Friday 29 July 2011

The pub by the train station

On my way back to work today I did something I don't do very often anymore: I stopped at the pub by the train station on the way back for a drink. I used to do this fairly often back in Liverpool, about once a week, I was stopping by the pub near Lime Street station and was trying whatever guest ale was available. After a hard day of work, or a boring one, it was a nice treat. I barely said more than a few polite words to the locals, so socialising was not exactly the aim, but I would discover a new ale and the alcohol would make me feel juuuust a little bit numb for the train journey home. Now when I do stop for a pint, it is after I leave the station, not before I get in.

I was not very original stopping by the pub after work, especially not on a Friday: it was crowded. I drank very little, but I was there mainly for being there anyway. I don't feel like I really belong to this place, even after four years, by this I mean that I don't feel like a local. Probably I will never do, I never felt local anywhere but in Montreal and sometimes, to a lesser degree and for different reasons, in Liverpool.  Yet I do have some fond memories of this pub from early on: it was the first place I got in when I had that interview that got me the job that made me come here. It was where I had my first meal when I arrived in this town to settle. It is not my favourite pub in this town, but I like it all right. And it also sometimes a nice feeling being in a buzzing crowd, providing that it not too big a crowd.

2 comments:

PJ said...

Le resto de l'hôtel ici était pas mal désert. J'ai pris une bière locale comme appéritif pareil, histoire de profiter de la Floride un peu. Pas mauvaise, mieux que le merlot que j'ai pris avec mon repas et mon dessert. Même tout seul, il faut bien se payer un peu de plaisir.

Anonymous said...

The town where my parents retired to, and now live, there are people who have lived there 25 years, and dont feel like locals. I think that in small communities people have grown up together, gone to school together etc The local pub is a bit like local churches used to be I suppose. Cheers, and here's to your next ale:-)