I post this to bring to your attention your unintentional thoughtlessness when you come to Tynecastle and to apologise to a perfectly pleasant young man who I roared at last Saturday.

Those of you who know it will appreciate the Diggers as a good pub for pre match refreshment at Tynecastle and that it is very much a Hearts pub. What you will likely not know is that it is the only hostelry within striking distance of Tynecastle that admits children under 14 and then only to its back room where it has a licence for children. The last two games at Tynecastle between our teams has seen the back room at the Diggers stowed out with Caley supporters. The result has been that many Hearts fans who bring their children have been unable to access the back room and therefore had to leave the pub.

I have been going to the Diggers on match days for many years and taking my youngsters ( aged 24 to 8) since they were old enough to go to the football. Last Saturday was the first occasion I have not been able to have a pre match pint since I was of age to have one because I could not get into the back room with my wife and 2 youngest ( I was not alone with this problem). While you are all very welcome as sort of our guests for the day and hope you enjoy the Diggers could you please stay out the backroom and let it be a family room on match days.

While I had managed to squeeze into it last seasonwhen you came I could not last Saturday. I lost the plot and gave one of your fans a bollocking about it.  If he is reading this he has my apologies.

Don't really know what to make of this post. 'Unintentional thoughtlessness'- somebody has a way with words  :017:

I think the reason ICT fans gravitate towards the Diggers is BECAUSE it allows kids. That's been stated in the past.

Last week we got held up and didn't get there till the back of two. The place was so mobbed we couldn't get in the front door, never mind the back room.

BTW since Naelifts had just come off a nightshift he was gagging for a drink, so we went into a newsagents in Gorgie Road and he mooched a pound off me for a coke. While we were in there a jambo with a young daughter went past me and said, presumably to us, 'cheating scum'. Now what was that all about?

R-V firstly mantis is right, your grammer is *****. 

secondly, i dont understand your complaint that you couldnt get a drink because you were with your children, yet the childrens area of the pub was chocked full of ICT fans.  you seem to be stating that your 'youngsters (aged 24...'.  surely they are old enough to go to the pub without mummy and daddy holding their hands!! :016:

R-V the simple fact is you are taking this issue up with the wrong people.  in future, if you want to take your 24 year old ' children'  to the diggers on match day, perhaps you should highlight this crowding problem to the pub management! 

I have to say kingkojak your response to the jambo supporrter was sh1te, the guy was genuine and you were as usual a total pratt.

Jake : Are you trying to wind us all up again? KingKojack's response was most appropriate....

The Jambo should have addressed his complaint to the Diggers staff/management.

and.....  "I agree with Mantis....."

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You  dont find it srange that after years of this guy using the family room in his boozer. that suddenly a load of guys who are not confident with using the ADULTS bar all squeeze in and then familys cant get in. If they are not confident drinking with ADULTS then dont drink.

Wind up johnboy what on earth do you mean.

Guess you must be an old jambo, Jake... Either that or you are being unintentionally thoughtless...!!!

Old Jambo Johnboy. :016:

What do you keep coming on here for then....?? Surely it can't just be to annoy me..??  :012:

Two points I'd like to make:

1. I've only been in Diggers once, in our first season, and was actually directed to the family room by the doorman. Presumably in some form of segregation.

2. The majority of visiting supporters use Diggers so the problem must surely arise every other week.

Visiting fans use Diggers, partly because its child friendly, but mainly because some of the other pubs around the area dont allow visiting fans. Robbo's pub being one of those.

This gentleman is unhappy, what about the many visiting fans who are unhappy at the way they are made to feel totally unwelcome when visiting the Gorgie area. At least at the Leith end of the city I have always been made to feel welcome.

All very strange - I could understand the issue (kinda) if your kids were like 10 or 11 or something, but 24???  Please tell me that was a typo  :017:

At the end of the day it's a pub and kids shouldn't be there, was never like that when I was a lad, we were given a pack of crisps and a tin of juice and left to sit on the pavement outside.  No wonder kids or so soft these days, not to mention the fact many of them are alcoholics by the age of 14. *insert tongue in cheek smiley here*

Seriously though, I can understand you being a bit peeved at not being able to get in to your regular watering hole because it is full, but I fail to see you getting any kind of positive response from the visiting fans regarding the matter.  We aren't likely to pitch up there later in the year and say "Oh aye, better not go to Diggers because Racaille_Verte might want to take his kids in to the back room for drink".

