There ain't nothing like nostalgia. And believe me, a visit to the Yard in
Glenrothes is nothing like nostalgia - not since they turned it into the nearest
thing the town has to a style bar.
Take it from someone who grew up there - Glenrothes is a one-horse town when
it comes to nightlife.
A few years ago, there was at least a choice of two or three pubs - with
grimly uninspiring names like Morgan's and Applejacks - which were full of young
folk of a weekend.
But still, you don't really care where you are on the day of the teenage
milestone that is ordering your first ID- less pint. And I revisited the scene
of the crime with such regularity that it can't just have been nostalgia that
pushed me back.
I must have been having fun, after all.
Too bad for the new generation of first-timers, though, that a branch of the
ubiquitous Wetherspoon chain, the Golden Acorn, moved into Glenrothes and
started monopolising the beer tokens of the town's weekend drinkers.
Unless you fancied a music-free evening in a pub chain, a taxi ride to a
nearby metropolis like Kirkcaldy or Dunfermline was the only escape.
Until the end of last year, that is, when the people who ran the crumbling
Applejacks decided to knock through into the Forum bar next door and the Yard
was born.
And you know what? It's better than anything we had when I was a lad.
Split into a two-level arrangement, the first area contains the main bar,
seating and a small dancefloor and DJ area.
Up a few stairs you've got another bar, more seating and a couple of pool
tables, which are covered over as the night goes on.
Everything is glossy and new but that won't last. Still, there's an air of
quality about the place.
The bar staff are attentive and efficient, while even the bouncers look
friendly. And there's at least one ingredient that Glenrothes hasn't seen
before. Although the place is open late and has DJs in Thursday to Saturday,
most lads are probably keenest to go on Thursday - amateur pole dancing
night.
Although from where I was sitting, it looked more of an excuse for groups of
girls to have a laugh, and blokes to pretend to their girlfriends that they
weren't interested.
And there was enough of a really young crowd in to suggest that this was a
first pub for many of them.
Whether they're all still coming here in five years is another matter but,
for now, it does the job nicely.
The Yard, 3 North Street, Glenrothes.
Tel: 01592 755340
Drinks: Pint of Tennant's, £1.90; Breezer, £2.75; vodka and Coke, £1.90
Open: Mon-Wed, 11am-midnight; Thur-Sat, 11am-2am; Sun, noon-midnight
Food: Seven days, noon-8pm
Rating: ***
Details
01592 755340
And you know what? It's better than anything we had when I was a lad.
