A gas leak at the Auld Alliance meant that the Pure Malt Pub – the only Scottish Pub in Paris to actually be owned by a Scot – was absolutely, unpleasantly jam-packed (“I’m fae Greenock originally...got a light?”) for last night’s dour football encounter. It was the first time I had encountered the Marais quartier and found it to be full of life with the feel of a little town. Today though, I’m going to head into Paris, to the Auld Alliance, with my soft spot for the place slightly hardened with the news that it’s some sort of Scottish Pub chain owned by some guy called Frederic Fontaine who seems to just be taking all the Parisian Scots for a ride, with his tat on the walls which was nostalgic and now seems forced. However, I’ll still go there and hopefully there will be an atmosphere for the Leinster v Racing game and then the Cardiff v Edinburgh game later on. The lure of Sky Sports Heineken Cup rugby coverage has won out over any misgivings about the fake Scottish Pub...
There’s a very good article, “Aristocrats with a new cutting edge”, in the Irish Times today as part of their preview to the Leinster game, giving a basic background on the club and it's history:
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