ended up sitting in a freezing cold large back room with dust everywhere and the ceiling almost falling about us! That was a while back though.

Dundee Contemporary Arts, 152 Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4DY

DCA

A bit poncy for me, but big, light and airy with a (concrete) beer garden outside with uncomfy plastic furniture made to look like real comfy sofas! Very arty, funnily enough.

This is where in conversation with a colleague one evening after our 15 hour shift had ended I discovered that he lives in a cottage owned by, and rented cheaply from, the Queen because he worked for her (in direct daily contact with her apparently) for several years. And then he ends up working in Dundee for two weeks. Nae luck!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Pubs of Layclerk #4

Cafe Royale

The big island bar dominates this attractive Edinburgh pub where the walls are decorated with 19th-century Royal Doulton tiles featuring famous figures from history. Been in it only once, on a pub crawl about 12 years ago.

Carbeth Inn, Stockiemuir Road, Blanefield, Stirlingshire

Carbeth Inn

The Carbeth Inn is an old coaching inn dating from 1816 which features in Sir Walter Scott's novel Rob Roy, as it was where Baillie Nicol Jarvie, a Glasgow magistrate, stayed when travelling to visit him. In the book it is the "halfway house", described as a "most miserable alehouse", but the last time I was in it it certainly wasn't miserable!

The whole place has an olde worlde feel about it, and it has a good selection of real ales, beers, wines, liqueurs and single malts. At the front of the inn is a beer garden where you can sit and eye up the motorcycles parked there on most dry days, since this is a very popular venue for a break when out on a day's ride. The inn apparently has two restaurants, and the bar food is good.

Standing in the shadow of the Campsie Hills, though only twelve miles from the centre of Glasgow, this is a decent country pub and is well worth a visit or two, particularly on two (motorised) wheels.

CCA, 350 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow

Now called the Centre for Contemporary Arts (I think, unless it's changed again), this place a long time ago used to be called the Third Eye Centre. I can't actually remember which one it was called when Glasgow Chamber Choir used to have a glass of beer or two after rehearsing in St Aloysius church round the corner. How sad am I though - the main thing I remember is that they had the best ever alcohol-free beer. I seem to remember it was Furstenberg Frei, which comes in large bottles and actually tastes like beer!

The Chanter, 30-32 Bread St, Edinburgh

After attending a concert by the Edinburgh Singers, I tagged along (as the friend of a former member who was with me) with the choir to their after-concert party here. They always apparently have a good knees-up after every concert, and lay on food too, so I was looking forward to it.

The party was fine, but the pub was ordinary and pretty studenty. The food was very very very late in arriving, so much so that 3/4 of the choir members had buggered off elsewhere to eat by the time it arrived, and when it did arrive it consisted of huge plates of OK'ish chips, and large plates of boring sandwiches containing not very appetising fillings. Never mind, the company was good, as was the preceding concert!

Cleopatra's, Great Western Rd, Glasgow

Clatty Pat's / Viper & Hubbards

Affectionately known as Clatty Pat's this nightclub, now called The Viper, right above Hubbard's (which has now changed its name but I can't remember what to) and directly across from Coopers, has the obligatory sticky carpets and is apparently heaving with medical staff from various hospitals once a month on NHS pay day!

I haven't been in for years and it'll stay that way for the foreseeable future thank you very much.

Clutha Vaults, 167 Stockwell St, Glasgow

Clutha Vaults

I have been in here precisely once. In the dim and distant past I was selected for jury duty on a murder trial at Glasgow High Court, just round the corner, and after the final day of the week long trial some of the jury members, myself included, adjourned here for a quiet drink to wind down. Can't really remember much about the pub, I had other things swirling around my head at the time. Had we come to the correct decision, for example. Well I still think we did reach the right verdict.

Clutha is the original (Gaelic) name for the river Clyde.

Coanes, 26 High Street, Johnstone

Coanes

This was technically my local from late 2003 until July 2006, but to be honest I've only been in it about 4 times! When we moved house in October 2003 I took a week of holiday and found myself in Coanes one afternoon. I was sufficiently impressed to send a text message to my closest mates saying something like "right now in pub, malt whiskies, real ales, sells mussels. Boys' night out anyone?" But the promised night out never materialised. Oh well.

