7.05 Club SATURDAY
18th JUNE ‘05 BUCHANAN STREET. Waxy O’Connor’s in the wee lane between Queen Street and Buchanan Street stations.
Rabbit warren of a pub with Harry Potter style staircases (which move after 8 pints) spread over three
floors with bars on each level. Reasonable selection of beers. Meant to be an Irish themed pub but is as
Oirish as Chicken Tikka Massala. Easy to get lost if under the influence as the toilets are a geographical
challenge to find and the more drunken crawler has gone seeking urinal relief on the top floor only to emerge
Tardis-like in the basement with a feeling of mild disorientation and a major bladder disorder. One of the
warmest days of the year got off to a bad start for big Del who had turned up with a long sleeved shirt
then got worse when he discovered Waxy’s did not sell his beloved Nuclear Brown ale !
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COWCADDENS. The Station Bar - exit station and turn sharp right and follow the path which parallels main road, past the high rise flats and the Piping Centre to McPhater Street where the TSB is situated at corner of Port Dundas Road. Famous Glasgow drinking institution which is a favourite haunt of Railwaymen / Firemen / Police (all off duty of course !), not to mention the Passport Office crowd and the nearby STV luvvies from across the road. Great selection of beers although the food is somewhat limited to the traditional pie and peas with jars of cockles and mussels (still alive alive oh!)
available. Big George is the most welcoming of Mine Hosts but shades are
recommended when he approaches due his dubious sartorial choice of ties,
all of a 1960’s paisley style from the local Oxfam shop. The bar is on the small
side but homely with a few local characters to add to its ambience.
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ST GEORGE’S CROSS. Sadly our previous stop-off, the Clarendon was burnt down around 18 months ago.
As the sun was beating down, we decided
to skip this stop and head out west in search of some alfresco boozing.
KELVINBRIDGE. Duty bound from previous crawls to call into The Doublet on Park Road where we
all enjoyed
a round of Zywiec, a nice Polish brew at 5.7%. Very enjoyable as were the attempts to pronounce it.
Rating After leaving pub, managed to
avoid our previous experience of being water bombed by the illegitimate children in top floor flat in
South Woodside Road. That pair of mysterious trainers still hanging over the phone wires thirty feet above
ground – great throw, though I suppose the poor bastard who had to walk home unshod might not think so.
Maybe a drunk from a previous Sub Crawl deciding how far he could “punt the trainers”.
Round the corner into Woodlands Road and The Primary, as the name suggests, a former school
(Woodside Primary) in a previous existence. It is our considered opinion that there is no better use for
these old schools and churches (see Oran Mor) than being turned into Temples of Bacchus. A scorcher of a
day had us all camped out in the old school playground which is now a beer garden which accommodates around
30 – 40 punters. Apart from
being pestered by an old crone doing a survey on cider, a very enjoyable half
hour spent soaking up the sun and the booze.
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HILLHEAD To Ashton Lane to Jinty’s, long a favourite watering hole of the 7.05 clubbers. Unusual lay-out
compared to nearby bars, with old wooden panelling and small booths where you can enjoy an incognito swally,
well out of the wife’s view if she happens to be passing. Good selection of beers.
Rating Rating Rating Next door to Brel, another Lane institution
with a good selection of Belgian themed draft and bottled beers. Once the customers get into double figures,
this pub is mobbed so be prepared to squeeze in where you can to the small bar area. Pub was a former stable
and coach house and shares same back beer garden with its neighbour, Vodka Wodka .Some nice live jazz music
was being played which gives it a great atmosphere. Supped down a few
Kronenbourg Blanc’s to maintain the international flavour of the day.
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Further along to the Cul de Sac – more stairs to challenge the weary crawler, this has bars on two
levels, the top being appropriately enough The Attic. Care is required when visiting the gents which has
the toilet entrance right next to the fire escape door and is easy to walk past and end up outside on the
metal staircase, 30ft above ground level. Avoid the temptation for an alfresco piss from a great
height and head back inside. Good selection of food and drink on offer.
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The midday start now beginning to take its toll by 7pm – blame the hot weather for the dehydration forcing us to consume ever more liquid to stave off the mirages. Was convinced I had seen some palm trees but it was only the yucca plants at the entrance to the Ubi Chip restaurant ! As the lane got busier, we began to lose individual crawlers and the company was spread over three bars at one stage. Gave up trying to take an inventory of our drunks as even with mobile phone technology, we were becoming more incoherent as the night wore on. Decided for the sake of the liver and the marriage to head home. Think I got the subway back into town but my empty
pockets the following day suggest a black hack may have been my chariot of choice.
Hoping to arrange a full circle crawl during July / August and definitely before
the footie season starts to allow a peaceful, unthreatening swally at the stops between Bridge Street and Govan.
After a call at some clothes shop in Buchanan Street to buy the big man a
t-shirt, it was down the escalator ………