Opinion: 'I took a walk around Edinburgh’s newly opened pubs, and this is what I found'

If the day the beer gardens returned was the day that Edinburgh slowly opened its eyes after the long, lockdown sleep, then today was the day it tentatively stretched its muscles before fully getting going.

As any hospitality worker might tell you, Wednesday afternoon is not usually the biggest money maker of the week, but despite this, there was still a noticeably slower, easier and more languid approach to drinking in Edinburgh today than pre-lockdown.

The wild, party spirit that would usually have taken hold of the city at this time of year, with the Fringe traditionally just round the corner, was missing and replaced with the contented peace of a regular back in their local for that one pint.

Speaking to people across many pubs, the overriding sentiment was that the pint itself was not the most important ingredient.

Jim, sitting comfortably and chatting politics with his friend John in The Southsider, on West Richmond Street, told me: “I have a pint in here every single day, but then lockdown came and I didn’t have any alcohol at all. You know what? I didn’t really miss it at all. Not a bit. Didn’t miss the alcohol, but I missed this. I am glad the pubs are open.”

I found the same down in Oz Bar, on Candlemaker Row, where I found three friends, Jimmy, Graham and Mark.

There was the briefest of brief discussion about the extraordinary circumstances that lead to this moment before the topic swiftly moved on to Hearts and a hearty debate on their relegation.

“I needed a pint after that news” muttered Graham sadly to some good natured jeering.

With the usual tourists trade on the back burner, it is now astoundingly clear the role that pubs and bars play with the local residents, as a comfortable environment to shoot the breeze, to argue politics and sport and distance themselves from the daily world work and stress.

Most people out and about today were not looking to neck 12 skittle bombs and vomit on the pavement, most were heading to the watering hole that they know the best to sit comfortably and reconnect with the familiar faces and sounds of their own normality.

This view was backed up by Neil Bowie, general manager of Malones, on Morrison Street, as he joined me for a chat.

When discussing the cancellation of the Edinburgh Festival, he said: “In terms of the city it's going to be a big stinger, but I think it gives a chance for a lot of local businesses to get going, I think people are going to go a lot more local and not be taken over by the big company pubs in tourist areas”

Malones is one of many who has relied on loyal regulars who have obligingly marched through the doors as they opened, to a regulated and safety first bar.

I wrote, when the beer gardens opened, that Edinburgh had shown a sensible approach to the new, lighter restrictions, and I am happy to report that I believe I saw the same today.

But more than that, I saw locals poking their heads out in July - something that hasn’t happened for years, as local residents usually seep into the woodwork during the festival chaos - and heading to have gentle and social pints.

Locals supporting their favourite pub whose staff they trust to keep them safe and who they respect enough to follow without question the rules and regulations that are put in place, and more importantly locals who are in it for the good patter more than the beer.

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