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BITS AND PUBS ............................... PUB: THE IDLE HANDS The Royal Standard at 59 Queens Road was recorded as early as 1859, but its showy façade – it’s worth taking a good look at the building from over the road – dates to the turn of the last century, probably 1899, when it was taken over by a William Frederick Baker. It gets a mention in Pevsner’s Architectural Guide, which praises the ‘relief decoration to its shaped gable’. Note the little cupola on the roof. It was subsequently run by a succession of landlords; it’s a fair bet that the one who got the least trouble from his customers was Tommy Farr, who took over in 1956. Tommy, nicknamed ‘The Tonypandy Terror’ was the British & Empire heavyweight boxing champion, who in 1936 took World Champion Joe Louis the full fifteen rounds. I imagine Mr Farr ran quite a tight ship, which can’t be said for the two landlords in charge in June 2016. The place had become well known as a hotspot for football-related violence, and when it was raided by the police that month the pair were found to be selling illegal smuggled liquor. The pub was closed down, and only kept its licence on the condition that the landlords were banned from running the premises. It’s since had a complete makeover, and a change of name. It’s now called ‘Idle Hands’, and, between the two terracotta hands that stick out of the doorframe greeting those who walk in, you can read ‘…Are the Devil’s Playthings’. It’s an independent joint, which has been running for four months; walk in and you’ll soon forget you’re amid the gritty bustle of Queens Road. They’ve given it an early 20th-century look, with wooden floors, claw-footed tables, and black-andwhite photos on the wall, subtly defaced – Chapman Bros-style – with pen marks. There’s the skull of an ibex wearing a jaunty cycling cap, and a stuffed crow above the bar. The menus are carefully stacked in an elegant 30s sideboard. On the window is written ‘craft beers, fine wines and artisan spirits’: it’s clearly now a place which takes its alcohol very seriously. There’s a menu board for beer, with prices, strength, and the slogan ‘we accept cash, cards or blood sacrifices’. I choose a Redchurch Brick Lane Lager (4.6%, £4.50) which goes down pretty well: in a more adventurous frame of mind I would have tried the whisky-aged cider (6.9%, £5). I’ll get that next time, to wash down one of their interesting-sounding ‘Cub Burgers’, perhaps the ‘Wolf’ (4oz patty with Swiss cheese, avocado salsa, lettuce, criolla onions, crispy pork belly and pineapple salsa, at £9.50). Alex Leith Painting by Jay Collins ....19....