Prince of Wales

A day trip up to Aberdeen included a bit of nostalgia with a visit to the Prince of Wales pub for lunch.

It was one of our student haunts. A place where you could always find someone to sit down with a pint and help you understand the world a little better, or provide a bit of spicy gossip, or give you the benefit of some insights on what would happen when the revolution came. And sometimes the conversations spilled out of the pub.

I have fond memories of the place and worried about what I might find over 35 years later.

It has changed. The limited lunch time menu of soup and roll has been extended but still with an emphasis on plain and hearty. And facilities have been built to make this happen and for folks to sit comfortably.

However, the bar remains the same in its extraordinary length and in the characters who held it up. There were even the small hooks under the bar which might have been intended to hang your jacket on in claiming your space. They weren't used all those years ago and they weren't being used today.

Thankfully, changes have been evolutionary and largely cosmetic. I didn't see a telly though there were gaming machines. And I did see a character with more than a hint of a Rod Stewart haircut who looked familiar.