25 Pubs you've been in and thought "oh no, I'm about to die..."

[Brandane]

1. The Wallace Bar, Port Glasgow.
2. Clune Brae Hotel, Port Glasgow.
3. Sudgies, Port Glasgow.
4. Monty's Bar, Port Glasgow.
5. Star Hotel, Port Glasgow.

Have you spotted the common denominator yet?
I was not going into any of these places through my own choice, by the way.

Just to give a more rounded view, there was the night in some dodgy bar in Kobe, Japan, in 1978, when someone in our company managed to upset some rather large chaps who were "minders" for the young ladies who we, as hormone fuelled 16 year old merchant navy boys, were showing some interest in .

 

[stowie]

Yup, definitely Emma's

Thanks for the confirmation, it was a fair while ago that we used to go there (over 10 years I guess).

One of my friends was minding his own business on the dance floor when he was accosted by a young lady. My friend was happily married and was trying to extricate himself from the conversation when an older lady started a fight with the younger lady calling her all the names under the sun. It turns out the younger lady was the daughter of the older lady and both had wanted to become more acquainted with my friend; apparently the younger lady had taken the opportunity to get a head start whilst the mother was in the toilet. My friend ended up spending a considerable amount of the night hiding in one of the men's toilet cubicles.

 

[dan_bo]

2. any of them in Failsworth or Oldham

Oi!

 

[stowie]

I spent an evening in Newport (Wales not Pagnell) and felt like the entire evening was a near death experience. One pub simply refused to serve me when they heard my accent (Lundun innit), they didn't say anything to me at all just acted as if I wasn't there. I had recently come back from Sao Paulo where the PCC (one of the most notorious criminal organisations in Brazil) were setting fire to police stations and conducting armed battles with them - I honestly felt safer there than in some of the pubs I went to that night.

 

[BAtoo]

Oh jeeze!
I can't remember the name of the pub, it was a rough area in Glasgow and the then boyfriend, wanted to pop in to sound check his mates band (he was a sound technician for some very well known bands!).
Scared the life outta me.

1. The Wallace Bar, Port Glasgow.
2. Clune Brae Hotel, Port Glasgow.
3. Sudgies, Port Glasgow.
4. Monty's Bar, Port Glasgow.
5. Star Hotel, Port Glasgow.

Have you spotted the common denominator yet?
.

In the late 70's & 80's I was worried enough just getting lost in my car driving through Glasgow.... let alone venturing into a pub.

First time I was alone in my Triumph Spitfire with a canoe strapped to the top & ended up driving past Rangers or Celtics Football ground as both lots were arriving for a derby match.......

Second we got lost in the Gorbals district and asked for directions, my then wife's sl plummy southern accent didn't go down well....

Other than the airport not been there since.......

 

[ComedyPilot]

Only ever been in one pub that I wished I hadn't gone into - Scott's Bar in Coleraine in 1999.

A 'local' at the bar made zero effort to hide the fact he had a 9mm automatic pistol shoved into the waistband of his trousers.

 

[PaulB]

The Waterloo, Argyle Street, Glasgow.

I used to stay at the Marriott at the end of Argyle Street and go in to the Waterloo which had a terrific atmosphere and was full of friendly Weedgies you could have a good laugh with. I was next there with a Nigerian colleague of mine and told him just how good this pub was so I took him down there for a few pints. We've never drank our beer faster in our lives as the pub had become 'different'. He noticed something odd before I did, Judy Garland posters, rainbow flags etc and two very rough looking Weedgies descended on us assuming we were also 'good with colours' and tried to pick us up. While I knew I could extricate us from such a scene, my Nigerian colleague took a very different attitude to the situation. Normally a wise-cracking, tough guy. he went right into his shell and wouldn't look at anyone. I think he felt more disgusted than intimidated. To effect a quick bail out, I informed them we were 'partners' and had only come in en-route to the train station next door. Naturally, I've never lived that down as I'd told him it was a great pub so he wasted no time in informing all our colleagues where I'd led him!

 

[sazzaa]

We have this place
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_guDN7IZ0U


But it's nothing compared to the pubs all the casuals drink in before a match in Glasgow. Glasses flying is a normal thing down there.

 

[perplexed]

I was in a pub in Corby once, can't remember the name. Only a dozen or so people in and reasonably quiet as it was the middle of the day.

Next thing, another small group came in, and within seconds snooker balls, glasses and ashtrays were flying with the accompanying sound of cues being smashed over people's heads.

Minutes later, all was quiet again, and we emerged from under the snooker table where we'd taken cover.

 

[AndyRM]

In college, a couple of mates and I decided to do a Metro Pub Crawl. We gave ourselves a week and the only rule was that any pub visited had to be within 200 yards of the station. Not being familiar with some of the less salubrious areas of Tyneside, we found ourselves in a truly terrifying place in Percy Main. I forget the name of the place, but it was half full of inebriated charvers and their bulldogs. At 11am on a Wednesday morning. I don't think I've ever downed a pint quicker.

Also in my college years, I decided to investigate The Rock, a pub nestled cheerily amongst the high rise flats of Cruddas Park where I called home. Approaching the establishment a shoe covered in blood crashed through a window so I decided to give it a miss. I did go in a few times, mostly to show people just how dreadful it was, and to acquire illicit substances of dubious quality with great ease.

Moving on a decade, I now live in Wallsend which has some properly dreadful pubs on the high street. My personal favourite is The Queens Head, though it nearly wasn't. After a game of 5-a-side I realised I'd left my keys at work. With my wife at her running club I decided to take the initiative and go for a pint. As I walked to the bar in The Queens I could feels eyes all over me and conversation dropped to a murmur.

"What the f**k are you wearing you silly little ***t?" enquired a large and massively intoxicated chap.

It was only then I realised I was wearing a Kilmarnock away strip, an unfortunate choice of red and white stripes. Not a popular colour on Tyneside. After a stammered explanation everything went back to normal and a few of my would be killers regaled me with tales of their past fighting exploits. 3 hours and many pints later I was awarded the title 'Scotsman', by which I'm still known in the pub.

Needless to say, The Queens Head has a somewhat chequered past. It's where Viv Graham was boozing before getting shot.