I have heard a rumour today which I'm hoping to God is true (and I've no reason to disbelieve it).

If what I've heard is true I know at least one other Northern Irish blogger who will be celebrating for apparently Deez (née Hunters) bar 600 capacity venue is to undergo another change of management.

Several months ago Hunters was taken over. The new owners/management, with their obviously vast aptitude for marketing, decided that they would attempt to attract the scummiest, most brain-dead and most yobbish segment of the market they possibly could (reports of punters spitting on the floor should really come as no surprise therefore). In pursuit of the lowest-common-denominator they renamed the bar "Deez" (yes, with a z), purchased a small yellow car and plastered it with pink spots and the new logo, deemed that the establishment was no longer a simple pub, oh no, it became a "600 capacity venue" and finally decided that the bar should have it's own (completely tasteless) Bebo page rather than a web site.

Follow up:

I can't help but suspect Deez was the brainchild of some wee lad who always thought running a nightclub would make him really cool but who lacked even the basic business acumen to actually turn a profit doing so. Everything about the new brand was cheap, gimmicky, tacky and vulgar. In fact those words don't do it justice. When first I saw that indescribably horrible little motor they used to promote the place and saw it was on the Lisburn Road I thought "thank God it's nowhere near me" - obviously I shouldn't have been so hasty. This all despite the fact that before reverting to its original name of Hunters the previous failed incarnation, Vaughan's, had included a nightclub (Tonic) aimed at a similar segment of the market. Learning from your mistakes is a fundamental skill for life and for business. Learning from other peoples' is just as important and costs you a lot less!

Needless to say I haven't set foot in it since, despite it being the closest drinking establishment to me (thank God for Ryans). Despite never accepting their invitation to "Eat. Drink. Dance.", I will happily take this opportunity to dance on the grave of Deez (hopefully I'm not doing so prematurely) and hope the new management see sense, revert to the name Hunters and give us our f**king pub back. Having not ventured in since the change I've no idea if the pool tables are still there or if they weren't clubby enough. If they've been removed, they should be reinstated ASAP.

I heard something a while back that Botannic Inns were interested in purchasing the place; though I've no idea whether they actually did (though that would explain the change of management). As much as I hate monopolies generally (for Botannic Inns own about 300% of the bars in Belfast) and dislike Botannic Inns specifically I must say I would welcome even this; anything is preferable to the insufferable vulgarity of "Deez".