Ailsa Tavern - lies, binge drinking and a bad attitude
Last night I visited the Ailsa Tavern in St. Margaret's for an MRAG committee meeting, and thought I would share my experiences with other members of the forum.Whilst the meeting was in progress we were interrupted by a young lady, the barmaid, who invited us to pay a pound to enter a sweepstake on the result of the England vs. Holland match, the prize being a gallon of beer. I gave her a quid and drew out "no goalscorer". I joked with her that hopefully I wouldn't have to drink it all that night and offered her my mobile number as I was planning to leave at about 9.00-9.30. She confirmed that I could collect the prize at any time, but was strangely reluctant to accept my phone number (I figured that perhaps she'd got the wrong idea and thought I was a dirty old man!).Anyway, the meeting went on till about 9.45 and, sure enough, there were no goals in the match. So I went to collect my prize, and was amazed to be told that I had to drink it all that night! Now I enjoy a pint, but I had already consumed three pints of Kronenbourg (the bitter was as cloudy as mud), and eleven pints of that stuff in one evening is pushing it. Besides that, sitting in the corner of a pub on my own forcing eight pints of alcohol down my throat in one hour did not seem to me like fun. So I asked to see the manager.The manageress, who was about twelve, duly appeared and confirmed that I would need to drink all eight pints before I left that evening. I pointed out that the barmaid had told me I could claim it another time, whereupon said barmaid simply shrugged her shoulders and said "I know, but I was wrong". No apology mind.While I was arguing the case the manageress turned to her bar staff on several occasions, tutted and lifted her eyebrows, as though I were some kind of problem customer. "I don't know," she said loudly so that I could hear her, "you try to give them beer and they still complain."I pointed out that she wasn't exactly trying to give beer away, as she had charged punters in the pub about £30-£40 for the £20's worth which I was claiming, but to no avail.Eventually she agreed reluctantly that I could go back tonight, but only tonight, and have my eight pints. But knowing that I will do so in the face of moans and tuts, and whispers that the problem customer has arrived, I have decided that she can stick it where the sun doesn't shine.Am I the unreasonable one here?
Phil Andrews ● 7379d14 Comments