A tavern or not??

Pub 106. The Magdala, 3rd November 2012.

Whatever happened to the word 'tavern' from this pub? Trying to sound posh and fancy I bet. Or maybe Ruth Ellis shot it off, like she's supposedly had done to the exterior tiles while shooting her lover. I reckon someone's done them with a hammer.

There's two bars here, or rooms anyways. The pubby back-bar is very nice. Lots of wood and comfy seats, but on a Saturday night was packed of raucous posh 20somethings. It looked like a charabanc trip from Chelsea. I went for a pint of Greene King IPA - which was served in a Hoegaarden glass without any word of explanation. Very annoying.

It being so busy in the back bar I went through to the other bar, which has the feel of a village hall. Pairs of people hunched over small tables looked like they were interrogating one another or playing chess. They were all deep in conversation, and all very serious. They seemed the kind of people who'd be earnestly discussing the middle east problem or their Marxist ideologies before heading back to their £2million house up the road. There wasn't much laughter in here, and not much drinking. I went back to the other bar. One f the rich kids was playing the piano and very nicely too. He stopped and a few of us - myself included - urged him to carry on. Much fun this side of the pub. But to be honest it's probably much more on a quiet afternoon. A nice comfy cosy pub - it's wasted on a Saturday night! I wonder what Mr Quilp would've made  of it.