Colonel Linskill, 25 Charlotte St, North Shields.

They all blend into one after a while! I think this was a good one, warm and comfortable, with Timothy Taylor's Landlord beer.

Coopers, 499 Great Western Road, Glasgow

Coopers

After its original life as an old-style supermarket type place called "Coopers" (those of a certain age may recall subsequently "Coopers Fine Fare" which became "Safeway", which is now "Morrisons", I think), this building became a Mexican Bar called "Chimmy Chungas" and as such it featured in John Byrne's BAFTA winning BBC drama series "Tutti Frutti" in 1987 as the workplace of Suzi Kettles, the character played by Emma Thompson (with a very passable Glasgow accent!). This was the series which Robbie Coltrane apparently credits with launching his career, and in it he played the lead character Danny McGlone. The series was about The Majestics, Scotland's "Kings of Rock" and it also starred Richard Wilson (later of "One Foot in the Grave" fame as Eddie Clockerty.

The pub then became for a long time Bar Oz, a very ordinary chain-pub with an Australian theme, and its current name presumably harks back to its original incarnation. Circle of Life and all that!

The Corinthian, 191 Ingram Street, Glasgow

Corinthian

This is the former Lanarkshire House which was Glasgow's Sheriff Court building until a new one was built south of the river.

Very expensive drink, fairly exclusive clientele (or at least it attracts the sort of pretentious poser who is happy to pay the outrageous prices), and exceptionally good architecture. It was refurbished in late 2010 and I haven't been in it since then.

Worth going in for a look at least once, if you can get past the bouncers.

Counting House, 67-71 Reform St, Dundee

Counting House Dundee

When I worked in Dundee temporarily between March and July 2005 this was my default pub. Pretty bog-standard JD Wetherspoon place, but it fitted the bill fine. Some pretty rough chaps drank there some nights though!

Counting House, 2 St Vincent Place, 24 George Square, Glasgow

Counting House Glasgow

Converted bank overlooking George Square right in the centre of Glasgow. Reasonably priced good selection of real ale, as you would expect from JD Wetherspoon (who list it as their flagship pub in Glasgow), but it's a barn of a place with very little atmosphere. Worth going into to look at the architecture though, as you can see from the photo.

This was for a while a regular venue for Glasgow Chamber Choir when they rehearsed in nearby Strathclyde University, and is, I believe, currently the venue for Glasgow Renaissance Singers (or Cathures as they are now bizarrely known) after their rehearsals in Strathclyde University. I was one of the original members of GRS, and indeed GCC.

The County, 70 High St, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne

County

One of the regular pubs for both the church and chamber choirs of All Saints, Gosforth when I sang with them.

On the sadly all-too-rare occasions when I manage to get back to Newcastle and see old friends, this is where we tend to meet up.

Good selection of Real Ale.

Coylet Inn, Kilmun, Loch Eck (A815, 9 miles north of Dunoon)

Coylet Inn

Picturesque is a word which might have been coined to describe this pub. Go see it yourself, and try some of the Real Ales, Malt Whiskies and good food too.

If you travel from Arrochar towards Inveraray, after you pass Rest and be Thankful and go down the other side the next road on your left will be signposted for Dunoon. If you take this road you will eventually pass the Coylet. Or from the other direction head out of Dunoon (always a good idea, some may say!) past Holy Loch.

Cumberland Arms, Byker Buildings, Newcastle upon Tyne

Cumberland Arms

Fairly old building (1850's) in need of a bit of repair. Good beer though. And the Newcastle Kingsmen Rapper Dance team practices here upstairs on a Wednesday night.

Curlers, 260 Byres Road, Glasgow G12 8SH

Curlers

One of the oldest buildings on Byres Rd, but not one of the best pubs. Very ordinary in fact. Architecturally however, the building stands out from those around it as being obviously much older.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Pubs of Layclerk #3

Most of the detail on the following post has been taken from my now-defunct website and transferred here for posterity.

