Glaswegians flock for a drink as last orders are called
Ashton Lane on a Friday early evening would be a bustling picture in normal times. Cobbled and strung with fairy lights, at the heart of the Glasgow’s West End, it offers some of the city’s most beloved drinking spots. Whatever the weather, you can expect the mood there to be light with its bars just as busy with rowdy twentysomethings as with middle-aged professionals who have trickled out of the office for a glass of wine to start the weekend.
Yesterday, it was a far more subdued picture. As of 6pm, all pubs and restaurants in Scotland’s central belt are to close until Oct 25.
Although numbers appeared to be up compared with the past few weeks, as customers braved the rain for a final drink in company, their frustration was palpable and there was a very different mood from normal.
Amy Mckenzie, 22, a student at Glasgow University, hurried to the pub with 40 minutes to spare before last orders. It’s her last chance to see some of her friends for what she hopes will be just a couple of weeks.
Households in Scotland are no longer able to meet each other inside their homes, meaning that the new restrictions on hospitality will make it even more difficult for people to stay in touch with friends and family.
“I’m really quite sad about it. I don’t know what else I’m going to do with my time,” she said. “This has been one of the only ways I can see friends, and I don’t want to socialise outside in the rain.
“The mental health impact is a worry.”
Drinks flowed at half-price as 6pm loomed at the Record Factory, a popular bar on Byres Road that usually sees shoulder-to-shoulder bar service into the wee hours.
While social distancing was strictly adhered to, the bar saw mostly younger customers pile in to see friends and take advantage of the drinks deals on offer to get rid of beer
‘They’ve been scapegoated. I feel tragically sorry for the people of Glasgow’
stocks that would probably go off in the 16 days before the bar can reopen.
“I heard they were doing a last run to empty the kegs and I thought it would be my last chance to see a friend who I don’t live with for a couple of weeks at least,” said Bethany Woodhead, 22, a final-year student.
“The whole thing has been so lonely. Both my flatmates moved home during the first lockdown leaving me completely alone for months, and it made me realise that I took human contact for granted. This has been a blow,” she said.
“When things reopened I would literally just sit in cafes to be near other people, so while these new measures are absolutely necessary, the effects on mental health can’t be understated.”
With just 15 minutes to spare, patrons got louder and pints emptied faster.
“Here’s to you, Nicola!” one patron shouted sarcastically to Scotland’s First Minister, as he downed the last of his drink – and then ordered another.
“We’re out for a final hurrah,” said Michael, in his mid-50s.
“It’s ridiculous and a disgrace; they’ve been totally scapegoated. The hospitality here has been stringent. I’m from Shetland so it won’t affect me when I go home, but I feel tragically sorry for people in Glasgow,” he said.
The feeling that the hospitality sector is being unfairly targeted is echoed by many. Frank Murphy, a co-owner of family-run Glasgow staple Pot Still in the city centre, blasted the decision as one “without any scientific evidence whatsoever”.
He said: “It’s because they chose to open up schools and universities.”
Many regulars have gone out of their way to pop in for a final pint and show their solidarity. “That’s been very heartening,” said Mr Murphy as he prepared to pull his last pint.