Meet the Day Drinkers of St Andrews

Carpe diem — to seize the day — means different things for different people. For some, it’s waking up to welcome the sunrise and going for a run on the Scores. For others, it’s a morning spent in leisure before heading to a common place, with familiar faces and pints. At various pubs across town, Willie Tair, Alan Fraser, and Gordon Smith, are united by a shared love for a midday pint and good chat.  

Sat at The Keys Bar with Willie Tait

Tait, always accompanied by his golden retriever, Guthrie, and a pint of Tennent’s, visits the Keys Bar every day. “I’ll do some work, relax, have a couple of beers, chitter chatter, see who’s doing what,” explained Tait, who is self-employed in investment property development. “I can work from home, but I like having a couple of beers. People make the world go around — you can’t sit in a little bubble and expect things to happen.”

Guthrie, now twelve years old, has been coming to the Keys since he was just twelve weeks old. “This was one of the first dog-friendly pubs in town. I would have a beer and take him for a wander,” explained Tait. “This is his spot, he’s always here,” he said, pointing to the floor on his left-hand side. To his right is a pint of Tennent’s. Why Tennent’s? “Tennent’s is made in Scotland with Scottish water. It’s clean, it’s crisp, and it’s only 4%.” 

For Willie, it’s not all about the Tennent’s, but also about meeting people. “You get people from all walks of life coming in here. The Church of Scotland ministers, guys from the golf club, [...] you’ve got guys that sweep the streets,” he explained. “You’ve got all sorts, and everybody has a story to tell and to listen to. It all knits together. Because of that, St Andrews is so unusual.”

For Tait, drinking culture is about socialising and connecting with others. “It’s still the same now as it was when I was your age, that men drink shoulder to shoulder,” said Willie. In spite of this, he “know[s] times are changing.” The younger generation drinks more in the house and for effect. “If you drink for effect, you hit the slippery slope too early. Coming to places like this, having three or four at lunch time, you are still able to function properly. If you want to come out later, you can,” he explained.

Should anyone “go overboard” and pay “the price the following day” with a hangover, he recommends “the hair of the dog” — consuming more alcohol to alleviate the symptoms — “because it sorts the system out and lets you come down slowly.” 

Tait tends to arrive at about midday. “I’ll leave at about two, and some days, I’ll come back at about half five, six o’clock if I want to play darts, or if something is going on, but I tend not to stay out late,” he explained. 

For Tait, the Keys is also a place of discovery. “If you speak to people face-to-face and ask them questions and are genuinely interested, you learn things, and you never stop learning,” he said. “If you’re needing something and don’t have the answer, there is going to be someone who knows where you can find it. If I need a specialist I know I can find one here, in the Keys.”

He concluded, “In Scotland, there is a great expression: ‘Never trust the man that doesn’t drink.’ It’s true.” 

Sat at Whey Pat Tavern with Alan Fraser 

Perched on one of the mismatched barstools, Fraser is seated with a pint of Guinness. “It’s usually in the morning. I’m never in at night or the late afternoon. It’s [from] twelve o’clock to two. I have a couple of these and head home,” he explained, pointing at his pint. 

Alan comes from Cupar, does his shopping at Morrisons, and picks up some odd bits from M&S before concluding his weekly trip at the Whey Pat. It’s been his ritual for the past four years. 

“When the guys are in, they are quite friendly, even if I’m just seeing them once a week,” he said. “They recognise me, they give me a shout, and they have a chat with me. That’s what I come in for, speaking to people. I live on my own, so effectively, it is the company.” 

Fraser is a guy to remember. “99% of the time there is a Guinness starting to get poured, [it’s] because they saw me walking past the window,” he chuckled. 

The Whey Pat has seemingly stolen his heart. “I’ve never been in another pub in St Andrews since I started coming here,” he explained. “If you want a nice pint, at the right price, nice company, this place is welcoming. You get such a nice welcome.” 

Sat at The Criterion with Gordon Smith

Gordon Smith of Guardbridge comes to St Andrews, and en route, he makes a stop on South Street at the Criterion, one of the oldest pubs in St Andrews, established in 1874. “I’ve been coming here for years,” he explained. “I find this pub is the best pub in town — nice people, nice staff, the owners are nice and very chatty.” 

Smith strictly sticks to Aspall. “It’s my preferred cider. I used to [drink beer], [...] but for whatever reason, over the years, it’s crept in. It’s a nice, dry cider, so I like that. And I think this place is about the only place in town that sells it,” he explained. 

Most days, Smith can be found in the Criterion. “Usually it’s just a couple of pints,” he said, “and it tends to be afternoons, just because of the age I am now. It’s usually lunch time or the back of lunch time.”

Smith arrived in St Andrews with his wife. “She was doing some shopping, but then she went off, so I’ll just catch a bus,” he explained. “She knows me too well. We’ve been married 52 years. She tends not to drink during the week. She’s good that way — I’m not,” he said with a laugh. 

When he comes to the pub, “there [are] some [people] that I know, but [...] I’m quite happy to engage with total strangers, if they want to. If they don’t want to, that’s fine. I’m quite happy sitting on my own,” he said.

The beauty of drinking during the early afternoon is that no one is drinking to get sloshed. “If I’ve ever gotten drunk, which I have a few times, it’s been more by accident than design,” Smith explained. “It’s just more the company you’re in. And somebody’s asking, ‘want another one?’, ‘oh, I guess I’ll have another one’ — that sort of situation. And you suddenly realise, ‘flipping hey, how many have I had here?’”

Smith drinks at the Criterion because he believes that “we’ve got to keep the independents going. They are the heart and soul of the place.” He and his wife used to go to the Whey Pat a lot because they knew the owners, as well as Kate’s — the pub where Molly Malones now stands. “I went to school with the owner’s son, so we used to go there as well, just because we knew people. Gradually, we’ve just drifted into here,” Smith explained. 

“When those pubs became owned by brewers like Greene King, they totally changed,” he said. “The staff changed; you didn’t have the one-to-one that you have here. There’s not that personal connection. They just work for another company.”

At the end of the day, a pub is a place of gathering. Be it alone or with friends, the Keys Bar, Whey Pat Tavern, and the Criterion provide more than a beer tap; they serve as part of a daily ritual that provides a sense of community and identity to those who frequent them. 

Photos courtesy of Tara Phillips