0:00:00 > 0:00:04'Pubs have been at the heart of Britain for hundreds of years.'
0:00:04 > 0:00:06Cheers, mucker.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08'In city taverns and village inns,
0:00:08 > 0:00:12'landlords have pulled pints for locals, travellers'
0:00:12 > 0:00:15and, well, the odd king or two. Myself included.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Try and have a drink now.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20GLASS CLINKS
0:00:20 > 0:00:25But with 30 pubs closing every week, our historic taverns need defending.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Step. Step.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30We're heading out to discover amazing stories linked to the
0:00:30 > 0:00:32nation's watering holes.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36- Not far to go?- How far? - Couple of miles.- What?
0:00:36 > 0:00:41- 'From the Wars of the Roses.' - To shipbuilding on the Clyde.
0:00:41 > 0:00:46- We've ditched our bikes so that we can sample an ale or two.- Get in!
0:00:46 > 0:00:48- This is very good. - THEY LAUGH
0:00:48 > 0:00:50'So join us for...'
0:00:50 > 0:00:53BOTH: The Hairy Bikers' Pubs That Built Britain.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01'Today's historic pub crawl takes us to Glasgow
0:01:01 > 0:01:04'and her illustrious shipbuilding past.'
0:01:04 > 0:01:08Tens of thousands worked on Clydeside and after a hard
0:01:08 > 0:01:11day's graft, the race was on for a well-earned pint down the boozer.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Boozers - where we hope to uncover fascinating stories
0:01:15 > 0:01:18of Glasgow's glory days.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20Welcome to Glasgow and the River Clyde - the launching
0:01:20 > 0:01:24site of many famous ships such as the Queen Mary and the QE2.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26What are you wearing that hat for?
0:01:26 > 0:01:29This is the hat the foreman in the shipyard would wear.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31If you were a welder, I would be your boss
0:01:31 > 0:01:35- and I would stop you going out for a swally.- A what?- A swally.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40It's Glaswegian for drink. And I'll be keeping an eye on you, laddie.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46Glasgow's rise as a world leader in shipbuilding began 1812,
0:01:46 > 0:01:51with Europe's first commercially successful steam-powered passenger ship.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54And painful as it is to a Tynesider, 100 years later,
0:01:54 > 0:01:59Clyde-built had become a byword for the best shipbuilding in the world.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03In fact, some say the boys from the Clyde built the ships that
0:02:03 > 0:02:06built the British Empire and won us two world wars.
0:02:06 > 0:02:12Just imagine, mucker - nearly 40 yards employed 100,000 men,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14all dying for a pint at the same time.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Our first port of call is Govan,
0:02:17 > 0:02:19right in the heart of Glasgow's shipbuilding.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Here you go, mate. Brechins Bar.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24One of the last shipyard pubs left on Govan Road.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26You can just imagine it, can't you, Si?
0:02:26 > 0:02:29The shipyard hooter goes and hundreds of men dash out,
0:02:29 > 0:02:31wanting to be the first in the pub to get a pint.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Tell you what, you want to be the first at the bar, that's for sure.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37- Race you.- You toad.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44This listed Scots baronial building dates back to 1894,
0:02:44 > 0:02:51and on its facade - a cat, in memory of an infamous rat catcher that worked Govan's shipyard and docks.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Locals know Brechins as The Black Man after the statue
0:02:57 > 0:02:59of this guy - Sir William Pearce.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04In the 19th century, he turned nearby Fairfields shipyard into a world leader.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09The yard survives today as part of BAE Systems.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14- This is a cracking pub, isn't it? It's a proper pub.- Isn't it?
0:03:14 > 0:03:17'Shipyard historian Ian Johnson is giving us
0:03:17 > 0:03:21'the lowdown on the golden age of Clyde's best boozers.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25- 'The pubs, that is.' - Was the pub part of shipbuilding culture then, Ian?
