| Student pub chains back in the day 18:52 - Feb 3 with 1524 views | Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
I somehow paid $13 for a pint in New York recently and it got me thinking.
Does anyone remember chains like Varsity in UK university cities? I am sure that was thing. Also those yellow cards that were attached to pubs? Maybe Scream pubs I think?
Do any of these still exist? Or are students these days not so fussed about cheap drinks, I wonder if they just died out.
Back in the "Noughties" how fun was with a wallet full of cards for pints under 2 quid! [Post edited 3 Feb 18:54]
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| Student pub chains back in the day on 00:54 - Feb 4 with 307 views | IPS_wich |
| Student pub chains back in the day on 19:53 - Feb 3 by stringy |
I went back to the University of Nottingham a couple of years ago for the first time since graduating in '87 (giving a lecture at my old department; very weird) and at the end of the evening I thought I'd go and check out my old hall of residence bar.
A tad naïve to think you could waltz into a uni residence nowadays, but even if the door hadn't been security coded, the bar was shut, on a Thursday, mid-term. Bumped into a student coming towards the hall as I left and asked them why it was shut - 'oh it's only open on special term meal/party events' they responded. World of difference; in those days it would be hopping and there would be music (usually Cure, Smiths, REM, Ramones inter alia) wafting out of student windows, but nothing, no sound, no life.
The mooched to main campus bar, which had been downscaled to about a quarter of its former size. The people in front of me asked for water.
sigh |
It's so different now for a number of reasons, not least most unis had to shift to online during Covid and now many students are just streaming lectures and barely setting foot on campus.
Slightly different here in Australia, because lots of kids go to a local uni and live at home, but unis have now started to allocate 10% of the final mark for each unit to attendance at tutorials. My 20 year old said that on many units with 300+ students enrolled you'd be lucky if 15 show up in person for the lectures. Add to that my son, like several of his mates, doesn't drink and isn't interested in pubs. Lots of coffee catch ups during the day or group training at the gym - but he's out maybe only a couple of nights a month and even then it would be a meet up at burger bar rather than a pub.
Totally different to my uni days in the 90s in Leeds; where we had things like:
- the Otley Run (9-12 venue pub crawl)
- the uni proudly boasting the student union bar was the longest bar in Europe
- a nightclub in the city (Rickys I think it was called) that had a student night where it was £4 for entry and a plastic glass and then 10p a pint. Sure, the Beer was watered down, but 15 watered down beers for £1.50 was enough for things to get a bit messy!!
And not forgetting I ended up marrying the girl who worked in the same student pub as me. |  | | |
| Student pub chains back in the day on 02:32 - Feb 4 with 288 views | Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
| Student pub chains back in the day on 00:39 - Feb 4 by Blue_Uprising |
Was gonna say Scream - originally and in my day called ‘Its a scream’
Spent many days in the one on west street Sheffield in student days. Had an extremely long bar.
Also fondly remembering nights with 60p a bottle of 5% continental lager or a VK at places like the Leadmill. A tenner would do you pretty well for a fair few nights if you didn’t mind going out on a Monday - which of course you did not. |
The Cavendish? Opposite their rival (Varsity) I think! | |
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| Student pub chains back in the day on 03:26 - Feb 4 with 269 views | Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
| Student pub chains back in the day on 00:54 - Feb 4 by IPS_wich |
It's so different now for a number of reasons, not least most unis had to shift to online during Covid and now many students are just streaming lectures and barely setting foot on campus.
Slightly different here in Australia, because lots of kids go to a local uni and live at home, but unis have now started to allocate 10% of the final mark for each unit to attendance at tutorials. My 20 year old said that on many units with 300+ students enrolled you'd be lucky if 15 show up in person for the lectures. Add to that my son, like several of his mates, doesn't drink and isn't interested in pubs. Lots of coffee catch ups during the day or group training at the gym - but he's out maybe only a couple of nights a month and even then it would be a meet up at burger bar rather than a pub.
