MAKING A NOISE

SquareOne Features

by Lou Hardless

Edinburgh Music Studio and Rehearsal Suites


Verden Studio is situated on the site that once belonged to Scottish Power in the east side of the city. What initially looks like a collection of run down, semi derelict buildings from the front, takes on a whole new meaning when visited from the side entrance at Fishwives Causeway. The buildings walls are adorned with colourful graffiti artwork and the inside is equally as vibrant.

Since May 2004, this well established studio has built up its reputation in providing secure, reasonably priced and flexible premises with ready to use equipment. It has gone from offering one to six sound proofed practice rooms and opening times that suit a variety of schedules, from 12 midday through to 12 midnight, most week days and weekends.

This place seems to offers a host of options for budding music ‘stars’ . Its manager Fiona Raggatt, talked SquareOne through what was on offer; practice rooms, a multi track digital recording suit, gift vouchers for studio time – Verden Studio has everything for those ambitious enough to create and record their very own musical masterpiece.

The facility is used by both locals and those living further a field. It’s seen established and amateur musicians, theatre performers, and even hen parties - out to try something new and innovative in the form of producing their very own song. Verdan Studios say they are committed to providing Scottish musicians with a facility that genuinely seeks to offer what they want, and that is certainly what it appears to do.

www.verdenstudio.co.uk

CHALLENGE DAVE: THE VOLUNTEER ARMS

SquareOne Booze

by Dave Hynes

So, still near the bottom(ish) of Leith Walk I volunteered to twist my arm for a pint at a new abode. The smoker’s outside seemed content enough to brave the cold and I always reckon you can tell a lot about a pub by looking at the smoker’s outside. These ones were old, cold and big Hibs men - I was later told. Better than Jambo’s I guess!

I felt more secure in a Scots accent, which I’m beginning to get good at, to order my drinks and say ‘areyt pal’ to the outside smokers; ‘hello chaps’ might have aroused suspicions of the auld enemy.

.

There were a few rough looking blighters propping up the bar, especially a man with the strangest nose I’ve ever seen; sort of like a pinnochio with a terrible cold. He was jovial but completely s_t-faced and I was terrified he might sneeze at one point.

The pub itself looks okay inside, with a real delight of a bar. A huge glass panel reflects the great variety of spirits available and three huge TV’s seemed happy enough to show the horse races. The punters seemed a betting lot, with most conversation directed towards the big screens. It felt quite cosy at first but the charm wore off after all of ten minutes.

The Volunteer Arms might be a decent pub if the punters ever seemed to win anything on the races; but non-stop news about betting odds and increasingly frantic old men screaming in your ears almost drives you into the unforgiving arms of The Central.

The best thing, though, about this pub was the rather gorgeous little angel behind the bar who seemed strangely unreceptive to my charms. She is very sexy, and if you volunteer to go to this pub and she’s not there, I’m sorry, because there ain’t too much else to see.

Would I volunteer to go in again? Would a certain alcoholic philanthropy drive me towards the bosom of this s_t-hole? Would an altruistic love of Leith and its insatiable desire to sustain s_t pubs let me recommend this one to you? Noooooooo, it’s s_t, and more than that, it’s typical Leith Walk old man crap where the pub is the same as the one they’d celebrated victories at Bannockburn in.

Not a great one this I’m afraid. Still, if that barmaid had liked me . . . might let them know in the next pub I’m a cheeky reviewer, get them to water down my drink a bit less.

CHALLENGE DAVE: BODA BAR

SquareOne Booze


by Dave Hynes

Wow! I’m impressed…seriously impressed. I think I owe you Leithers an apology; this is amongst the very best bars in Edinburgh - and I mean that. It's an unimposing and most- welcoming little haven resting unobtrusively about midway up Leith Walk and it would surely make any serious shortlist of Scotland’s best pubs.