0:03:25 > 0:03:27Cos it seems to be.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30It would be difficult to avoid a pub, because there was so many
0:03:30 > 0:03:34of them outside the shipyards, so you couldn't really miss one.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36And it was very much a part of where people
0:03:36 > 0:03:39went at the end of a shift, at the end of a day.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42They would come in because it was such difficult work. Very hard work.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46In many cases, they would want to come and have a refreshment, to put it mildly.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Do you think the pubs were built to service the shipyards?
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Most certainly. It was a roaring trade. They had a captive market.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56In this part of Govan or Glasgow,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59you had about 20,000 shipyard workers in the heyday.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02That's a lot of people hanging out at the end of a shift.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06- Lot of people. - A lot of thirsty people, that is.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Which led to dozens of pubs springing up besides Brechins
0:04:09 > 0:04:12along Govan Road.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Every one filled to the gunnels with riveters, platers and welders,
0:04:15 > 0:04:19after a hard day's work in the noise and cold of the Clyde.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24But women weren't encouraged, so your missus might come to the yard gates
0:04:24 > 0:04:28on a Friday to stop you wasting your wages on the bevvy.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32I think because it was such arduous work, such physical work -
0:04:32 > 0:04:34and in all conditions - that you needed to come to the pub
0:04:34 > 0:04:37- at the end of it to sort of let off a bit of steam.- Yes.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42To wet your whistle and discuss what you've done and whatever.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Dave comes from Barrow-in-Furness. I'm Newcastle. I'm on the Tyne.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48- Yes, yes, yes.- And there's always been a friendly rivalry
0:04:48 > 0:04:51- between the shipbuilders on the Tyne and the Clyde.- There was.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54- Yes.- And it was... You know...
0:04:54 > 0:04:57To be fair, we taught you how to, you know, build ships, like.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Steady now. No. Listen, we told you guys a thing or two.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Your industry was set up by guys that came from the Clyde.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06But in Barrow-in-Furness, you see, from 1870,
0:05:06 > 0:05:10- cos we had the steel, we were ahead of all of you.- Nah.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12The end of the cul-de-sac. We conquered the world!
0:05:12 > 0:05:16- No. Clyde was number one for a long, long time.- It was.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19When did shipbuilding on the Clyde start to decline?
0:05:19 > 0:05:21From the late 1950s and early 1960s,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25they start to become less competitive and this is because
0:05:25 > 0:05:28of competition from the Far East and also from Europe,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31because they're all employing superior methods
0:05:31 > 0:05:34and better management-men relations.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37So productivity starts to decline in British yards
0:05:37 > 0:05:42and from then on, the industry's on a very, very rapid decline.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46We might not have that many shipyards now in Govan
0:05:46 > 0:05:48but we've still got a fine pub - the Brechins.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51And I got here first so I should get them in.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54- Get them in, mucker. - Thought you'd never ask.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56'I was beginning to wonder and all, mate.'
0:05:56 > 0:06:00Brechins is still a favourite with former shipyard employees
0:06:00 > 0:06:04but the days of a tidal wave of workers are long gone.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08After years of post-war decline,
0:06:08 > 0:06:13a unique attempt was made in 1971 to save the remaining yards.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18The Upper Clyde shipyard workers, rather than strike,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21staged a work-in, which led to the famous speech by the legendary
0:06:21 > 0:06:26- union leader, the late Jimmy Reid. - There will be no hooliganism.
0:06:26 > 0:06:32- There will be no vandalism. There will be no bevvying.- 'What?'
0:06:32 > 0:06:35- No bevvying? Was he nuts? - Not really.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40Without the work-in, BAE Systems might not be here today.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Steve and Brian. Very, very, nice to meet you. Thanks for seeing us.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Nice to meet you, Brian.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48'We can't leave Brechins without speaking to a shipbuilder.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51'Brian and Steven worked the yards in the 1960s
0:06:51 > 0:06:53'and can tell it like it was.'
