Frenchies, Edinburgh

A local historian told me that this tiny hole-in-the-wall bar used to be like a waiting room for and maybe an extension of the executive sauna located upstairs. Indeed it still retains a small stage and a pole where no doubt a little dancing may have taken place. However things could not now be any more different, it is an overtly in your face gay bar, which is obvious the moment you walk in. In fact the first thing that hits you is the dark, dingy atmosphere and the downright filthiness of the place, from the threadbare carpets to the peeling wallpaper. Which is probably why these two straight blokes had reached the bar before realising it was full of geezers gayer than the gayest Hussar. However we stayed and had a pint whilst the queens camped it up as much as they could to take the piss out of us. Having looked at the outside, the only thing more surprising than why anyone would want to go in is why they would stay there for any length of time once they had.