Over the years I think it's fair to say I've had the odd drink or two in a fair old number of pubs, and this is a continuation of the occasional series of posts documenting all the pubs in which I've ever had a drink, where I'll try to list as many of them as I can remember together with the occasional "review" or story connected to them. By nature it's going to be a work in progress for a long time and I'd guess it isn't ever going to be complete, since there's no possible way I'll remember them all, but I'll try to list at least all the ones I regularly drank in or indeed still drink in with various choirs etc. Feel free to leave comments with any opinions, additions, corrections or extra detail. Important Caveat: Don't forget that sometimes it's been a LONG time and a lot of water's been passed since I've been in some of these places (some of which have had name/management changes, some of which are now closed down) so what I describe relates to how I remember they were back in the day. All opinions expressed are my own so please feel free to try even the ones I warn against and see if you agree with me.

Baby Grand, 7 Elmbank Gardens, Glasgow

As the name may suggest, there's a baby grand piano in this small bar near Charing Cross in Glasgow.

Incongruously sited in a concrete square between a tower block housing a cheap hostel/hotel, a subterranean railway station, and some God-awful 1970's office blocks, I haven't been in for years but it certainly used to do good Sunday lunches and bar snacks. And you could sit outside and look at the concrete.

Bar Bola, 144 Park Rd, Glasgow

St Mary's Cathedral choir used to drink here, but it was while I wasn't singing with them for a while. I've been in once though but can't remember much about it except it was very small and crowded, and not terribly pleasant.

The Barleycorn, 1 Low Waters Rd, Hamilton

The nearest pub to a branch of a plumbers merchant in which I worked from 1982 to about 1988. Not every one, but a lot of lunchtimes were spent in there. Ah, for the days when I didn't have to drive home from work!

Very very ordinary at the time, and in February 2009 I rode past it and noticed it was covered in metal shutters so appears to be closed down.

The Bentley Hotel, 19 High Road, Motherwell

In the former home, built in 1874, of Colonel Black of The Cameronians Regiment, the Bentley is now a hotel with a small public bar. They seem to be connected to Lanarkshire Catering School (I suspect they might in fact be Lanarkshire Catering School) and this means that the food in the restaurant is at least partially, if not wholly, made by trainees. They do a decent Sunday roast though.

It's across the road from Motherwell Heritage Centre, a good venue for researching family tree stuff if you have ancestry from the area. Which I have.

The Big Blue, 445 Great Western Road, Glasgow

This has to be a pretty unusual place for a bar. Situated inside one of the old railway arches almost underneath Kelvin Bridge in Glasgow (think "The Arches" garage in the BBC soap Eastenders) it surprisingly doesn't feel too claustrophobic inside. There are seats outside if you feel like braving the elements and the often noxious smell of the river. Good Italian food, as you would expect since it's owned by the same people who own Paperino's in Sauchiehall Street. And it's right next door to the best Fish & Chip shop in Glasgow. You just HAVE to try a Special Fish Supper from The Philadelphia. They are fantastic. Mmmmmmmm, arteries!

Black Bull Inn, Merry St, Motherwell

Now demolished, this traditional man's-pub was 200 yards from our house when I was approaching and turning 18 and I used to go there with my dad to play darts. The darts team were reasonably successful and I remember us winning at least one cup! Happy days!

Bon Accord, 153 North St, Glasgow

Years ago you pretty well had two choices in Glasgow in relation to beer. Drink the pish which passes for Scottish Heavy, or go to the Bon Accord and drink Real Ale.

Fortunately times have changed and you can now get a decent pint in most pubs, and the Bon Accord is still up there with the best of them, although decor-wise it feels very like another two Glasgow pubs, Hubbards and The Aragon. I've been on the winning team in the weekly pub quiz here two or three times in the past, but I don't even know if the quiz still happens.

And nowadays all Scottish Heavy is still complete pish, but there are some great Scottish Real Ales too.

Boswell Hotel, 27 Mansionhouse, Rd, Langside, Glasgow

Not too far from the Victoria Infirmary in the south side of Glasgow and known locally as The Country Club, this sprawling building with several bars, a decent beer garden and good real ale was sometimes used by Glasgow Chamber Choir after rehearsing in St Ninian's Church in Glasgow. Big selection of beers, and pretty good food too.

Braes, 14-18 Perth Rd, Dundee

Quite passable studenty bar with a few big screen TVs for football watching (if you're into that sort of thing) and some comfy sofas. Decent Deuchar's IPA.

Went here when I was working in Dundee early in 2005, and it became a bit of a local, although it was a fair walk from the flat.

