Team Pub
By Owen Longstreth
Edinburgh has no shortage of places to get a drink and unwind after a long day of studying. Although for many (including myself, back when I was a fresher) the best place to go is one of the city’s many clubs, most of us eventually realize the pub is superior to the club.
Going to a club is a gamble. At a club, you get to hop into a mosh pit of sweaty strangers and dance to music that you might like. There might be good drinks, but more often than not it will be a series of overpriced vodka mixers and one or two beers. You might want to dance and sing along, you might not be in the mood for that.
Pubs do not offer mights, but wills. There will be drinks to your liking. There will be a variety of activities going on, like pool, a pub quiz, or interesting conversation with your friends. You will have the choice of chatting with interesting people or keeping to your own circle.
At a club, you might have a good time. At the pub, you will have a good time.
“Pint of beer” by El Villano is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Team Club
By Ross Doran
Edinburgh is often celebrated for its world renowned, cozy pubs while the club scene is often derided for being awash with embarrassing uni students, expensive pints and sweaty dance floors.
However, there is one place where this is all worth it and where the club ultimately triumphs over the pub; Hive. It’s simultaneously the worst and the best of Edinburgh and it is absolutely incredible. The pub simply cannot offer the unpredictability and the chaos which Hive provides. You may emerge from the depths of Niddry Street traumatised but at least you will have a story. You can take the person out of Hive but you can never take the Hive out of the person!
Yes a pub is great for a good natter but it’s boring, it’s predictable. Who doesn’t want to see wedding parties, friends being proposed to, and groups in full grinch suits. Such happenings can only occur in the best nightclub on earth and when the cocktails are £3, you have no excuse but to surrender yourself to the will of the crowd and become subsumed by the rhythm of the collective. The act of being in Hive feels like a cardinal sin, yet it feels so good. A pub could never subvert morality so much.
“John Digweed” by Cabaret Voltaire is licensed under CC BY 2.0.