Totally different to my uni days in the 90s in Leeds; where we had things like:
- the Otley Run (9-12 venue pub crawl)
- the uni proudly boasting the student union bar was the longest bar in Europe
- a nightclub in the city (Rickys I think it was called) that had a student night where it was £4 for entry and a plastic glass and then 10p a pint. Sure, the Beer was watered down, but 15 watered down beers for £1.50 was enough for things to get a bit messy!!
And not forgetting I ended up marrying the girl who worked in the same student pub as me. |
Did that Otley run go from Hyde Park corner? Remember having a good night around there with that kind of crowd after Leeds away when we were rubbish back in circa 2010/11. We only used to take about 600 fans up there! (Don’t let Norwich read that)
We were young enough to fit in then! | |
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| Student pub chains back in the day on 04:35 - Feb 4 with 251 views | IPS_wich |
| Student pub chains back in the day on 03:26 - Feb 4 by Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
Did that Otley run go from Hyde Park corner? Remember having a good night around there with that kind of crowd after Leeds away when we were rubbish back in circa 2010/11. We only used to take about 600 fans up there! (Don’t let Norwich read that)
We were young enough to fit in then! |
The Hyde Park (on Hyde Park Corner) was/is part way through the Otley Run.
When I started at Uni in 1993 most agreed the Otley Run was the following nine pubs/bars:
- Start in Far Headingley with Woodies, Three Horseshoes and New Inn
- Then 1 mile into main Headingley (Bus or walk) for the Skyrack and Original Oak
- Then 1 mile to Hyde Park/Woodhouse (Bus or walk) for the Hyde Park, Packhorse, Eldon
- Before finishing at the Uni of Leeds Student Union Bar across the road from the Eldon
The majority agreed this was the main route, but some argued:
- Boddington Hall of Residence bar was the traditional start, but it was only really those who stayed at Boddington who would make that argument given it was another 2-3 miles further out of Leeds
- That the Bricklayers Arms in Woodhouse (a couple of streets back from the Packhorse/Eldon) should be included. Granted it was a good student pub, but the other nine were all on the same road out of Leeds (Headlingley Lane/Otley Rd) so most agreed it could be added on but it wasn't part of the core Otley Run
- That it should continue past the Uni of Leeds Student Union to also include the Fenton and the Leeds Metro Uni Student Union; but that was mainly the argument put forward by the Metro Uni students.
However, by the time I graduated in 1996, the Headingley Taps and the Feast & Firkin (now The Library) had opened up on the main route and most agreed they were part of the core Otley Run.
A quick Google search indicates that all eleven pubs from 1996 still exist, plus there are a couple more in Headingley (The Box and The Arc) that have been added. I'm not sure how I feel about 13 pubs, 9-11 was hard enough and usually required a tactical chunder on the walk between the Oak and Hyde Park | | | |
| Student pub chains back in the day on 07:56 - Feb 4 with 208 views | bluelagos |
I got stung £7.20 for a pint of Guinness 0.0 the other day, wasn't even draft, the boke poured it into the glass from a can.
Back in the day, in Sheffield there was a circuit of nightclubs that had student nights. Isabellas on a Tuesday, Cairo Jax on a Wed, Leadmill too which I think is still going.
Cheapest pint was 65p at Cairos.
Used to have a stats tutorial at 9am on Wed and Thurs am - got summoned by the course head for a rollocking over my attendance.
Lecturer: You've not been to many Stats tutorials Mr Lagos
BL. Yeah, I might have missed a couple.
Lecturer: in 2 terms, out of 40 tutorials you have attended 2.
BL: Well, you put them on at 9, what do you expect?
Twtd |  |
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| Student pub chains back in the day on 08:28 - Feb 4 with 190 views | WestStanderLaLaLa |
| Student pub chains back in the day on 07:56 - Feb 4 by bluelagos |
I got stung £7.20 for a pint of Guinness 0.0 the other day, wasn't even draft, the boke poured it into the glass from a can.
Back in the day, in Sheffield there was a circuit of nightclubs that had student nights. Isabellas on a Tuesday, Cairo Jax on a Wed, Leadmill too which I think is still going.