0:06:53 > 0:06:56So give us some idea about what it was like to be in the shipyard
0:06:56 > 0:06:59- and grafting all that... - This is the west of Scotland.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02It's wet, wet, cold and wet.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05In the winter, you'd go to the ship
0:07:05 > 0:07:10and it would be covered in hoarfrost. Absolutely freezing.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13You go in to where your tools are and get your tool box out,
0:07:13 > 0:07:18which is steel, and most of the tools are steel so that
0:07:18 > 0:07:21when you start using them, your hands turn up...
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Your fingers become like wood.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Murder. Terrible conditions to work in.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30Not like these people nowadays who work in heated sheds.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Big safties, I'd say!
0:07:32 > 0:07:35I served my time when they were building the QE2.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38After a fortnight, I wanted to run away and join the Navy.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42The noise, the cold, the swearing.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45You know, it's interesting because it's very clear why the pubs
0:07:45 > 0:07:48played a role in this because there was...
0:07:48 > 0:07:54You worked hard and you worked hard in pretty horrendous conditions.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56You must have played just as hard.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Lunchtime, you could go down into the pub
0:07:59 > 0:08:04and the barman had already got the bar lined up with glasses.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08They would take a bottle of fortified wine,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12turn it over the first glass then move it along, move it along, till that bottle was done.
0:08:12 > 0:08:18- And they'd have rows of fortified wine and chasers - beer.- Right.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23So a guy would come in and say, "I want a clear and a beer."
0:08:23 > 0:08:28A clear was a fortified white wine and a half-pint of heavy.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31'These days, Brian is a published poet and has written
0:08:31 > 0:08:36'a collection about life in the yards called Bunnets 'n' Bowlers.'
0:08:36 > 0:08:41- 'Of course! That daft hat you were wearing earlier!- Yep.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44'Bunnets for the workers, bowlers for the bosses.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47'The more refined sort of fellow, like myself.
0:08:47 > 0:08:52'Oh, give over, man. I'll show you refined with a bit of poetry.'
0:08:52 > 0:08:57Inside the Seven Seas, the bar staff lined up quarter gills on the gantry
0:08:57 > 0:09:02In preparation for the dinner time rush of thirsty artisans
0:09:02 > 0:09:06And quickly learning apprentices who would have their liquid lunch
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Of goldies and half-pint chasers.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12- So what's a goldie? - Goldie is a whisky.
0:09:12 > 0:09:18Get a wee goldie down you. Feel the warmth as it hits down the stomach.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Then you're back to the grind again in the afternoon.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26In the evening, sometimes after another bout of overtime
0:09:26 > 0:09:28We would again congregate
0:09:28 > 0:09:30This time for a session of serious swalling
0:09:30 > 0:09:35Which one evening culminated in the apprentices
0:09:35 > 0:09:39Having a tabletop tap-dancing competition
0:09:39 > 0:09:42With the artisans giving it laldy, singing
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Show Me The Way To Go Home.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49- What does laldy mean?- Laldy means being very exuberant about something,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52so if you were singing a song and were giving it laldy,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55you'd be really letting it rip. You'd be giving it mince, basically.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59- Giving it mince!- That's when you sing and shout.- Aye.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04- Gives it laldy!- Aye, great. Aye.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07A lot of the shipyards may have gone now but in this lovely pub,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11- the spirit's still here isn't it, lads? Cheers.- ALL: Cheers.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13- Thank you very, very much. - Cheers. Thank you.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16- Nice talking with you guys.- And you.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Well, mucker, I would have quite liked to have worked
0:10:19 > 0:10:22in the shipyard and particularly giving it laldy in the pub.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25You'd have been good at that. Anyway, pub trivia time.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Which was the biggest ship ever built on the Clyde?
0:10:28 > 0:10:31- Queen Mary?- Wrong.- What? - It was 1938.
0:10:31 > 0:10:38It was the Queen Elizabeth and it weighed in at a colossal 83,676 tonnes.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43And there are plenty of other fascinating facts
0:10:43 > 0:10:47- if you know where to look. - In Glasgow's pub signs, mucker.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52- Here's three of our faves.- The Pot Still is named after a whisky still.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Did you know the still's shape affects the whisky's character?
