Neighbourhood
- Charli
- Apr 12, 2016
- 2 min read
I snuck out of school at 3.56pm to get ahead of the taxis and buses that invariably clog up the car park. I just had ‘that’ feeling that if I wasn’t sharp some little toe-rag would set the fire alarm off.
Traffic was stop/start on the By-pass but kept flowing. Managed to get to Gorgie and picked Him up about 4.45pm.
I chose the M9 as it is generally a better road and having been caught out before on the M8 after Witsherface I wasn’t in the mood to stare through the dreary grey rain onto another dreary grey motorway littered with fuzzy red tail lights.
Parked up just round corner from Mum’s and had to fight with my conscious for a moment – should we surprise her or follow our stomachs and find food?
The latter prevailed, justified by the fact that we are back in the neighbourhood next Monday to see Muse. Bad timing I know – 2 late school nights, but I will book a table then as we were struggling this evening until we happened upon a small corner Bar/ Kitchen called Neighbourhood.
Well – the welcome we received was better than we get from our local at times. ‘A table in 10minutes, no more’, the cherry waitress reassured us. I smiled – of course we’re in Glasgow where just about everyone is friendly and the welcome is genuine.
He had chicken and chorizo quesadillo and I opted for 2x starters: deep fried calamari and a smoked haddock fish cake. All delicious for a quick bite in a pub grub style.
All this in a neighbourhood I used to frequent when it was shabby, not chic in the least, and a good night out was in The Grove with proper old Glaswegian locals watching the 1986 World Cup, trying so hard to keep my mouth from revealing my Englishness! I need not have worried, I was welcomed into their fold and we all drank and cheered at missed opportunities and winning goals.
ELO due on soon – and there is a real sense of shared love and bonhomie in the concert venue. Overheard in Gents toilets by Him: ‘Reckon ELO should be on at 8.30, finished by 10.30, home by 10.45!’ Rock n roll!
Neighbourhood – a poem
Familiarity breeds contempt they say
get out and meet your neighbour I say
Smile and wave and share a word
its natural not absurd
A sense of belonging, not being alone
not just a house, but a home.
Kommentare