Maybe if you tried getting there a bit earlier that may solve the problem, and then it will be the visiting fans who have to find somewhere else because it is full.  The landlord isn't likely to turn away trade on the off chance someone more "worthy" may turn up later wanting a drink, all he's likely to be interested inis people spending money...be that yours or ours, I doubt he really cares.

I have to say kingkojak your response to the jambo supporrter was sh1te, the guy was genuine and you were as usual a total pratt.

jake - get a grip.  the message was more than appropriate!  im sure his children arent 24 and that was a typo as caley d suggested but im not going to apologise for taking the p1sh.... 

i appreciate the jambos message was genuine - so was my final suggestion that hes complaining to the wrong people!!   

I posted (24 to 8) [ twenty four to eight] and either someone edited it to replace the "8" with a smillie or your software has a glitch.

The reason I gave the age range was to show how long I had been going with the family and by implication without the sort of problems I raised in the post.

Although the Diggers is a good pub, apart from yourselves the only away support who come to it pre match in more than a handful are those optimists from Dundee F.C. and they stay in the main bar. The issue I raised has never been a problem before. I suggest it might be good manners for those of you without children  ( and that appeared to be most of you) to stay in the main bar. And ... yes I could raise the matter with the manager but I would prefer to do so with the owner who I have known well for a very long time but that should not be necessary.

I agree many pubs in the area are not opposition friendly. With the exception of the Tynecastle Arms, I would not go to any pub on Gorgie Road and especially Robertsons. Apart from the fact that it only sells fizzy beer a small proportion of their clientele would be better suited joining their soulmates in the Copeland Road Stand at Castle Greyskull. However you could try the Caley Sample Room just along the road from the Diggers for a change of scenery. A good real ale pub and should be welcoming. 

Racaille_Verte :

I doubt very much if the manager, or your friend the owner of Diggers, would be very well pleased with your comments here in suggesting a suitable alternative pub  for our supporters.... Diggers has long been a favourite Embra watering hole of mine.... and not just on match days....

Should I stop going in there now lest I offend one of the regulars who likes to take his kids (aged 24 & 28) to the family room.....

What would you say to the doorman who was directing our fans to the family room?

Im very confused over the Hearts Supporters problem. 

I was in the back room with my two children and have always been welcomed as have the ict fans without children.  Also as has been said previous, we have in the past been guided by the management to the back of the pub.  If this room is supposed to be for families only then it might have been an idea if the management had said this and nobody would have had a problem.

One other point, it was not just ICT fans in the back room without kids, there were several Hearts fans!

Eh reckon the clue's in the title " Diggars PUBLIC house"

A'hm wondering what age does a Jambo's kids have to be before they are considered  capable of going anywhere without mummy & daddy..?? Into their thirties, maybe.....??

Is this something peculiar to that area...??

:006: :006:

I meant to say, like HE, last time I was there (dec last year, 0-0) the fans were mixed in the back room and it was good banter. When did we ever have enough fans so it was 'stowed out'?

I am not sure where the missunderstanding comes from. DOES IT MATTER IF THIS GUYS KIDS ARE 24 AND 28 SURELY YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE YOUR KIDS INTO THE FAMILY BAR. and not expect kingkojak and all his mates hiding from the real world in the back bar. be up front and go into the bfront bar. as for Johnboy i always thought that after 23 years away, i would support another scottish team. i left a long time ago and now watch and support Portsmouth. i decided to support Caly Thistle as my Scottish team, and do enjoy the banter. I am up in Scottland very soon so if you guys want to do a parachute jump for charity i will try and help. i am dissapionted that just becuase i am not a highlander that you question why i should be on this site. you may tell a few jokes Jonboy but you have no sense of humour. when i come up i look forward to meeting some of you guys espesialy you Johnboy

Hope you enjoy your visit to Scottland.

For those of you who don't know, it's a small fishing village 150 miles north of Tromso famous for whale's balls and Harald Brattbak. One's a hit the other a miss!