One of my colleagues, every time we were walking towards it, always said "isn't this a gay bar?" Well, if it is we never caught anything off the seats, and were never gang raped in the toilets, so that was a narrow escape then! Fool.

Brandon Bar, 394 Brandon St, Motherwell

A basic man's-pub (or should that be basic-man's pub?) which was for a while my local. My mum and dad both used to work here too.

Pretty rough to be honest but when you're one of the regulars in a place like that, your parents work there, and every other regular knows you, then it's fine. It has a pool table on which I've had one or two wins in my time!

The Brandon Works, 41-61 Merry St, Motherwell

JD Wetherspoon bar in the centre of Motherwell in what used to be Bairds department store when I were a lad and used to walk past it twice a day enroute to school and back. I've been a few times with my dad at lunchtime and once to a colleague's leaving do on a Friday night.

Big and spacious, but with sticky carpets. Usual Wetherspoon food and drink.

Brel, 39 Ashton Lane, Glasgow

Waffles, chocolate, beer, the European Parliament and Jacques Brel the jazz musician - what else do you know about Belgium then? After the above words appeared on my website in 2007 a colleague told me that Audrey Hepburn, although brought up in England, was born in Belgium. So there you go!

I've only ever been in here for a last beer or two after drinking elsewhere in Glasgow's west end, and it's always been full to bursting, and indeed overflowing into the lane outside. It's in an old barn or cowshed and the floor is still identifiable with its channels for taking the water/piss away, and the walls have those white tiles you might remember from primary school toilets! Well worth going in just to look at the architecture, but don't do it on a Friday night!

And in the interests of fairness, the Lonely Planet Website says: "Belgium's sluggish surface hides cultural schism and a passion for pleasure. If Belgium's spotlight on the European stage is a little dim, it's only because its people are rarely boastful. This slow-burning country has more history, art, food and architecture packed into its tiny self than many of its bigger, louder neighbours. A rich and bubbling vat of beer, chocolate, oil paint and bureaucrats, Belgium gives off the heady pong of the bourgeoisie. But stir the pot a little and you'll find an 'artificial state' roughly made up of two parts Germanic Flemings to one part Celtic-Latin Walloons."

So that's alright then, except I'm not so sure if I fancy sampling the heady pong of the Bourgeoisie, having dealt with the heady pong of the native Glasgow Jakey Bastard for three years when I was a Turnkey!

Bridge Hotel, Castle Square, Newcastle upon Tyne

In my very brief sojourn with the choir of St John the Baptist, Newcastle upon Tyne, this is where they drank.

Can't remember much about it other than it's a rambling place with several rooms. And it must sell Real Ale if a choir drank there!

A while back I discovered that it was designed by a famous architect, and for the life of me I can't remember his name! Oh well.

Bunker, 193-199 Bath St, Glasgow

I would have walked straight past this basement bar unless my colleagues had pointed out the door! Modern decor, fairly spacious, and with Internet access on about 6 wall mounted PCs, we were only in here for one very quick drink so for a while couldn't comment that much on how good it was, however RE and I went there relatively recently, and although the food was fine they managed to lose our order somewhere between the bar and kitchen so it took about an hour to arrive. I'd probably go back though, just maybe not to eat.

Burts Hotel, Market Sq, Melrose

I don't remember that much about Melrose, apart from the impressive Abbey and Burts Hotel's famous Sunday lunches. And all I can remember about them is that they are famous. Can't for the life of me describe what they were like, or whether it was Sunday Roast or Nut Roast (oh, alright then, it certainly wouldn't have been Nut Roast!)

Saturday, November 13, 2010

One down, two to go

The first of three Glasgow Chamber Choir concerts over successive nights took place last night in Canongate Kirk on Edinburgh's Royal Mile.

A slightly lopsided concert at first glance, the first half consisting of two motets by William Byrd (c1540-1633), Ne irascaris Domine and Civitas sancti tui, sandwiching the magnificent Take him, earth, for cherishing by Herbert Howells (1892-1983) written for the memorial service of President John F Kennedy, interspersed with the piano pieces Prelude from Suite for pianoforte duet by York Bowen (1884-1961) and Nocturne from the same suite, all of which lasted about half an hour. It seemed like no sooner were we walking on we were walking back off again, but it all made sense because the second half consisted solely of the comparatively lengthy Ein Deutsches Requeim (German Requiem) by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), in the piano duet version arranged by Brahms himself soon after he composed the piece.

