First pub you got served in?

As it's intentional break weekend, and I've just about got rid of the bad taste from Saturday's debacle, We've no football to talk about so I wondered what was the first pub you go served in?

Mine was The Kings Head in Abbots, I was 15 and used to walk up to the bar and order (in a very deep and grown up voice) and pint of Double Diamond and a bag of cheese and onion crisps. It was
30 p a pint and 3 p for the crisps...1977.

 

Ha! Mine was just down the road from you in the Old Boy's Home (Rose & Crown) - in the back bar, when 'Stan' used to own it. He had sweaty old cheese and onion rolls under a sort of transparent plastic lid thing, which often had actual condensation on it. He also had a choice between either Tankard or Trophy bitter on tap. He also didn't have many customers on a weekday evening and so didn't mind boys coming in too much. I believe we were about 13 or 14 when we started going in there and Stan was good enough not to enquire too closely about age.

The back bar, being off the main street, was also ideal for escaping in the event of a raid or something like that.

The Compasses was also very liberal about under-age drinking and often received our custom.

Of course, the King's Head was attended sometimes, but it was the last of our choices. The massive plate glass windows across the front offering too much of an opportunity for passing parents/relatives etc. to spot you . Our main use for the King's Head was to stuff wet soap down the coin slot of the toilets' condom machine and then wait for it to congeal and dry further down in the works.

We'd then return the next day, give it a massive bash with the flat of the hand and push the coin return at the same time.

We'd then take the resulting collection of 50ps along to spend with Stan in the Boy's Home....


Here is the Boy's Home. Entrance to the back bar is down the alley, turn right and right again. Or straight on for the outside toilets!

 

Popped into The Boys Home for a beer once or twice during my time living in Abbots. Also used to go to the Unicorn and The Swan too.

First pub I was served in was The Robert Peel at the bottom of town near McDonalds, closely followed by The One Bell - but then again, I'm pretty sure they were willing to serve anyone who walked through the door!

 

The King's Arms at Stirling Corner (RIP) at 15 ordering a lager top (FFS!). Mates and I were regulars in the Mops & Brooms - until we enquired about the possibility of hiring the public bar for someone's 18th when the landlord had "harsh" words with us. In 6th form it was "The Red Lion" (RIP) for an occasional pint at lunchtime - really eclectic clientele from film crew to "stars": oddest time when they were making "Willow" the bar had an all too real "Game of Thrones" vibe - both literally and metaphorically. B'wood's "youthful" pub was "The Crown" - oddly enough, for some reason I didn't actually have a drink in there until I was 19.

 

Watneys Red Barrel in the Alma pub in Wealdstone on a saturday lunchtime after playing school football in the morning. Had an hour or so to kill before playing in a youth league in the afternoon. Late 60s , oh to be young again.

 

The bar at Northwood football club - I was 16 I think.

In terms of an actual pub, The Three Wishes in North Harrow. Also 16.

 

The Essex Arms on the Cassiobury estate, age 16. We became regulars! Incidentally the last time I went in there I was 21 and was asked for proof of age....

 

The Highwayman in Tolpits Lane. I went in with a Scottish cousin of mine down from Glasgow where he was used to the bitter being called "heavy". We were both about 15. He was the most confident so he did the ordering and did so with as much boldness as he could muster.

"Two pints of heavy lager, please," prompting sniggering from a few of the locals.

So, after having drawn attention to ourselves we thought it best to sit in the garden. We had the choice of seating and table as it was too cold for anyone else to be out there. So, we nervously sat facing the pub.Through the net curtains, we then spotted a couple of uniformed police going round the tables checking for ages (so we thought) making their way to the back of the pub and the double doors out to the garden. We panicked, and I threw my heavy lager into the bushes and were contemplating a quick getaway through the gate. A minute later a couple of Salvation Army officers came out with a collection tin.

 

To be honest, I do feel a bit for the youth of today.

Like so many things, we've followed the United States in that respect - strictly checking the age of boozers and smokers.

It didn't used to be quite so heavy handed and to my mind, if the landlord asked you your age and you'd replied something along the lines of "18? I'm 20 next month mate", that was him covered and the onus on you for lying and drinking under age.

I know alcohol is a dangerous drug and everything, but a gentle clandestine introduction with your little mates must in many ways be preferable to a sudden switch from taps off to taps full on when you hit your 18th birthday.

 

This reminds me of the first time my little mate and I went nervously in to the deserted Boy's Home with our unified pocket money one weekday evening.

We were sufficiently young that we had no idea there were different types of beer. Strolled confidently up to the bar and asked old Stan for two pints of beer please. Fortunately he was the type of barman who wore a beige sleeveless cardigan and a hearing aid and who presumably understood it as 'bitter'.

Another reason to bless old Stan. He inadvertently but very, very fortunately steered me permanently away from ever 'following the bear' or fosters or heineken or any other stinky old gas/fizz beer-flavored gutrotting lager.

 

Fox and Hounds in Rickmansworth.

I was 16 and had forged some letters from my school to get an ISIC international student card from a travel agent near Euston, which we'd got the previous weekend.

The place was dead (a Saturday night) and everyone stared at us.

I'm not the tallest but I possessed a fine amount of stubble for my age so I did the talking. 3 pints of some bitter as we figured that made us look older.

Barman looked at me like something he'd trodden in and asked for ID. Gave him my shiny new card and he examined it like a Soviet border guard at the height of the cold war.