0:10:55 > 0:10:57I can't say I did.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00But with over 300 whiskies, we can put that fact to the test.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Wey-hey! That's the spirit.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Lauder's is not named after actor Harry Lauder, as many think,
0:11:06 > 0:11:10but after Archibald Lauder, a man who produced a famous whisky.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15It was described as "nice and toothsomely". A bit like you, Si.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20Why thank you, kind sir. Then there's the famous Horse Shoe Bar.
0:11:20 > 0:11:26Named after its horseshoe shaped bar. A design first back in 1994.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30And talking of horses, Roy Rogers and Trigger once drank here.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35- Bet it was White Horse whisky. - Oh, dear. Moving on.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42Back on our Glasgow tour, we've swapped watering holes for the water.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Do you know where I wanna go next, Si?
0:11:44 > 0:11:46I want to go up in one of those. Mother used to drive one, you know.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48I do. I knew that.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Well, you can go and play cranes
0:11:50 > 0:11:54and I'm going to visit a shipyard that still makes ships.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00And I'm travelling five miles doon the wata, from Govan to Clydebank.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03It's here that John Brown's shipyard built the luxury liners
0:12:03 > 0:12:09known as the Three Queens - the Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary and QE2.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14Sadly, it closed in 1971 and today just one giant reminder survives.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17The Titan crane.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22Built in 1907, it was the first giant cantilevered crane in the world.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26- Hello, Colin.- Hello. Nice to meet you.- Pleased to meet you.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29'I'm meeting lecturer and author Colin Castle
0:12:29 > 0:12:31'to find out more about the Titan.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34'But first, I'm going to tell him about my dear old Mum.'
0:12:34 > 0:12:37I'm from Barrow, which was a shipyard town. A bit like Glasgow.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40- My mum was a crane driver.- Good heavens.- She started in the war.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43- You know, the lasses came in, the men went away to fight.- Yeah.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46And she loved it. She kept on after the war. And it was funny, actually.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50She was pregnant with me but all the other ladies used to sit when they
0:12:50 > 0:12:53were waiting for lifts, knitting all my baby clothes up in the cabs.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56I used to have all these jumpers with Vickers-Armstrongs
0:12:56 > 0:12:59and pictures of cranes on them, all knitted into them.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03'The Titan was built by Sir William Arrol's company, but the hard graft
0:13:03 > 0:13:06'was put in by these guys - the workers from Clydebank.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08'Or bankies, as they were known.'
0:13:09 > 0:13:12The thing about the photograph is you notice the absence
0:13:12 > 0:13:15of hard hats or steel-capped boots.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19And one member of the team is very young indeed.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23- We reckon he's about 13.- I can see the little lad in the middle.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25He would be a rivet boy.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28It would be his job to heat the rivets in the braziers
0:13:28 > 0:13:31and then throw them up to a member of the rivet squad.
0:13:31 > 0:13:351913, would you believe that three-quarters of a million
0:13:35 > 0:13:39tonnes of ships were launched on this river alone?
0:13:39 > 0:13:42That's a record unequalled by any shipbuilding river anywhere
0:13:42 > 0:13:45else in the world. Not even your mother's yard.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Don't tell my mother that.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50You know, is it still possible to get up this wonderful crane?
0:13:50 > 0:13:54- Oh, yes. We can do that.- Not sure me knees are up to the climb, like.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57- We'll give it a go.- You don't have to worry. We've got a lift.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01- Oh, Scotland. You've got everything. - Walk this way.- Thank you.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06Cor, I wonder if I'll be able to see Si from the top. Wee-hee!
0:14:09 > 0:14:12You need industrial strength binoculars to see me, mate.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15I've travelled 19 miles downriver to visit
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23It was near here in 1812 that the Comet,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26the first commercial steam ship in Europe, was built
0:14:26 > 0:14:29and kick-started the Clyde's shipbuilding reign.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35Ferguson is now one of just two shipbuilders left on the Clyde.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39'I'm meeting Hughie and Graham to find out how life in the yards has changed.'
