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- Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2014 1:21 am
lucky wrote:To revert to a happier post - I was glad to see the discussion of Club X and the old gay/gay-friendly scene as there's a new Facebook page collecting information on "Lost LGBT Cardiff" and there are questions about lots of gay venues that are long gone, from rough spots in the docks like the Windsor Tavern (?) to the back bar of the Angel in the 1960s. Bringing over a few specific queries, does anyone here remember anything about: The Amsterdam (under the Showbiz); The Custom House; Charlestons (Bute Street somewhere); The Bristol Hotel; The Salutation (opposite the Golden Cross?); The Glendower, where Callaghan Square is now; and the Fishguard Arms? Most of these were mixed, we think? And there are loads more places mentioned, like Exit and Hunters and The Tunnel.
Okay, here goes.
1. I'm guessing the 'Windsor Tavern' was the 'big Windsor' which is now the Cardiff Bay Juboraj. The 'little Windsor' around the corner was a local pub. Dic Mortimer writes about both here. https://dicmortimer.com/2012/10/07/absent-friends/
2. I'm not sure about the 'back bar' of the Angel. Does that refer to the 'City Tavern' / 'Castle Bar' in the basement? It was a rent boy hangout back in the day.
3. Remember the Showbiz but not the Amsterdam.
4. The Bristol Hotel, The Salutation, The Glendower and the Fishguard Arms. I drank in all of those. It's stretching a point to describe them as 'mixed'. They were pubs where many (mainly female) sex workers hung out.
Exit, Hunters and the Tunnel came much later after places like Sirs and the Casino Club.