This post is about a pub. Although it really isn't.
Last month, we found ourselves on a Sunday afternoon in London with some downtime, so we headed to a pub on Marylebone Road called The Globe. This particular pub is located conveniently right across the road from the Baker Street tube station. The fact that we were at the Baker Street station was no accident. We picked The Globe deliberately, without really knowing anything at all about what we would find there.
We thought we got lucky that Sunday afternoon. We managed to walk in just at the beginning of the Watford v. Tottenham Hotspur football game and found some excellent English cask ale to sup (Timothy Taylor's Landlord Pale Ale, if you must know) while we watched our adopted favorite team the Spurs take on the Hornets at Watford just north of the city.
I should perhaps mention I don't have a whole lot of luck with sports teams and this Sunday was no different. I've been a New York Jets fan for the last 39 years and I've been a Washington Wizards season ticket holder for the last 19. When we decided to head out to see some footy in person for the first time four years ago, we picked a Tottenham game, bought some swag and became fans. Our Spurs lost that day 3-0 to Liverpool. This year we couldn't make it to Wembley to see Harry Kane and Co. play due to timing so we opted to head to south London to see Crystal Palace at home v. Southampton. Again, we outfitted ourselves in the home team's colors and the home team lost again, this time 2-0.
The first half of the game we watched in The Globe that afternoon was a 0-0 deadlock; then 53 minutes in Spurs went up 1-0 and things looked up. It got worse from there, however. Watford scored twice and took the game. Told you I don't have a whole lot of luck with sports teams.
That's a lot of time spent writing about a football game watched on telly. Especially considering this post isn't about football any more than it's about a pub.
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| The complaint of every sports fan everywhere. Or at least the ones who are losing. |
There might be some folks out there who think I am unnaturally focused on Gerry Rafferty. This blog is about my travels around the world and this is my 146th post on this blog. Three of those 146 are tagged with Gerry Rafferty's name. That's probably higher than it should be. Those folks might be right about my focus.
Can't quite place the name Gerry Rafferty? How about the song Baker Street? I wrote about my love for that song four years ago on this blog right after I wrote about my first in-person football game. Baker Street is my favorite song of all time by a long shot; I detailed why in that first blog post. If Rafferty had written no other song worth anything, he'd occupy a special place in my heart just for that one tune. That's not the case, however. Gerry has what I believe is a super underrated catalog of work and there are plenty of incredible compositions in his works. Just nothing as good as Baker Street.
The song Baker Street is about Gerry's time in London when he was involved in a lawsuit trying to extricate himself from an unscrupulous recording deal and make a solo record, the album that would end up being City To City, which included Baker Street. The legal proceedings drained him, and his distaste for London (Rafferty was from Scotland) is evident in the darkness in the lyrics. The song gets its name from Rafferty's lodging with a friend right on Baker Street. And when he needed a pint or some other drink, he drank at The Globe.
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| A pint in memory of Gerry Rafferty. Not sure if he'd appreciate that or tell me to stay off the stuff. |
This experience was a little bittersweet. Gerry Rafferty struggled with alcoholism during his life and ultimately died of liver failure. There have been times in my life where I drank way too much for too many days in a row although I can't pretend to know what Rafferty or anyone else who struggled or struggles with the drink went through during their own battles. Regardless of the fact that alcohol may have hastened Rafferty's death, I found it worthwhile to visit The Globe and spend some time thinking about the author of my favorite song in a very personal way. I'll continue to remember Gerry Rafferty any way I can for as long as I am on this planet.
Before we left The Globe, though, something amazing happened. About a minute into the five minute second half stoppage time of the Tottenham and Watford game, Stuck In The Middle With You, a song Rafferty wrote and recorded with Stealers Wheel in 1973, played over the sound system in the pub. I am not making this up. Is it possible that this was a sign from Gerry from beyond the grave that he appreciated me being there paying respect to his memory? You can take it however you wish but I that's how I'm taking it. I'll raise a glass to Gerry Rafferty anytime. May he continue to rest in peace and be remembered as fondly as I do.
That's all I got here. Back to writing about traveling. Thank you again, Gerry. For Baker Street and so much more.
How We Did It
The Globe is located at 43-47 Marylebone Road. They are open from 10 am every morning until 11:30 pm on weeknights (Monday through Thursday) and midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. On Sunday, they close early at 10:30 pm. It's a good place to have a few pints on a Sunday afternoon. We didn't eat there so I can't vouch for the food. Need more information? Check their website.
The Globe is located at 43-47 Marylebone Road. They are open from 10 am every morning until 11:30 pm on weeknights (Monday through Thursday) and midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. On Sunday, they close early at 10:30 pm. It's a good place to have a few pints on a Sunday afternoon. We didn't eat there so I can't vouch for the food. Need more information? Check their website.
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