I think we’re still on Tuesday in Aberdeen (are we ?).
I met Mrs RM at the Northern Hotel in Kittybrewster. She’d booked it for proximity to the University where she was fixing IT problems by turning things on and off again.
Half the price of the City centre chains, a bit of Art Deco grandeur, and if we hid in the laundry room we’d get to see Black Lace there in a month’s time.
Actually, Dene Michel’s Black Lace is a bit like Denny Laine’s Beatles. I think I’ll pass.
The bar is full-on ocean liner chic,
right down to the craft keg from you-know-who that has recently replaced the evil cask.
We could have had a gourmet burger there, but we were meeting Aberdeen pub legend Scott Campbell at the nearby St Machar Bar, by huge coincidence a new GBG tick for me.
It’s the only bar on the cobbled High Street of the old town/University, unless Scott was hiding the micro pubs from me.
It looked brilliant on the approach.
Would it be packed with students drinking shots, or CAMRA folk drinking pale beers ?
Neither. Just a good mix of town and gown, resembling Cambridge’s Live and Let Live or Elm Tree in feel.
Scott was there early, and bagged the last table by the bar. Or perhaps Mrs RM did; they don’t have VAR in Scotland yet.
The beer choice was good if you like Inveralmond, as the very rare Deuchars had just gone.
I like Ossian, and we alternated between that and Lia Fail, both decent, though Mrs RM moved onto the Brew Dog after her first pint on the basis that it’s a Locale.
I didn’t take any notes, so we must have had a good discussion about oil revenues, Dutch towns and pub stuff. Lack of notes is always a good sign.
I was clearly distracted by this T-shirt though.
Despite attempting to bribe Scott with my spare Spoons vouchers, I couldn’t get him to disclose the GBG2020 entries, so Simon will have to try alternate means.
A top evening of pubbing in a classy pub, finished off with some classy toilet art.
retiredmartin 
Boy, that’s a great looking pub. Love the buildings in the photos too.
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But is that Devanha mirror – the one with about thirty Stafford Knots making an oval border – original pre 1930 or one of those evil reproductions ?
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Hmm. “Post Modern Classic”. I’m tempted to ask “Which?”
They say it as if it were a good thing though, but I’m with Noam Chomsky on that.
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“Post Modern Classic”.is the sort of bollocks we might expect from a meggakeggery’s marketing department.
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Don’t be nasty to little BrewDog you big (anonymous) bully. Or I’ll make my posts on their Aberdeen bars stretch for days
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“Anonymous” might not realise that Post Modern Classic is an anagram of crossed complaints.
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Nice one RM – takes nerves of steel to come up with a blog post title like that…and keep your credibility intact 😉
“a bit of Art Deco grandeur”
Looks like Art Deco meets Aberdeen austere grey granite …beautiful inside though…(not saying Aberdeen granite isn’t beautiful when it sparkles in the sunlight)…
Wig Wam Bam – top quality glam rock (The Sweet not the Black Lace cover)…
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Please do not confuse Black Lace – from Leeds I think – with Paper Lace, from Nottingham. The worst that the latter ever inflicted on us was “Billy Don’t Be A Hero”, if memory serves.
You’ll make up your own minds, as to how that compared with Agadoo, I trust…
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Etu,
I’m not sure about “inflicted on us” and would suggest that only Ken Boothe’s Everything I Own was better than , the Mitch Murray and Peter Callander composition in 1974’s top ten selling records.
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Ken is still going strong, happily.
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DID I confuse Black Lace (legends) with Paper Lace (leg-ends) in the post. Didn’t think so.
“Agadoo” is agaduff, but “Superman” is a classic that kept my toddlers happy at many a mini disco 15 years ago.
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No you didn’t confuse them Martin, my post was addressed to your readers.
I’ll get this clarity thing sorted one day.
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It’s OK, I assumed that’s what you meant, but you know that feeling when however much you check before posting you make an error. Black Lace (Matt’s favourite in 2005) and Black Sabbath (Matt’s favourite in 2015) are easily confused.
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Etu,
Very pleased that Ken Boothe’s still doing okay.
I always got him confused with Daniel Boone of Beautiful Sunday fame.
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And I always got HIM mixed up with Daniel in the Lion’s Den of Sunday School fame.
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I only went to Sunday School once and that wasn’t long enough to learn about any Daniels.
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“where she was fixing IT problems by turning things on and off again.”
Over here we’re told to unplug, wait 30 seconds, then plug it back in again. 🙂
“we’d get to see Black Lace there in a month’s time”
I hope to see black lace this afternoon.
(probably not quite the same thing)
“right down to the craft keg from you-know-who that has recently replaced the evil cask.”
If memory serves, at least they’re Scottish.
“Rare retiredmartin drone shot”
That looks suspiciously like Google Maps.
“Old Town House”
Soon to be a micro?
“How inviting is that ?”
Nice.
(and actually quite the artistic photo)
“Studentz”
Agreed. If they were hipsters they’d be wearing little wool toques.
“Neither.”
Ooops (blush).
“Proof that cask sells in Scotland”
The photo below confirms that.
“on the basis that it’s a Locale.”
(slow golf clap)
“Not a CAMRA beer festival design”
I think he’s trying to imply that, even though he is on the lean side, he identifies with those who have muffin tops. 🙂
Cheers
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Ah, Ossian and Lia Fail. Both great. Rare to see outside Scotland, alas.
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Say what you like about Black Lace but Superman is a classic of its kind!
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