Having heard Bearsden Choir performing Brahms' full orchestral version of the Requiem just a couple of weeks ago in Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church in Paisley (coincidentally where the next performance of RSCM Scottish Voices is due to take place when we sing Choral Evensong there on 4th December) I definitely prefer the more intimate piano version. That's not to criticise Bearsden choir, it's personal preference for an alternative arrangement of the music.

I have to confess I think we just about nailed last night. I don't think a better performance of the Howells piece was possible (and in fact afterwards a musically knowledgeable member of the audience commented that he'd never heard a better sung recording of it) and in particular the first Byrd motet, which we sang spread out round the sides of the audience, was magical. The Brahms itself was powerful when needed, and beautifully quiet when appropriate. And the soloists, Emma Harper (soprano) and Anders Östberg (baritone) sang magnificently, accompanied by Ed Cohen and Jennifer Redmond on piano.

After the concert last night we went next door to the Tolbooth Tavern, where refreshments were consumed before the 2300hrs train back to Glasgow, some chips, and a bus trip back home. So it was about 2am before I manasged to get to bed, tired yet happy.

Unfortunately the performance last night was marred a bit for me by the fact that in the afternoon I pulled a muscle in my back when stupidly trying to lift a speaker stand while I was twisted round. It was a mild tweak, and if I hadn't thereafter been standing in one position holding a folder of music for hours I would have been fine by bedtime, but unfortunately that wasn't an option and it made the pain almost unbearable at times, taking my mind away from the singing. It's a bit better right now though, and hopefully fully dosed up with painkillers I'll be fine for tonight when we do it all again in St Margaret's Episcopal Church in Newlands, Glasgow at 7.30pm. And then again tomorrow evening at the earlier time of 7pm in The West Kirk in Helensburgh. All with appropriate alcoholic refreshment afterwards, naturally!

Tickets are available on the door, costing £10 for tonight's performance and £8 for the Helensburgh one. And there'll be a bar available at the Glasgow performance.

Monday, February 01, 2010

Pubs of Lay Clerk #2

Continuing the occasional series documenting all the pubs in which I've ever had a drink. See the initial post for the background to this quest.

Aragon, 131 Byres Rd, Glasgow G12 8TT

Unmistakeably part of the same chain as Hubbards in Great Western Road, this is a smallish bar tarted up to look authentically old, and it achieves the effect pretty well. Good real ale, but boringly ordinary yet kind of OK pub-food.

Decent place to have a small refreshment while shopping in Byres Rd. I like it.

Babbity Bowster, 16-18 Blackfriars St, Glasgow G1 1PF

Taking its name from an old Scottish courting dance, this fine town house is attributed to Robert Adam. It portrays itself as authentically Scottish, but the last few times I've been in it felt a bit touristy for some reason I can't put my finger on.

Good food, if a bit on the expensive side, and they used to have traditional folk music jam-sessions but again, the last few times I've been in I haven't seen them. Good selection of real ales, including usually something unusual as a guest.

There's a beer garden, but I don't recall ever seeing anyone sitting in it!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Review of 2009

Well the choir of King's College, Cambridge are on the radio performing Nine Lessons and Carols right now as I sit here starting to type this, so it must be time for my third annual review. How was Lay Clerk's 2009?

A bit mixed, to be honest, but then again such is life. Much of what occupied my mind throughout the whole year concerns another person and according to the unwritten rules of Blogging which are solely in my head, I choose to keep that topic to myself.

Another unwritten rule is that I won't Blog about work, so apart from saying that I'm still enjoying it and we continue to be as busy as ever, I'll leave it there.

On the subject of work, a close friend was unfortunately made redundant at the start of the year, a victim of the worldwide economic situation, and for a few months went through a difficult time during which I hope I was there to offer what little support or help I could, and thankfully a new, better job was secured after a while. Onwards and upwards.

I still sing with Glasgow Chamber Choir, mostly enjoying it but sometimes having to fight against my inner dislike of certain types of choral music. On the whole it continues to be good fun, good musically, and a good bunch of people.

