Some more dark brown delights from Glasgow.
Leaving Duncan and the delightful/enigmatic Madame Luna (report pending) in Paisley Wetherspoons, I headed for a gig at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut on the western edge of Glasgow Centre.
There really is some magnificent architecture around Charing Cross, once you look up above the takeaway frontages.
And some of Glasgow’s real ale stalwarts. After a lengthy session with the Pubmeister, a pint in The State Bar was always a bad idea.
But with King Tut’s deciding that music wouldn’t start ’till 8.30 (Marika Hackman on at 10.30 !) I had no excuse for not walking the 300 yards.
The State was the stand-out the last time I came up for a gig here (Maria McKee in 2005), and despite recovering from recent tragedy it seems to be maintaining it’s reputation as an exemplar real ale house, with the feel of Cambridge’s Maypole or London’s Harp.
There was a challenging beer choice;
A varied range of folk were mostly on the cask, so the Stewart No.3 was a safe choice rather than a lottery ticket.
And it was cool and tasty, though as I did my usual noseying round and noticed the rest of the range round the bar I had a small twang of disappointment at missing the Oakham for which the State is famed. Oakham Green Devil does seem to have become the official beer of Scotland CAMRA branches.
Pub Curmudgeon would, no doubt, have noted with approval the proper seating, after-work drinkers reading papers and light streaming through at 8pm.
What he would have thought of a post-punk soundtrack of The Beloved’s “The Sun Rising” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is harder to gauge, but it certainly worked for me, and a wide range of drinkers.
My notes say “Quite brilliant”. And it was. Jason would be proud.
retiredmartin 
A few questions for you Martin,
What type of music does Maria McKee do as i have never heard of her.
What is a quinoa salad in Wetherspoons.
How do you become a professional drinker.
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Maria’s music is a lot of styles, influenced by Bowie, country and Meatloaf. She wrote 2 UK Number 1s (A Good Heart abs Show me Heaven) but her music is a bit cult.
I call professional drinkers the old boys you see, often in Wetherspoons, who are set up for a good session during the day time.
Quinoa salad is a new Spoons dish made up of all those “superfoods” you read about but never see in Aldi.
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Quinoa is some form of grain which has been populated by poncy soft southern people. From the eating it seems most similar to pearl barley. I’d be interested to know whether you could brew using it. Personally, I don’t particularly like the chewy texture and would sooner have rice.
I wonder whether it would be possible to literally be a professional drinker.
McClean will tear you apart.
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“Professional drinkers” are often members of ‘Spoons “Nine in the morning club”, although there are professional drinkers who are not members, and there are members who are not professional drinkers.
I hope that makes sense !
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Excellent answer.
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I would love to be a professional drinker,i have had lots of practice and can drink quite a few,we did ten pubs in Nottingham the other week so 10 pints for me and 10 halfs for the wife then on the home brew when we got home.
I also had a massive session when i did a pub crawl in Stoke only 20 pubs done on halfs then on my way back the wife said ime in Wetherspoons so come and meet me,another 5 pints and left at chucking out time.
If i got paid for doing that it would be a massive help to me.
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