Pub Zine: The Ruin

The forth pub we decided to visit is The Ruin in Digbeth. We decided to visit this pub as we had walked past a couple times and always thought that it looked interesting from the outside but have never actually gone in. The Ruin is actually a Grade 2 listed building which adds to the kind of vibe as it does feel quite worn down but in a good way. The inside as you will see below in one if the images has quite a quirky style with a bright interior. When we went inside The Ruin there were no other customers, but it was dinner time on a Friday so I imagine that a lot of people would still be in work. However, we decided to talk to the barmaid to get a view from a different perspective, she was quite happy to talk to us. We asked her what kind of people come into the pub and she said that they have a large student following as it is next to BIMM so they will often come in during the week, but she also said that on a weekend they usually get an older audience which she thinks could be due to the type of music they play which is low-fi hip-hop. She also told us that it does get a lot busier on Friday and Saturday nights as people will often come in before they go out round Digbeth, aswell because of the location, which is tucked away round the back of Digbeth, they will often get people coming in who have got lost and need directions but will stay and have a drink. The Ruin is also part of The Digbeth Dozen which is twelve of Digbeths best bars and attractions.

We then went on to interview her more about herself and one of the things we asked was why she worked at The Ruin. She replied that she used to work in a club in Wolverhampton as she's from there, but there was just no connection with the kind of people in there and it was too rowdy, so with her being at uni in Birmingham she decided to get a job in a bar there as the people were a lot more indie and you could actually hold a conversation with some of them; she did say aswell that they get quite a diverse range of people in The Ruin, some of which are quite strange and interesting in a good way. She mentioned that she was a singer in the band Hunger Moon who have a growing following in and around Birmingham so she often plays at venues which cross over as pubs such as The Sunflower Lounge, she will often take part in open mics which The Ruin also have. We went on to ask her opinion on independent pubs and she said that she will chose an independent pub over a chain all the time as she finds that they just have more character. One particular independent pub she spoke about which she said was her favourite is Cherry Reds which is near New Street.

Photographs by Jack