0:14:39 > 0:14:42How long's the yard been open, then?
0:14:42 > 0:14:46- Well, we've been on this site 115 years or so.- My God.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49- I bet you've seen some changes since then.- Aye, certainly have.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51A lot of changes. I wasnae here 115 years ago.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54I was going to say, you're looking well on it.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56Just out of interest, lads...
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Cos you know, obviously, I'm from the Tyne and there's always
0:14:59 > 0:15:01been a friendly rivalry between the Clyde and the Tyne.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04I think the personalities and the workforce are very similar as well.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07We taught you how to build ships? You're correct. Yeah.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10When we told you where the decent supply of steel was
0:15:10 > 0:15:12so you could build the ships... Never mind. Anyway.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15That's another matter. It's like being in an enemy camp this.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Lads, listen, I'm sticking up for the Tyne, lads.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21I'm reet in the Clyde here, boys. Howay!
0:15:22 > 0:15:26The work for the lads here has changed massively over the last 50 years.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30A workforce of many hundreds is now just 120
0:15:30 > 0:15:32and much of their work is done indoors.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34There are more computers than draftsmen
0:15:34 > 0:15:37and apprentices are trained in all trades, not just one.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40But they all still go down the pub, right?
0:15:40 > 0:15:44In the olden days, when the horn went for lunchtime,
0:15:44 > 0:15:47everybody got three-quarters of an hour and went to the pub,
0:15:47 > 0:15:49came back, because it was allowed.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52And now night times, do you all still get a chance to socialise
0:15:52 > 0:15:54together at the pub? Like you did in the old days?
0:15:54 > 0:15:57- Or is it a bit different now? - It's all changed.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59The days of that are over, I would say.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03A lot of shipyards used to have social clubs even attached to them. But that's all gone now.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05There's now stricter wives that don't allow us to go to the pubs.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09- We now have to go home. - Something's gone wrong!
0:16:09 > 0:16:13While you're here, Si, we're looking for an apprentice. Couple of hours.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17- Good volunteer? Are you up for it? - I'd love to. I'd love to.- Good.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20For a start, stick that on your head.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23- It's a large, you're all right. - Yeah, very funny. Here we are.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26You can tell we're in the shipyards. A bit of craic now.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28The craic's going now.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30'I knew they'd need a Tynesider to show them
0:16:30 > 0:16:32'how to really build a ship.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36'Time to step up to the plate under the eye of Bertie.'
0:16:36 > 0:16:40I tell you what, if I'd done my beard purple, I could be Billy Connolly.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43I tell you what, you cannot see owt. But it's perfect.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55- That's amazing.- Just take your time and just keep it straight.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01- Take your time and keep it straight. - It's called a horizontal fillet.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- It's called a horizontal... - Fillet.- Fillet.- Uh-huh.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07You see, I've always been good with fillets.
0:17:10 > 0:17:17- Slide it. You've got to be hitting it.- Ah. Got you. Now it's going.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28Just come and have a look at the difference between my weld and Robert's weld.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32That is a perfect fillet weld. Look at that.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Beautiful. That is not.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Look at mine. It's as wrinkly as a granny's stocking.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Look at it! Dear me.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45- It's been an absolute pleasure to meet you.- Don't chuck your job.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47THEY LAUGH
0:17:47 > 0:17:50- I've not got the brains to be a welder.- Well, Si.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54You did well there. I'll take that off you. There you go. Carry on.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Carry on sweeping.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Listen, is there a tea break coming up or what?
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Ah, well, you can't say I'm not a down to earth kind of guy.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09- Our Dave, on the other hand... - Oh, wow, Colin.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11What a view from up here.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15You can see the whole of Glasgow and all the way down the river.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Some of the most famous ships in the world, and some of the largest,
0:18:18 > 0:18:19were launched at this point here.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Launch days are quite something, aren't they?