In 2009 my presence in the choirstalls at the Cathedral occurred more frequently and more regularly, and more or less every week I sing Choral Evensong on the Sunday, which I am thoroughly enjoying.

In about May the administrator of RSCM Scottish Voices, which was started the previous summer, resigned, and I was subsequently asked to take over that role. It's been an interesting 6 months, most but not quite all of it interesting in a nice way. I've registered a Domain name for the choir, but haven't yet got round to uploading the website which is sitting on my laptop. In truth, this is mostly because I've forgotten how to go about having multiple websites hosted together but kept separate, since it's been such a long time since I did anything with any of my sites. At some point I'll get the finger out and do it. And if anyone familiar with creating and uploading websites to 1&1 using Microsoft Frontpage is reading this and wants to remind me how easy it is, I'd be obliged! In the meantime I've also started a Blog for the choir, which is linked from the sidebar on the left. If any RSCM Scottish Voices members are reading this for some reason, and they fancy having a go at sometimes adding choir-related content to our Blog, email me.

In May I sang with The Biggar Singers in an enjoyable performance of Morten Lauridsen's piece, Lux Aeterna, which involved about a hundred mile round trip every week to rehearse. The choir's conducted and accompanied respectively by two members of Glasgow Chamber Choir who live down that way, and my few weeks of excessive travel pale into insignificance when set against them doing it every week coming to Glasgow. And indeed two other GCC members travel from Dumfriesshire every week to rehearse!

A personal high point of the year was when I was asked to sing the tenor solo in a performance of Stainer's Crucifixion on Good Friday in Paisley. My initial reaction upon being asked was "no thanks, I'm a chorister, not a soloist" but when I thought about it, knowing that I can actually sing the notes if not necessarily perform them as a "proper" soloist would, I thought why the hell not. And so I did. And it went well. First time I've ever had my name on a poster! I have no ambitions to be a soloist, and while I'd possibly say yes if asked again, equally I am not at all bothered.

I paid another visit to Paisley later in April, but this time to the Paisley Beer Festival, which was most enjoyable and having been there two years ago is likely to become an annual pilgrimage, albeit I missed last year as I was in Calfornia. I only went on one evening, but a fellow Cathedral chorister, Neil, took holiday from work and went every day. Now that's dedication!

In July four of us from Glasgow Chamber Choir, having coincidentally and enjoyably sung solo parts together during a recent concert, decided to get together and sing together some more. We've met twice so far, it's as much a social event as a musical one, and despite some (hopefully tongue in cheek) remarks from another couple of friends about "the elite group" it's just a bunch of friends singing, drinking and eating together. We've performed together under the name The New Quartet in public once, a few days ago in a branch of a bank for charity, but who knows whether we'll do it again or whether it'll stay purely as a social event.

After a break of 29 years, I met up with former schoolfriends at a wee reunion in Motherwell in April. It was as though we'd only had a break of 6 months and we all got on great again. An unexpectedly tremendous evening. Another one, on a bigger scale, is planned for next year when it'll be 30 years since we left school. And I foolishly offered to co-ordinate it. It shouldn't involve much more than a few emails though, so should be OK.

On the subject of school, there is a sobering time in one's life when one's schoolfriends start dying. In August Kenny Stewart was the first of us to go. Admittedly the lovely, intelligent, caring person Catherine Fellowes died in a tragic diving accident soon after we left school, leaving her massive potential unfulfilled, but Kenny is the first to die without having an accident. He was one of my closest friends at school, and despite us having some differences in later years, you can't take away the fact that we grew up together.

In July RE and I made a weekend trip to the north east of Scotland to see friends, Stephanie and Martin, and to have a wee tour about. It's an area of the country I happen to really like, and it was good not only to show RE round it, but to catch up with old friends at their barbecue. I've known Stephanie since the mid 1980's when she was a student at Glasgow University and joined the Cathedral Choir, so she's probably one of my oldest friends and although we don't see each other terribly often, it's good to catch up when we can.

