For me, one of the great guilty pleasures in life is drinking before the official ‘beer o’clock’ time of midday; a pleasure usually reserved for the departure lounges at major UK airports during the summer. However, there is a small but not insignificant group of drinkers who prefer the churchlike silence of an early collation in pubs all over London.
I first witnessed this in Wetherspoon establishments; people consuming breakfast and happily rubbing shoulders with early morning imbibers nursing a pint.
As a breakfast observer of this, I finally had the chance to join the club as it were with a theatre trip up west. I have always preferred matinee theatre; it’s generally cheaper and allows time after the show for more fun, spilling you out onto the street at about 5pm, straight into the throngs of the West End at that time of day. So, when the chance came up to see a matinee of Faulty Towers at the Apollo Theatre with two friends, I jumped at it. The meet-up was set for 12pm at the Harp, a stone’s throw from Charing
Cross rail station. This Good Beer Guide listed pub, wedged between the School of Oriental Medicine and a dental clinic, has won several CAMRA awards.
I arrived just before 11am and saw a small group gathering outside. A note on the door said ‘Buzzer entry from 11’. I walked around the block and returned at 11.30. On entering the pub, I was surprised by the number of customers who had already opened their morning accounts.
As well as a few lone wolves tucked away in the dark recesses reading a book or newspaper (yes, a newspaper!), there also seemed to be a group of regulars sat at the bar clearly enjoying each other’s company. They were completing various quizzes and crosswords, blissfully unaware of normal drinking hours. This cavalier attitude seemed to extend to their choice of clothing with comfortable loose or ill-fitting t-shirts and jogging bottoms being the norm; the sort of attire associated with putting the bins out and hoping the neighbours don’t see you.
After my friends arrived, we soon became part of this pantomime. A few pints later, it seemed the most natural thing in the world; we blended in naturally! This lasted until about 12.30 when the first office lunchtime drinkers appeared. The ‘early morning club’ dispersed. I felt I had witnessed something special and vowed to return to this alcohol-based Narnia, albeit one inhabited by a unique type of wildlife.
Reminiscing about the day, I came to realise that theatre of the Harp and its punters offered far more entertainment than the play, at a fraction of the price!
John Counsell (who also took the photo)