Wednesday 17 February 2010

How pubs can sometimes make you go all philosophical

Sitting in the No 2 Smoke Room at the Adelphi in Leeds, the former Tetley’s tap I”m told, a Timmy Taylor in my hand (I couldn’t quite bring myself to order a Tetley’s, it’s not a beer that I’ve ever really enjoyed). Amazed by the well-preserved aspect of the place, the Victoriana on show, the wood panels, the frosted etched glass and the feel that there are rooms everywhere to discover. It’s late afternoon and the sun is streaming in warm and relaxing, encouraging me to linger over my pint (though it’s not the best Landlord I’ve ever had). Outside trees’ branches remain bare and folk scurry about in their overcoats, but here in the pub, unable to see through the frosted glass, I can maintain the illusion that this dreadful winter has ended and spring is here. This is the pub as a creator of an alternative reality, a bastion against the outside world, the weaver of dreams. Pubs can move you away from the mundane things of real life. I don’t get that feeling in Café Nero, where it’s just a case of loading up on caffeine and hoping that they have free wifi.

10 comments:

  1. I know exactly what you mean about the Adelphi and similar "wooden wombs" - something singularly lacking in the modern open-plan pub.

    ReplyDelete
  2. As much as I loved pubs in the Czech Republic, nowhere does it quite as well as Britain and Ireland.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I should be in Leeds in April for the Guiseley beer festival and will try my damndest to make it to this place. I know exactly the feeling you describe.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great pub, I'm glad it hasn't been buggered up. We always used to call it the Drunken Busman.

    ReplyDelete
  5. "This is the pub as a creator of an alternative reality, a bastion against the outside world, the weaver of dreams" Bit of a dump then?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cooking — depends on what metaphysical prism you use to view the multifaceted functionality that we call life through and then some.

    ReplyDelete
  7. My bus stop is directly outside the Adelphi. I am lobbying First West Yorkshire for electronic timetables so that on rainy days I know for sure if I have time for a swift half before the bus comes.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Mark
    I reckon it would be a good place to stock up on Abbeydale’s Black Mass (if they sold it) on a crap afternoon and letting the rest of the day go hang…

    ReplyDelete
  9. Agreed, a rainy afternoon. And there's a stack of board games in the corner too. Kerplunk and the loser gets the round in?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've been cooking peppers and onions in the skillet on the flame broil a great deal of late. I'll need to include jalapenos next time. Yum. I like cooking bacon that much as well, albeit hot fat + open fire includes a decent component of threat. I used to get flank steak, yet my significant other inspired me to attempt the carne asada cut from our nearby market, and I favor it. Not certain if it's thin-cut flank or skirt (I'll need to ask), however it would appear that this

    ReplyDelete