In August my brother, his wife and daughter moved back to Scotland. They've been living abroad for about a dozen years, first in Dubai and then in San Diego, California. For some reason they decided to come back to the Scottish climate, and it's great to have them here. My niece, Jess, has joined the Cathedral Choir trebles, and seems to enjoy it I'm glad to say. I was immensely proud to be asked to present her with her surplice at Evensong when she passed from being a probationer to being a chorister. They hosted a Halloween party in October (on the 30th, funnily enough!) and the fact that they live in a castle (yes, really) made it all the more spooky! Great fun.

August also saw a return visit to the World Pipe Band Championship at Glasgow Green, with RE, her cousin and his German girlfriend who were visiting Scotland. It rained. But it was a very enjoyable day despite the weather.

In September RE hosted one of her sisters, visiting from New Zealand, and I joined them for a trip to Linlithgow, their ancestral town. It was the first time I've been there, and I can now recommend the Four Mary's pub in the main street.

In a much previous life I was a roadie and mixed the sound for a local band. All very enjoyable, but in an amateur way. A friend, Ian, does it for a living though, well, the sound engineer bit anyway, and ages ago I mentioned to him that if he was ever needing some semi-skilled labour (i.e. really unskilled!) then I'd happily come and lift and carry stuff around for him. In September he called my bluff, and I found myself for two days being a roadie working on the sound crew at the Merchant City Festival in Glasgow. With three outdoor stages and an indoor venue to be covered, it was hard work, a bit physical sometimes, and a lot to take in, but it was great. I even ended up twiddling the knobs for one act, while Ian was called away to deal with a change of venue for another group. All very basic stuff of course, but I'm glad to say Ian trusted me enough to leave me on my own, and I'm even gladder to say I managed to avoid fucking it up! I'm looking forward to the next time, although I don't expect a change of career is due anytime soon!

The Institute of Advanced Motorists has taken more of a back seat this year, pardon the pun, although I did complete the necessary number of observed runs to continue as a Qualified Motorcycle Observer. It remains to be seen however whether I'll continue next year.

I've started to get the flat a bit more sorted. With the benefit of hindsight I realise that when I moved in I wasn't really in the right emotional frame of mind to do the decorating necessary, and as time went on I stopped seeing the faults. I have now got as far as getting a quote from a decorator, and getting the hallway replastered. Soon after Christmas I'll contact the decorator again and get him to come and do the business in the living room and hallway.

My general level of fitness continues to improve as I take advantage of the gym a few hundred yards from my house. I even made it onto a running track with RE a couple of times, but that was very hard going at that time! In the past few weeks I've slipped a bit, but my main New Year's resolution is to redouble my efforts. And I WILL do it.

On a fitness topic, in 2009 I did something I never thought I'd do. I climbed a hill. Not only a hill, but it was in fact a Munro. I've never ever ever been interested in hillwalking, and have been vocal about that opinion all through my life. But RE persuaded me to try it. Well I say persuaded me, but not proactively. I just mean that her influence, unbeknownst to her, made me want to do it. So she kindly agreed to "babysit me" up a hill. I'd be lying if I said there weren't bits I didn't enjoy. I slipped and fell up to my knees in a very cold stream; I slithered and slid my way down what was allegedly a "path"; I fell and staved my finger, but I bloody enjoyed it! And I know that thousands of people do it every weekend and think nothing of it. But this was me doing it. Me who about a year ago looked as though he was about to expire after a very short climb up a set of steps to a scenic viewpoint in the Scottish Borders. Me who a year ago hadn't taken any form of exercise for God knows how long, apart from when I tried badminton and spectacularly ruptured my achilles tendon. Me who is a city boy who has always said he didn't mind walking as long as it was on a pavement. This was me who walked up that Munro. And it is still me who is immensely proud of having done it, and proud of his friend RE for having the patience, skill and perseverance to help me all the way. Others may do it more often and with less effort, but we all have different abilities and different goals, and this particular achievement ranks highly for me.

So that's a potted history of Lay Clerk's 2009. A mixed year, but generally a good one and ending better than it started. Much of the above was Blogged about in depth at the time so if you've read this post in isolation it must seem pretty sparse of detail, and of course I've missed things out. Not just deliberately missed things to protect other people's privacy, but simply because things will have slipped my mind. Something which will hopefully never slip my mind though is to mention the love, friendship, and support of my closest friends, some of whom have been such for the thick end of 25 years, some for only a couple of years, but I value them all and thank them for their continuing friendship and support. I won't name them, but you know who you are. Thank you one and all.

