SANDY Bell’s is a pub of stories. Proudly declaring itself to be the ‘home of world-renowned folk music’, plenty of other people are better placed than I am to tell you of the history of the pub, particularly its associations with the folk music revival.
The premises are a former corner shop on the ground floor of an imposing Edinburgh Old Town tenement.
Despite some tough times, it remains a convivial mix of locals, students and tourists.
Online reviews are usually excellent with a few folk highlighting the downsides of cramming lots of people into a small space, with limited facilities and, as a ‘wet’ pub, no bar meals.
This couthy place doesn’t suit everyone, but I loved it from the first time I came to Edinburgh.
Now, it has become place for good tunes and memorable encounters.
It’s not for the architectural merit that this is my favourite building in Edinburgh.
I play music there and have done so regularly for over 25 years. I’ve had a birds-eye view of the ebb and flow. As people come and go, I’ve had conversations and played music with all sorts of people that I wouldn’t otherwise have met.
There are, of course, people who take lots of photographs, fail to buy a drink and leave.
We often get fellow musicians from out of town looking for a tune and, just recently, we were sketched at play by a couple of young women from the Netherlands off the next day on the North Coast 500.
Tourists come in all guises. Canadians, Americans (some disguised as Canadians) and Australians looking for their ancestors and good whisky. A couple from the USA who were befriended by our late departed concertina player remain good friends and regular visitors, wistfully looking to decamp to Edinburgh, full-time.
Recent times have been memorable, sometimes wild, at others rather poignant.
The Italians on a works outing from an Irish bar in Turin will not forget their trip to Edinburgh. The same night there were some international students from London.
Steel drums are not a traditional instrument in Scottish or Irish music, but one of them did a great job of joining in. Unconventional and joyous.
We had great tunes with some musicians over in Edinburgh from Ireland for a funeral.
Their singer, formerly of a ‘raucous, fun and captivating’ Irish band was coaxed to sing a beautiful ballad by our piano player. Another time, they graciously gave up their seat to a New York jazz pianist who had a go and decided better of it.
We’ve had other stars here too. Some lie low or stay at the bar. Local friends who know the ropes might make sure to get them the right seat.
For many people, live music is a rare treat. But many talented people come to Scotland to hear music and, in the process, share their own. Luckily for us, a fieldtrip to study unaccompanied Gaelic psalm singing in the Hebrides might well start in Sandy Bells.
Fascination with the banjo led a young Moroccan woman to share clips of Berber music played on the same instrument.
Pubs like this are a great shared space. Room for spontaneity, connection and learning about each other and what we share. They show the best of what a city can be. And when I’m a tourist myself, I remember that.
Dr Cathy Sharp had an early career as a housing and planning policy researcher and was once the research manager at Scottish Homes. She founded Research for Real in Edinburgh in 2002 and now draws on her experience to write Grow as We Go. She is recognised in the UK and internationally for work that challenges thinking and practice about leadership, participation, research, learning, and evaluation. She is an Honorary Professor in the School of Health at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.
Image details: copyright Mike Wilson; text copyright Cathy Sharp