Mandalyns Wins Again

23rd January 2008
by Darryl W Bullock

It looks set to be a busy couple of weeks for Lyn, Claire and the crew at Mandalyn's. The place may be about to change hands, but the girls aren’t about to call it a day just yet: Bath’s leading gay pub has just won both the Best Bar in the South West and the Best Bar in Britain in the Pink Paper Awards for 2008 and Lyn and Claire are about to make honest women of each other as they get married on January 26.

"We're absolutely over the moon," Claire tells me about the award, "And that’s an understatement!"

"It’s a real boost for our regular customers," adds Lyn. "Bath’s gay scene is quite special; and it’s nice that the rest of the country has recognised that what we do here is unique. We don't have separate bars for the chickens or the bears like you do in Bristol, we all just get along together."

The pub previously won the award for the South West in 2006, but Lyn was amazed to hear that they had scooped the countrywide title this time round too. "It’s very rare for the Britain award to go outside London," she tells us, "And everyone is thrilled."

"The awards are chosen completely by our readers, not by some self-appointed committee," Tris Reid-Smith, the editor of the Pink Paperb said, "This year we have had thousands upon thousands of people voting. It’s a real popularity contest; they are the biggest gay, lesbian and bisexual awards in Britain, and Mandalyn’s have done incredibly well."

Lyn tells us that Mandalyn’s has been bought by Paul Williams, owner of Swansea's Hush bar and nightclub. "I'm glad we waited and chose the right guy. He knows the business and can probably do this job better than I can!" Once the sale goes through Lyn and Claire will settle down to a semi-peaceful life on board their own Dutch barge, moored in Bath Marina. "But I still want to keep my hand in," she says. "I'd could come back and look after the bar on BLiS (Bath Lesbians into Socialising) nights once a month perhaps."

Friends and regulars who wish Lyn and Claire all the best for their future together and mark their civil partnership can do so at the pub on January 27, when the Rev Kieren Bourne of Bath's Living Springs Metropolitan Church, will hold a blessing followed by a celebratory party in the evening.

Mandalyn's 13 Fountain Buildings, Lansdown Hill, Bath. Ffi: 01225 425403. Open daily until midnight, 2am at weekends.

(c) Darryl W. Bullock. Darryl is a freelance writer and L&G editor of Venue, Bristol and Bath's weekly what's on magazine. This article previously appeared in Venue, and appears here by kind permission.

www.writesight.com/writers/thisispop