Cheapest pint was 65p at Cairos.
Used to have a stats tutorial at 9am on Wed and Thurs am - got summoned by the course head for a rollocking over my attendance.
Lecturer: You've not been to many Stats tutorials Mr Lagos
BL. Yeah, I might have missed a couple.
Lecturer: in 2 terms, out of 40 tutorials you have attended 2.
BL: Well, you put them on at 9, what do you expect?
Twtd |
Leadmill closed last year following a dispute with the landlord. https://www.theguardian.com/mu |  |
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| Student pub chains back in the day on 09:44 - Feb 4 with 162 views | itfcjoe |
We used to have the Scream bars, with the yellow card which was about £1 a pint, but used to drink Green Monsters which were basically vodka and orange reef and about £2 for a massive measure.
My hall bar at student was £1 a pint in happy hour (7pm-9pm every day), but was only £1.20 outside of it so didn't really matter - snakebite black in hard flourescent plastic glasses - TWTD. But we would go there every single night, without fail - even if it was just for a couple.
Then we had the infamous Jesters on a Monday night - 50p a pint, £2 for a quadvod.
The Liquid equivalent of Ikon/Diva was cheap on a Wednesday
Varsity and Yellow Card bar on a Friday and Saturday, Chicagos/Shout on a Sunday
Jumping Jacks as well
There was always 2 or 3 venues that were a pound a pint, buses throughout the city included in your hall fees - very different now |  |
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| Student pub chains back in the day on 09:58 - Feb 4 with 141 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Student pub chains back in the day on 21:10 - Feb 3 by Cheltenham_Blue |
£2 pints? You haven’t lived.
Back in the 90s it was 80p a pint in Ritzy, then we had a club called ‘Gas’ that had a free bar on all draft pints and halves between 12am and 1am on Thursday and Friday nights.
As a result large chunks of the 90s are entirely missing for me, but if you can remember the 90s, you didn’t do them properly. |
Was Gas the one behind Shaftesbury Hall when it was still a college building? I have memories of stumbling around a place with a lot of different levels and stairs with different music on different floors. It was a bit of a warren.
There was a place on the high street that used to be a metal/rock club. We spent a few nights in there over the year. Cheltenham was great in the late 80s/early 90s. There were loads of pubs and clubs and then things like the beer garden in Montpellier in the summer. You only needed a fiver for a night out. |  |
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| Student pub chains back in the day on 15:33 - Feb 4 with 88 views | Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
| Student pub chains back in the day on 09:44 - Feb 4 by itfcjoe |
We used to have the Scream bars, with the yellow card which was about £1 a pint, but used to drink Green Monsters which were basically vodka and orange reef and about £2 for a massive measure.
My hall bar at student was £1 a pint in happy hour (7pm-9pm every day), but was only £1.20 outside of it so didn't really matter - snakebite black in hard flourescent plastic glasses - TWTD. But we would go there every single night, without fail - even if it was just for a couple.
Then we had the infamous Jesters on a Monday night - 50p a pint, £2 for a quadvod.
The Liquid equivalent of Ikon/Diva was cheap on a Wednesday
Varsity and Yellow Card bar on a Friday and Saturday, Chicagos/Shout on a Sunday
Jumping Jacks as well
There was always 2 or 3 venues that were a pound a pint, buses throughout the city included in your hall fees - very different now |
Happy days mate!
Snakebite used to be an exclusively student union kind of drink from memory. | |
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| Student pub chains back in the day on 16:37 - Feb 4 with 43 views | Blue_Uprising |
| Student pub chains back in the day on 02:32 - Feb 4 by Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
The Cavendish? Opposite their rival (Varsity) I think! |
lol yep that’s the one. Long all dayers in the cav when maybe should have been in the odd lecture or two. |  | | |
| Student pub chains back in the day on 17:13 - Feb 4 with 21 views | flettonblue |
Hull,early noughties on Weds night was 30p a pint in 'the tower'. The taste matched the price. |  | | |
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