Beer

[Peter Corlett]

On 1 Mar 2008, at 18:30, Peter Corlett wrote:
[...]
> If you want a bloody awful pub, try a Wetherspoons and their "ale"  
> which appears to come from Sarsons, or any place that advertises Sky  
> Sports and cheap lager, or caters to tourists. A rainbow flag is  
> usually a bad sign too.

And then I got the following response by private mail:

> Please could you expand on this on list. Just saying that you feel
> uncomfortable in a gay bar would do it. Otherwise it can be read that
> gay bars are some how bad.


Have a quick stroll down Old Compton Street and check out some of the  
venues one day to see how many would make good London.pm socials, for  
example. The beer's crap and overpriced, there's dreadful alleged  
music that's turned up so loud my ears hurt, and there's nowhere to sit.

Strangely, I do feel uncomfortable standing in a lager barn with my  
ears ringing and unable to have a chat because they can't hear me and  
I can't hear them. My idea of a conversation is slightly more  
intellectual than bellowing "hey, want to fuck?" (Especially as the  
answer is going to be "no".)

There are, obviously, some gay bars that aren't bad. The King's Arms  
on Poland Street does both London Pride and Directors and has a pool  
table, for example. I sometimes pop over there on a Friday evening for  
something to wet the back of my throat with while I'm playing with  
some balls. But that's one lone pub against many others that are best  
avoided.