Declan D.'s Profile

'You're not allowed in unless you're wearing shoes.'

'But I got in fine earlier?'

'When?'

'I dunno, six o'clock ish?'

'Well, there weren't any door staff then. If there were, you wouldn't have got in.'

'Why do I have to wear shoes?'

'I don't make the rules son.'

Son!? Sigh.

'Ok, well, can I just nip in an get them then.'

'What?'

'I came here straight from work. I got changed before I left so my shoes are in my bag, which is inside. This wasn't a problem earlier, I just nipped out to take a phonecall.'

'You can't come in wearing trainers, that's the rules.'

On and on this went. I get bars that enforce dress codes, I don't particularly like them, but so long as they're clear and you can see why they'd ask you to dress a certain way I can get behind that. This just reeked of random profiling.

Eventually I got in, escorted. Escorted! He waited while I found my bag, and just watched me change my shoes. Then he left, no apologies, just walked away.

It's so dark inside you can barely see what people have on their feet anyway! As soon as he left, I changed back into my trainers, and nobody said a word to me.

On the other hand..oh, wait, no. There is no other hand.

This may seem like sacrilege to some, but the thing this most reminded me of was a Wetherspoons pub. The old carpet factory provides quite the stunning exterior, and the menu and beers on offer was very reminiscent of the ubiquitous chain.

All similarities end there though, with the staff and produce on offer a notable step up from the classic Wetherspoon's offering, and without a particularly heart wrenching jump in price either.

As previous reviewers have mentioned, special deference has to be paid to the beer brewed on site. One of the best pints I've had in the city, no question.

My only slight complaint would be that the size of the interiors and the cavernous ceilings don't really lend themselves to a cosy meal, particularly on such a sullen rainy evening.

Although I'm certain on a sunny day it must be magic.

Sssh, it's a secret.

There are a wealth of fine drinking establishments in Glasgow's Merchant City. Bar Gandolfi is never one that people seem to suggest, not because it isn't good, but because nobody seems to know it's there.

Y'see, the food in Cafe Gandolfi and it's sister Gandolfi Fish is so fine, and so universally praised, people presume that's all there is. They go to satisfy their appetites and they leave, barely noticing the stairs leading up.

If you decide to go up, you'll find a hip attic space and bar with an excellent selection of drinks and smart staff. The fine food from the cafe is also available if the smell from downstairs is just too enticing.

I've never found it busy, no matter which night I've ventured in, and this secret,  speakeasy atmosphere is half the appeal. I almost wish you needed a password to get in.

Psst... this may get me into trouble, but, for my money, they make the best whiskey sour in the whole of Glasgow.

'Yeah, but a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.'
- Jules Winfield.

Don't misconstrue the quote. I don't think G Force is a dog. It's just that as someone who loves video games, I really hate video game shops. They make me sad. Given the options of buying a game online or downloading it directly from the company, it takes a lot to make me actually want to visit a game shop.

I want to visit G Force.

As well as a genuinely diverse range of new releases, there are touches everywhere that remind you this is an enthusiast shop run by enthusiasts. The statue of Link in the window, import games, retro games, t shirts, soundtracks(!) peripherals. A true independent.

One of the employees, Damien, even had his own segment on BBC Scotland's short lived and wilfully bizarre videogame show, VideoGaiden. (youtube it)

[10]

Go play a board game.

Who plays board games? You ask. Not enough people, I say.

Seriously, go play a board game. Get some friends, some snacks, a nice bottle of wine, sit together around a table and play a board game. You probably haven't done it in years, but you forget just how much fun it is.

If you don't have one, come here. The staff are smart and friendly and will help you find something. It is not all wizards, warlocks and space marines. My personal recommendation? War on Terror, the boardgame.

Careful who you play with though, this is worse than Monopoly, it can be a real friend ender.

Probably one of the most extensive collections of paper based role playing game books I've ever seen. It's not something I've ever tried personally, so what the hell am I writing a review for?

Because of this: I overheard the owner, who I'd imagine was in his fifties, chatting with a young teenager, clearly a regular at the store.

The kid was busy telling the shopkeeper all about how he had finally collected all of the Pokemon.

For those of you not familiar with the blockbuster hand held game from Nintendo, in Pokemon you assume the role of a trainer in a virtual world. You explore, you level up, and you catch Pokemon. Despite the slogan, very, very few people catch them all.

The kid continued to enthuse. He was now one of the best Pokemon trainers in the world, he had beaten the Elite Four!

The owner, as far as I could tell, had absolutely no idea what this kid was talking about. More so, the kid had a really terrible stutter, so this conversation took a long, long time.

But the owner never stopped listening. He didn't pretend to be busy, he didn't look down his nose.  He just listened intently, constantly offering congratulations and amazement at the kid's achievement.

I think this is maybe one of the only places in the whole of the city centre that kid would have been treated like that. Honestly, I don't know that I would have been so patient.

So kudos to that guy.

Just a few doors down from A1 comics, this quaint little shop boasts a pretty good selection of collectable and trinkets, most notably the broad selection of comic back issues.

It suffers a little from the classic musty, antique shop atmosphere, and the prices can be a little steep, but it's the only place in town with a decent selection of back issues, and I can never resist having a quick browse after picking something up in A1.

The staff are just lovely too.

The name of this shop is so apt.

Listen: I'm a comic book fan. Worse, I'm a comic book fan that reads comic book message boards. I flaunt my knowledge on online forums. I am a geek. I probably know more about the history of the X Men than I do about the history of this country. It's ok, you can judge me.

If you, like me, are a geek, then you will know what to expect from most comic book shops. Even decent sized bookshops have their own graphic novel section these days and you'll almost always get the same kind of stuff.

A bunch of essential era Marvel trades, some tie ins to whatever movie is out that week, some Lone Wolf and Cub, Cerebus, Sandman, Ghost World, Watchmen etc.  All of it great for sure, but very rarely anything surprising.

You don't get that in Futureshock.

For a start, this is not a place of organisation. This is a stash, a grab bag. Piles of books and comics and VHS tapes litter every available space in the tiny shop. There's barely enough room to open the door.  

Lost without the classic alphabetical listings, you're forced to just start digging, see what you can find in this chaos of fantasy. Pile after pile of obscure, random titles. You pick up a tatty old sci fi paperback with a cover that's half Mills & Boon, half H R Geiger and think my god what is THIS?

I love that. You'd be hard pressed to find something specific here, but go in with a sense of adventure and you might be rewarded.

Back in my home town the only place I could get my weekly comic fix was a small booth in the local market, and I always dreamed that one day I could live somewhere with it's very own Forbidden Planet.

It doesn't disappoint. An excellent selection of comic books, trades, movies, books, toys. I even noticed some Twilight branded umbrellas today. Umbrellas!

I presume these were made specifically for the Twilight fangirls, something to shield them from the perennial sad cartoon cloud that follows them everywhere they go. Kidding!

Anyway, I do have one complaint, and it's not really the shop's fault, but this place gets really busy. They have a lot of stuff in here and I want to kick back and browse but I always feel like I'm in somebodies way :(

Man, maybe I should get my own Twilight umbrella.

You literally can't miss this. It's YELLOW.

A decent selection of new comics and a great library of trades, plus all the usual action figures, toys and trinkets you'd find in any good comic book store.

It's location and independence means it's much less manic than the similarly shelved Forbidden Planet, and as such the place has much more of a local, friendly feel so if you're a comic book junkie you'll get to know the staff and the regulars in no time.

It's my favourite place to get my funny books.