0:18:22 > 0:18:24I remember when I was a kid cos we always got
0:18:24 > 0:18:26a day off school in Barrow whenever a ship was being launched.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31It was a big festival and we'd all stand opposite to watch the ships go down the slipway.
0:18:31 > 0:18:37Well, 1934, Queen Mary was launched and the farmer who owned the land
0:18:37 > 0:18:42on the other side of the river here charged people a pound to go
0:18:42 > 0:18:44and sit on the banks and watch.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49What they didn't realise was that when 35,000 tonnes of steel enters the water, you get a backwash.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53So this miniature tidal wave crossed the River Clyde
0:18:53 > 0:18:56and drenched these people on the other side.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58So for a pound they got a launch and a bath.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00They got more than they bargained for.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02'You get quite a view from up here.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05'But it can't have been all the high life for the driver.'
0:19:05 > 0:19:09The driver of the crane started half an hour earlier in the morning
0:19:09 > 0:19:12- than anyone else.- Was that so he could have time to climb up?
0:19:12 > 0:19:14To climb up. Yes.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16At the end of the working day he left half an hour after
0:19:16 > 0:19:19everyone else, so his pals were all off to the pub
0:19:19 > 0:19:22and he was still ending up here.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24He wouldn't be able to go for a pint at lunchtime.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26No. In fact, he'd go with a packed lunch.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28He'd take his packed lunch actually in the cab
0:19:28 > 0:19:31and the management very kindly supplied him with a bucket.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34- A bucket for his necessaries. - Got it in one.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36I'm not keen on that idea - last one in the pub
0:19:36 > 0:19:39and missing out on the lunchtime session.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41But, you know, on a clear day, you know, the sun's shining,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44you've got your book, waiting for a lift, cup of tea...
0:19:44 > 0:19:47- It wouldn't be that bad. - Nice life.- Aye, aye.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51They might have missed the first round,
0:19:51 > 0:19:55but I'm sure those crane drivers eventually made it to the pub.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00And just as well, because where would our pubs be without their regulars?
0:20:00 > 0:20:03It's time to meet a local who loves his local.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11Meet John Moonie. He's been coming to The Scotia for nearly 50 years.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13But he got interested in this place long before that,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16- when he was just a nipper.- How come?
0:20:16 > 0:20:20His dad would pop John and his sister into the theatre next door
0:20:20 > 0:20:23- while he came in here for a sly drink.- Genius.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27On a Friday night, my old man would leave me
0:20:27 > 0:20:29and my sister in the gods watching the first house
0:20:29 > 0:20:33and he would be down here having a few drams.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37So, later, I was determined, "I'd love to see this place."
0:20:37 > 0:20:40So I eventually saw it and fell in love with The Scotia.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42The Scotia sits right by the Clyde.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Near the old ferry stop where many a shipyard worker would have
0:20:46 > 0:20:48landed after a hard day's graft.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51But it's most famous for its music sessions.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53MUSIC PLAYS
0:20:56 > 0:21:01Billy Connolly and Jimmy Rafferty have given it laldy in here.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04It turns out the regulars join in regularly too.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Well, it's just a session, a jam session.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15Anybody's welcome to come in and just play and join them.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18The next thing you know, the whole pub is jumping.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20That is The Scotia atmosphere.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25It's said even legendary Woody Guthrie has sung here too.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28# This land is your land
0:21:28 > 0:21:31# This land is my land... #
0:21:31 > 0:21:33The story goes he popped in
0:21:33 > 0:21:36while his ship was docked for repairs during WWII.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39The Scotia's always been radical.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44It was always a working man's pub-cum-writers, musicians...