Happy Christmas folks!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

So far so good

The music I mentioned previously has gone well so far, and now there remains only the midnight service and the one on Christmas morning.

The Glasgow Chamber Choir concert in Hyndland went well, and the 70 primary school kids were surprisingly well behaved and more importantly stayed out of my way!

The New Quartet's public debut in the Royal Bank of Scotland on Monday afternoon seemed well received and I think it made a pound or two for charity, which was the whole point.

Glasgow Chamber Choir's involvement in the Raymond Gubbay Carol Spectaculars, while inevitably a bit shouty, were a success and it seems we'll likely be asked to do them again next year. Interestingly, on the Sunday the Edinburgh area of the National Youth Choir of Scotland also performed a few pieces and on the Monday it was their Falkirk area counterparts, and both choirs were directed by ex Glasgow Chamber Choir members, Mark Evans and Kirsty Yeoman respectively (except I think Kirsty may have a new married name now, but I didn't catch it). Small world this musical choiry-stuff lark! The Sunday was a long day which ended with spectacular real deep crunchy crisp snow on the streets of Edinburgh as the last four of us battled through it from the pub across the road from the Usher Hall (All Bar One if you must know), where we'd indulged in a post concert fluid replacement session, to the Chinatown Restaurant in Atholl Place (near Haymarket Station) where we had a very tasty meal before catching the train back to Glasgow. I got back in the door a few minutes before midnight, having left to catch the bus a little after 7am. Long day.

The Monday concert in Glasgow was followed by a few drinks in La Bonne Auberge, across the road from the Royal Concert Hall. A bit pricy, but quiet unlike most of the other city centre Glasgow pubs this close to Christmas. This time I didn't get the bus home from the city centre until almost half past midnight, so it was another long day albeit not as bad as the previous one.

So just the two to go now.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Pubs of Lay Clerk #1

Over the years I think it's fair to say I've had the odd drink or two in a fair old number of pubs, and this is the initial post in my new Pubs of Lay Clerk series where I'll try to list as many of them as I can remember, together with the occasional "review" or story connected to them. By nature it's going to be a work in progress for a long time and I'd guess it isn't ever going to be complete, since there's no possible way I'll remember them all, but I'll try to list at least all the ones I regularly drank in or indeed still drink in with various choirs etc. Feel free to leave comments with any opinions, additions, corrections or extra detail.

Don't forget that sometimes it's been a LONG time and a lot of water's been passed since I've been in some of these places so what I describe tends to relate to how I remember they were back in the day. All opinions expressed are my own so please feel free to try even the ones I warn against and see if you agree with me.

Adam & Eve, Bishopgate, Norwich NR3 1RZ

This is one of the oldest pubs in Norwich, is just outside the Cathedral walls and was supposedly used by the workmen during one of the phases of the building of the Cathedral (which would have been some time between 1121 - 1369 I guess).

Although right next to a modern car park (not multi-storey thankfully) and across from the law court, the outside wall is covered in flowers and it looks as though it's in the middle of the countryside. It sells decent food, real ale, and bowls of very nice olives.

I was there was in 1994 when the Marian Consort sang for a week in the Cathedral, and briefly in 1999 with Glasgow University Chapel Choir on a tour of Norfolk.

All Bar One, St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5TS

At the end of the day this is a pretty boring city centre pub, but one of the good things about it is that it has huge floor to ceiling windows and it's right on the pavement of a really busy street so it's a good place to sit, drink, and people-watch.

It gets pretty busy with straight-after-work people (as opposed to the ones who are gay-while-at-work I suppose!). A bit expensive, but it's the city centre after all. I was first in here in November 2005 and the selection of beers was actually pretty good, including some Belgian fruit beers (like Kriek) and various decent lagers (Krusovice etc) all on draught. Since then I've been in often, and I can heartily recommend their food. There are nice comfy sofas upstairs, and a good'ish view out the windows down to the street below.

For a bonus point of historical interest, across from the side of All Bar One is St Mary's Lane which is so called because it's where St Mary's Episcopal Church used to be before the good Victorians decided it'd be a good idea to move to the growing west end of Glasgow. St Mary's church of course went on to become the Cathedral of the Diocese.