To our surprise he accepted it. We drank our pints in almost total silence in a corner, then left.

 

Case is Altered Northwood Hills / Eastcote.

Back before all day opening. Used to queue up before opening and was usually one of the last to be chucked out. It's also the only pub I've been barred from.

More memorable was by first £2 pint. The Brakspear in Harefield. Hideously ecpensive, but a gorgeous pint of Moorland Old Speckled Hen which was a lovelly pint before Charles Wells bought the name and trashed the recipe.

I've recently suffered my first £7 pint (uk pub) and it was mediocre at best.

 

The Hertfordshire Arms in St Albans Rd followed soon after by The Hare in Leavesden. I do feel that I jinxed many pubs future in my youth.

 

The Vintry St Albans. Was 14 on my first adult football team night out. Everyone got stopped bar me, thanks to borrowing my dad's leather jacket and being built like a brick outhouse. I was always the one that had to do the ordering in the old days whilst mates would beg and borrow the old paper driving licences and try to memorise dates of birth etc. Later on, like Robert Peel, we managed to get letterhead paper from school and forged letters to get the old ISIC student card, I think I had one of those until I was about 24 to get the discounts!

 

Wow I almost forgot this used to be a pub!!!

My first actual place was Paradise Lost. Pub probably the three horseshoes during school lunchtime not long after.

 

Walking into the massive public bar (first video jukebox I ever saw) seeing perched on stools Warwick Davies, Patricia Hayes and Jean Marsh knocking back bottles of Guinness with Pat Roach standing guard over them with a collection of about 20 extras - all of them dressed like D&D characters was a surreal experience.

 

Mine was the Swan college Rd opposite Leavesden Hospital when we we about 16 and it was still the hospital, I think after 2 pints of Abbot Ale we went and sat in the Nurses rest room there and smoked Bensons...steamin' good times

 

No I'm lying totally forgot the The Welly, the well know haunt for underage drinkers! Used to go at lunchtime and take our jackets off and sit at the back nursing a pint of Benskins. and getting all my homework answers done, so must have been under 16 then..jeez ;-)

 

My first regular pub was the Crown in Berko.

Conveniently situated next to the Kings Arms (as frequented by teachers) & just down from the police station (as frequented by coppers).

At closing time the landlord gave the rousing cry of ‘On your bikes, boys’ & everyone would troop off to their mopeds or, in the case of the more senior patrons, their motorbikes.

Skol or dishcloth bitter.

Vodka & lime a glamorous alternative.

 

The Horns by the Library. A few pints of cider ordered in as deep a voice as could be mustered.

 

Probably the Leviathan, or if my mates and I fancied a game of pool we went to the Verulum; after I was 18 I don't think I ever went back to these places. The school pub was either the Horns, or the Fox & Hounds in Croxley.

 

The Iron Horse opposite Amersham Station. They couldn't care less how old you were so started going there during school lunch breaks. I was about 15. Was a regular in the Boot and Slipper from 16 and the Landlady/Landlord (Sean and Rose) knew we were under age but let it go. In fact I think she bought me a pint on my 18th birthday!

 

The Red Lion on the Hartspring roundabout. I was about 14 looking about 11. When I went to the bogs there was someone from my school even younger in there. Madness.

Loads of pubs would serve you, we’d done the entire locale from South Oxhey to Radlett before our O’level results were in.

 

45 now so would have been late 80's when I started to go the Boot and Slipper. Still go there for lunch when I visit my mum who lives in Chesham Bois still. Great times

 

The Story Bridge Hotel in Brisbane around 1974 - I was 15 at the time. Ice-cold Fourex cost 25c a pot (around half a pint) - I got chatting to two Dutch guys, bought them each a beer and they rewarded me with a week's work. It turned out that they ran a demolition company and were pulling down some old houses nearby - my 50c worth of generosity brought me $75, a veritable fortune back then. Bloody hard work in 35C heat though...

 

The Swan for me too. The Three Horseshoes was probably a bit nearer from Boundary Way but was uphill on the way home. hic

 

I think you both went out together for a few months. It ended badly when HH met GT's best friend Ron at that party in Sarratt. Is it all coming back now....?????

 

The Railway in Hatch End - they didn't give a monkeys. Mate once lost his drivers licence in there (he was 17) and they served him a pint as they handed it back.

 

Went to many, many events and dances at the nurses' club at Leavesden back in the day. I have a dim recollection of entering often by way of climbing in a window. I also remember said window being opened by beckoning, giggling, busty Carry On style nurses, but I strongly suspect that might well have been my imagination since I was very, very drunk.

 

Is it just me or does that building look like a school?

 

I was 15 and went to The Swan in Boxmoor. They were doing a deal on Miller Light, they’d have to right? Buy four get one free I think it was. The barmaid must’ve felt she couldn’t just give one free pint between the two of us so we got a freeby each! We stumbled back to my mates house, rosey cheeked, glasses all steamed up with huge dopey grins on our faces trying to convince his mum that we hadn’t been anywhere near a pub.

 

The Red Lion was my local from 1973 till when it became the Game Bird in early 80's. The landlord Ken Oliver was only interested in money so would serve us under 18's no problem-in fact even when he got glassed one night and the offender fled he just patched himself up and came back to serve 10 minutes later !

 

Good for bands, pub rock and a bit of metal, Clientele, Bleak House, Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Sids etc