0:21:44 > 0:21:48An amalgam. As I say, back in the day, there's sailors,
0:21:48 > 0:21:53you had everything, bikers, lads from the shipyards, musicians.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55This pub is classless.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02The Scotia still welcomes people from all walks of life, which is
0:22:02 > 0:22:05exactly why it's John's home from home.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Cheers. Here's to The Scotia.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13You're welcome to come any time. Slainte.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21'We're now both back safely up the Clyde,
0:22:21 > 0:22:23'heading for the centre of Glasgow.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28'Once a dirty old town, now a cosmopolitan cultural capital.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31- 'Cosmopolitan? Isn't that the name of a drink?- Indeed it is.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33'And I know just the place we can get one.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36'And it owes its style all to shipbuilding.'
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Here you are, Si. Rogano.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42It's a famous Glasgow institution and you can see why.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44It doesn't look as though it's changed for years.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47Well, actually, mate, it looks really kind of Art Deco, doesn't it?
0:22:47 > 0:22:501930s. A bit posh. You know what?
0:22:50 > 0:22:55I can feel a cocktail or two coming on, dude. After you, sir.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59It's a fabulous place, all right.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03In 1935, as the Queen Mary took shape on the Clyde,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06local restaurateur Don Grant was so impressed
0:23:06 > 0:23:10he refitted his new place in the same Art Deco style.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13And a Glasgow legend was born.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15To tell us more is Ken McCulloch,
0:23:15 > 0:23:19who was responsible for restoring the bar in 1984.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22It's like stepping back into the 1930s.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25I feel like I'm part of a Poirot. Especially with this moustache.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27It suits you. You should be part of Poirot.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31- Thank you very much, Ken. - It's very Art Deco, Ken.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33- Can you tell us a bit of its history?- Sure.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35If you take it back to...
0:23:35 > 0:23:38I think there's always been a lot of deco influences in Glasgow.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43But particularly when the shipyards were building the liners
0:23:43 > 0:23:47and again, particularly the Queen Mary, which was built in Clydebank.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52A lot of the tradesmen who worked at the docks, I think,
0:23:52 > 0:23:58to make a few quid, were available when this was being refurbished.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01- So a lot of the workers from the shipyard would work here?- Yes.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04They were real craftsmen.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08When you rebuilt the bar, what did you actually change?
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Well, we had to change everything
0:24:10 > 0:24:12- because they found things that shouldn't be here.- Right.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17So what we basically did was we were able to keep the stuff
0:24:17 > 0:24:22that we wanted to keep, like, for instance, this mural that's here.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25This beauty as designed by Charles Cameron Baillie,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28who also worked on the Queen Mary's interior.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Ken was determined to reproduce as much as possible
0:24:32 > 0:24:35from the Queen Mary style, even if it meant a road trip to
0:24:35 > 0:24:39Huddersfield to the ship's original carpet makers.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43I drove to Huddersfield to where the carpet place was.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45He said, "What is it you're trying to create, exactly?"
0:24:45 > 0:24:48I said, "Well, if you can imagine the first class lounge
0:24:48 > 0:24:51"in the Queen Mary, that's what I'd like to create."
0:24:51 > 0:24:55He said, "Oh, right. Cos we did all the carpets for the Queen Mary."
0:24:55 > 0:25:00Within five minutes, we had carpets everywhere. And I spied this.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03And do you know, this was 1984 and it's not doing too bad, is it?
0:25:03 > 0:25:06It absolutely isn't.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08Ken, thank you so very, very, very much.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10- It's been a great pleasure. - Thank you, Ken. Thank you.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Thanks so much for coming to Glasgow. It's been a pleasure.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15You know, Kingy, all we need now is a good old-fashioned
0:25:15 > 0:25:18- cocktail to really put us in the mood.- I'm with you, mucker.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20I'm with you. Right. I'll follow you.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22- No, after you, Captain Pugwash. - I'm off.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28'And for a top-class cocktail, here's our top-class mixologist.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30'Scotty, beam us up, mate.'