The Boda is a bohemian little boozer, apparently with a subtle Swedish twist. It serves great beer in a great atmosphere; it’s upbeat, urbane and completely juxtaposed to the s_t which surrounds it. Instead of waving a white flag, surrendering to the overwhelming barrage of dourness present in many Leith pubs, it more than hold it's own. It quite stubbornly refuses to be a s_t pub, refuses so far in fact that it is an absolute gem hidden in the Walk of drinking woe.

The clientele are absolutely great; they seem to be mostly Leithers who refuse the usual serving of Leithness. On entering I overheard a happy-go-lucky young man trying to chat up a real stunner; "yeah we just sound like any other indie band". I knew I’d finally arrived in a Leith pub I could actually look forward to going into, with gorgeous women and only chat lines like that to compete with, Boda is like a great Swedish blond; a joy to be inside.

And talking about aesthetics, there is also an Aussie blonde bombshell barmaid who keeps the laughs going through the night, a true Boadicea but about ten times better looking. The barman is great too, really likeable, doubtless he'll not find employment anywhere else in the area.

The Boda also has the best music in town with chilled out funky tunes to keep your head nodding and your tail wagging throughout the day. But most of all though it’s the attitude of Boda which shines through the most. It’s attitude to being a pub on Leith Walk, its reaction against the homogeneity of its competitors, its ability to run a damn good pub and its ‘make sure you come back’ essence which simply puts the Boda on a pegging all of its own. BODAcious indeed.

CHALLENGE DAVE: THE POND

Despite risking being thrown out of Leith for being a traitor, the man we call Dave (principally because that's his name), continues to drink in unfashionable pubs, so you don't have to. This week, a hidden gem bucks the trend.

by David Hynes

SquareOne Booze

My tour of Leith pubs continues with a dip in the Pond, and I have to say that I found myself submerged in quite an agreeable little boozer. Its splendid isolation at the end of Salamander Street seems to have protected the Pond from the tsunami of cack upstream on Leith walk.

The selection of beers is fairly outstanding considering where it is and what other pubs near it serve. The Pond truly has everything you could want; German, Czech, Chinese beers, the lot and all at good prices. I got a decent amount of change from a fiver for two Krusovice on tap.

Sometimes you have to regress to progress. Surprisingly it ain’t up Leith walk that you find a pearl in the ocean because all the clever little fishes are biting the bait down at the Pond. If your looking for a quality pub at the foot of the walk please don’t go to the actual pub Foot of the Walk, swim downstream and cast your attention to this little gem. The only problem is its isolation downstream from Leith Walk. Still geography isn’t everything and considering its surroundings it’s something of an Atlantis for Leith.

CHALLENGE DAVE: THE CENTRAL BAR

The story so far: We send Dave out and about in Leith to soak up the atmosphere in the less fashionable night-spots in the city. So far he's been offered knock-off goods in the Marksman and made friends with the locals in the Foot of The Walk. This week, barely staggering distance from his last port of call, Dave has a tipple in the Central Bar on Leith Walk.

by David Hynes

SquareOne Pubs

My goodness this is Leith at its grimmest, not quite enough to shake the Marksman from its top ranking in the pantheon of pub poorness (even at this early stage it looks like the clear front-runner to get the coveted ‘worst pub in Leith’ award) but shockingly bad all the same.

Going to terrible pubs is personality building, and because of this terrible pubs can become national institutions. Like boozy initiation tests for the truly British. But alas, the Central is not so much an initiation test as a test of will, mainly because the place is so sense-numbingly dull.

The décor looks like a drab Scottish nightmare but not nearly as interesting. Have you ever been near suicidal and wondered why you keep wasting your money at the bar? If you have and you liked that feeling then get on down to the Central, the very epicentre of the end of the world.

There were positives - the barman was undoubtedly cheery and he seemed to take no little pride in his abode. They have a widescreen TV too, but I think this is a sympathetic gesture to divert concentration away from the mucus-coloured and probably mucus-stained walls.

But the positives were few and far between and any lingering sympathy I may have had were wiped away when I was served, without doubt, the worst pint of Guinness in Edinburgh.

Know a terrible boozer? - challenge Dave to drink in it by e-mailing squareonenews@gmail.com