One Pub Crawl to Rule Them All

On Saturday night, the 2012/'13 MSc in Strategic Studies class held a pub crawl.

I started my night at Lionel's, and loaded up on a big plate of kebab and chips. From there, I made my way to the first stop The Archibald Simpson. The group began to conglomerate, and those who hadn't eaten enjoyed a dinner of burgers and beers. I reacquainted myself with Carlsberg. The conversations were varied and, for the most part, segregated by location. By the time we we had been there a couple of hours, those in attendance were Ness, Odin, Sister, Homeboy, GBU-16, Kaiser, and myself.

At this point, we moved across the street to the Old Blackfriars, where I enjoyed a Guinness, and where we were joined by Slapshot and his fetching girlfriend, whose code name I imagine to be forthcoming. When we'd finished there, it was around the block to The Illicit Still, where I enjoyed a pint of Best. (I can't remember what the brewing company was, and a search for "best beer" doesn't exactly turn up any useful results. Topics of conversation included Italy, and the sordid cultural practices of the Greeks and Afghans. Our next stop was the Siberia Vodka Bar, where we stayed for only about twenty minutes, long enough for a couple of shots. Then, it was across the street to Slain's Castle, where I enjoyed a nip of The MacAllen, followed by a round of shots of sambuca - Sister and I were less than thrilled by the black licorice taste, her less so than me.

As Slain's Castle (not the be confused with Slane Castle in Ireland) was closing, and GBU-16 in particular was getting a bit peckish, there was only one option: off to Lionel's.

Our group ordered some chow, and was joined momentarily by Vlad. As usual, the crew at Lionel's took excellent care of us. Having lost Slapshot and his companion by that point, Odin and Kaiser left while we were all at Lionel's, and the rest of us decided amongst ourselves to head to one more venue: the Grosvenor G Casino. Once inside, I decided that I didn't want to give them a bunch of my personal information, so while my party went inside, I decided to have myself a bit of a stroll. I photographed a statue (images forthcoming), and found one of Aberdeen's portable urinals.

When the casino run was over, we parted company, and Sister and I stood in line for around half an hour waiting for a cab. It turned out that two of the three guys from my barber shop (post forthcoming) were in line ahead of us, so as one of them enjoyed the company of his date, Sister and I conversed with the other. We finally got a cab, which dropped Sister off, and then took me back to my place. I got to bed shortly after 4:00 AM, and slept until 2:30 PM.

Epic. Truly epic.