0:25:30 > 0:25:33- Right. You might have heard of a cosmopolitan.- Yes.- Right.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35So what I thought we'd do is I would make up and shake up some
0:25:35 > 0:25:39cosmopolitans and allow you guys to get involved as well.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43- Excellent, Scotty.- Are you up for a bit of a challenge?- Certainly are.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Someone's got the wee shaker and somebody's going to get the big bullet shaker.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48You might need to fight over it.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51'Bizarrely, cocktails got popular during prohibition,
0:25:51 > 0:25:55'when America banned alcohol in the '20s and early '30s.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57'In illegal speakeasies,
0:25:57 > 0:26:02'the rough taste of bootleg gin was hidden with sweet syrups. Ingenious.'
0:26:02 > 0:26:04A little bit of cranberry juice in there as well.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07'When drinking went legal, cocktail bars boomed.'
0:26:07 > 0:26:11- Beautiful.- OK, now it's over to you, gents.- Wey!
0:26:11 > 0:26:14So you want to hold the top and bottom. Up here, OK?
0:26:14 > 0:26:18Take a step back with your right foot. OK. And shake it up and down.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21- Make it travel. That's it. - 'In the shaker, we have...
0:26:21 > 0:26:26- '45ml of citrus vodka. - 17ml triple sec.- 15ml of lime juice.
0:26:26 > 0:26:31- 'A dash of cranberry juice.- Some ice.- A bit of shaking, not stirring.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33'And the piece de resistance...'
0:26:33 > 0:26:35OK. So the final part here now...
0:26:35 > 0:26:38As avid foodies, you guys will realise the importance
0:26:38 > 0:26:41and power of aroma. Orange twist here.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44We have a lighter here and just hold it here.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47We use the side of the flame because the top of the flame is dirty.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52There we go. We scoot the orange oil on top. Do you smell that, yeah?
0:26:52 > 0:26:54- Can you smell it?- Oh, yeah.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58'So squeeze the flammable zest oil onto the flame and kaboom!
0:26:58 > 0:27:01- 'Easy for a chef. Go on, Dave.' - Three, two, one, squeeze!
0:27:02 > 0:27:07- I think I got me fingers in me cocktail!- Boys, enjoy.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12- We'll slip these two twists in there. And that's you...- Oh, wow.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15- Look. Like a slick.- You can see the oil on the top.- Amazing.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Yeah, that's a big part.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26- Oh, mercy me. - Oh, flippin' heck. Oh, that... Oh!
0:27:26 > 0:27:29- I can hear Glenn Miller going in my head.- So can I.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32MUSIC: "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Sadly, the golden era of glamorous transatlantic
0:27:35 > 0:27:38cocktail sipping on liners is long gone.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42As are most of the shipyards and the sprint for a goldie or a beer
0:27:42 > 0:27:45and a clear at the end of the shift.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48But from the down to earth boozers like Brechins Bar
0:27:48 > 0:27:51and The Scotia to the fine setting of the Rogano,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55the spirit of the Clyde's shipbuilding past lives on.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58I must say, Si, a couple of cocktails is a wonderful,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01fitting way to end our voyage around Glasgow.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03I absolutely agree, mate.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06I have to say, though, we've been in Scotland all this time
0:28:06 > 0:28:09and we've not even talked about whisky.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11So here is an amazing fact.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16Last year's whisky sales alone, if you took each individual bottle
0:28:16 > 0:28:22and laid them end to end, they would stretch a massive 18,000 miles.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27Crikey! I mean, that's Glasgow to New York six times over!
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Well, that's what I call a dram or two, mucker.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32- Cheers.- Cheers, mate. Cheers.
0:28:33 > 0:28:39# I belong to Glasgow Dear old Glasgow town
0:28:39 > 0:28:42# But there's something the matter wi' Glasgow
0:28:42 > 0:28:46# For it's goin' roun' and roun'
0:28:47 > 0:28:50# I'm only a common old working lad
0:28:50 > 0:28:53# As anyone can see
0:28:53 > 0:28:57# But when I get a couple o' drinks on a Saturday
0:28:57 > 0:29:01# Glasgow belongs to me! #