A little bit of background to today’s piece of nostalgia.
It was written in September 2007 at a time when I was around halfway through a four month work secondment to Toronto. I had planned to keep the old blog update on a daily basis but found that having messed up copying files to a back-up drive that I had very few songs with me that I could link to. I was only managing a post every three or four days at best but it was a great trade off for what was turning out to be the experience of a lifetime.
WORK IS A FOUR LETTER WORD
Although the hours are long, I’m still enjoying the work I’m doing over here in Toronto, and trying not to get depressed by thinking too much about going back to the dead-end job awaiting me in Glasgow.
I’ve also become aware that an old (but not in the age-sense) friend is also having some work concerns of her own which I hope are resolved to her satisfaction ASAP. In the meantime, I’ve had an idea which may solve both of our work-related dilemmas. I’ m sure she and many of you regular readers out there will want to come a join me in a new venture – one that will one day rival and indeed surpass the popularity of Hard Rock Cafe.
Ladies and Gentlemen. Homos, Hetros and Metros. Why not spend some of your cash at Tearooms Most Twee??
Forget oversize steaks, burgers and king-size french fries. Put away your desires for sundaes and free refill sodas. Come to Tearooms Most Twee for cakes, cucumber sandwiches and french fancies. Feast your eyes on trifle and pots and pots of tea of all varieties, all served on antique wooden tables covered with the finest of lace.
The walls will not be covered with garish memorabilia. Only the finest of wallpaper from the catalogues of Laura Ashley.
Your ears will not be assaulted by the shrieks and wails of long-haired men wearing ultra-tight spandex backed by ugly folk pulling faces as their fingers move up and down the fretboard of their guitars. Instead, an old fashioned Dansette record player will be used to bring you sounds such as these:-
song : Belle & Sebastian – Dog On Wheels
song : Tallulah Gosh – Beatnik Boy
song : Aberfeldy – Summer’s Gone
song : The Smittens – Doomed, Lo-Fi & In Love
At least once a week, Tearooms Most Twee will have a live acoustic performance from Duglas BMX Bandit. Occasionally, it will also have theme nights – maybe something for The Goths where the music will be different and there will a DVD of Batman Begins on show. But the Laura Ashley wallpaper and lace-covered tables will be permanent.
Care to join me?
2013 Update
The scary thing is that there’s a couple of places opened up in Glasgow this past 18 months or so whose business model isn’t all that far removed from that I suggested for Tearooms Most Twee – albeit they do also have licences to serve alcohol. These establishments seem to be doing very well which means I really have missed a trick…
Oh and just to clear things up. I returned to Glasgow in December 2007 and to that dreadful dead-end job. Luckily, I was rescued by an alternative offer just a couple of months later for something much more satisfying. I’m still there now and can see me being there for many more years to come.
Enjoy.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 