Shinty and Aikman’s: The Real Special Relationship

It is difficult to think of Aikman’s Bar and Bistro without thinking of the iconic caman-covered ceiling and the dusty photos of shinty players with Bon Jovi-era haircuts. Hosting the shinty team is a core part of the pub’s identity, after doing so for thirty years. 

As a bartender, I have greatly enjoyed watching Hamii (plural of Hamish, a title given to first-year members of the club) and Gents (senior members) prance about in pink cowboy hats while competing in the Shintyversity Challenge and celebrating John Seamans’ Night (PBTJ), where they honour the club’s infamous founder. 

Barbara Ritchie, Aikman’s owner, and her daughter, Sarah, have witnessed countless iterations of the shinty team during their tenure at the pub. The special  relationship between Aikman’s and the shinty team has permitted staff a unique insight into how the club has evolved. The proprietors will candidly admit when they feel a year didn’t meet the standards of the club’s predecessors. Sarah said as much to me: “You can go through years that are absolutely brilliant, and then you can just feel like you’ve hit rock bottom and you’ve just got a bunch of idiots.”

Alistair Tribs, another member of Aikman’s staff, explained that the current generation of shinty players are better at respecting the staff and pub than in previous years. Tribs, who has worked almost every single Wednesday social night this year, expressed appreciation for the players he has interacted with: “No matter how drunk they are, they’re […] respectful.” 

I myself have never clashed with the Hamii and Gents I’ve served, and I have often witnessed club members intervene to assuage disrespectful customers.

Time has given Ritchie and Sarah not only perspective on the club’s evolution, but also a profound fondness for the players and the club as a whole. Sarah recounted the story of the Chieftain (or Social President) from the 2011-12 academic year who, when he found out Sarah was pregnant, went to Tesco to purchase her orange roses and a box of chocolates to extend the team’s congratulations. They crowned Sarah’s son ‘Hamish Baby,’ a title that made him an honorary member of the club. Sarah purchased her son shinty quarters when he turned sixteen months old to enshrine his connection to the sport and to the team. 

Aikman’s is lucky to have such a positive connection with the team it hosts. Sam Stuart, assistant Manager at St Andrews Brewing Co, described his experiences with sports socials as “not overwhelmingly negative, just on the lower end of average” — a far cry from the mutual love between Aikman’s and its long-standing lodger. 

The connection that the shinty team shares with Aikman’s is unique in St Andrews. After 30 years of weekly Wednesday socials, it’s clear that the relationship between a pub and its patrons extends far beyond pints and pounds. To all sports social members: if you play your cards right next Wednesday, you might just find a pub that likes you enough to develop a special relationship to rival that of Aikman’s and the shinty team.