Let's Get Married
So what to do on a Saturday afternoon in Scotland? Without wanting to resort to national stereotypes we decided there was only one thing to do. Got to the pub.
So with much excitement we headed off to the interestingly named John Leslie. To my disappointment it was named after the original owner and not the former Blue Peter presenter. Thankfully though it turned out to be an excellent venue to while away the afternoon (see review) and a good time was most certainly had by all.
There's something infinitely relaxing and somewhat thrilling about spending Saturday afternoon sipping pints. There's that inevitable moment where you momentarily stop and wonder why life isn't always like this and get a slight thrill that you really should be doing something else somewhat more productive.
Sat alongside a well stoked open fire the conversation ranged through football, critical thinking, moral legislation, exam marking, the possibility that tartan was only invented in the Victorian times and back to football again. Much time was also spent bickering about whether the pub served any food or not. I am glad to report that I was indeed right in that they had a selection of sandwiches (although they had all gone) and to underline my triumph the bar staff duly appeared with a plate full of steaming hot (and decidedly large) sausage rolls.
Unfortunately the downside of afternoon drinking is that it catches up with you later and on returning home for tea, some wine and Manchester United in the FA Cup things did start to get slightly more messy than was perhaps good for us...
Situated out of the town centre you might be forgiven for thinking this is a bit of an old mans pub. Well in many ways I think it is but that plays a large part in what made this place so endearing.
A slightly grubby exterior gives way to a wonderfully preserved Edwardian interior which is a riot of wood panelling, high moulded ceilings and coloured glass.
Usually these sort of places get taken over by some brewery chain, have all their original fixtures ripped out and replaced by modern reproduction of 'traditional'. Not this place though - pretty much everything seemed to be as it was when it at the start of the last century (barring some seat upholstery and the addition of a TV.)
The pub is built along a long, wide bar well stocked with a range of beers and lagers. This neatly splits the place into two halves which once would have been the tap room and the saloon bar (ie one for the working classes and one for the gentry). The main bar is in the tap room but it also has a series of serving hatches in the saloon side where you could purchase drinks from. Odder still there was also a small snug which was completely partitioned off from the rest of the pub making an odd little private room!
We visited on a Saturday afternoon and it was reasonably quiet but was filling up nicely by early evening. Everyone seemed happy enough to leave you to your own devices and they even cooked up a huge plate of sausage rolls which were provided free of charge to all the drinkers.
I came away really wishing this was my local and will definitely be visiting again next time I'm in the area.
