City of Sociability社交之城

【导读】西沃恩·基尔费瑟的《都柏林文化史》（Dublin： A Cultural History）2005年由牛津大学出版，著名文论家伊格尔顿作序。全书凡九章，涉及到爱尔兰文化的各个方面。爱尔兰首都都柏林被誉为社交之城，而酒吧则是交际的重要场所。圣殿酒吧、迈克达德酒吧、宫殿酒吧都是都柏林的著名酒吧。到都柏林游览，少不了去参观这些酒吧并喝上一杯，感受那里酒吧的氛围是了解都柏林文化的一个重要方面。事实上，光顾都柏林酒吧的，有作家、诗人、歌手、演员、冒险家、政客、记者、律师、学生各色人等。这是一个地道的交际所在，到都柏林不去这些酒吧体验一下，离开的时候一定会带着遗憾。

Sometimes friends from overseas who are planning to visit Dublin ask me what they should see and do. I am happy enough to make suggestions until they ask the two questions I dread： Where should I go to hear live music， and which are the good pubs？ Both these questions arise， I think， from the way that people choose to visit Dublin not to see anything in particular， but because they believe in its sociability. This， of course， is not a myth. Dublin is the most sociable of cities， although fifteen years ago one would have appended the caveat “unless you’re gay”. Happily， things have changed.

时有朋自海外来，欲访都柏林，问我何处值得一看、何事值得一做，我都乐意为他们出谋划策。不过有两个问题让我害怕作答，那就是：上哪儿去听一场现场音乐会？哪里的酒吧最好？这些问题的提出，我想是因为这些人造访都柏林不是专门看什么，而是深信都柏林是一座社交之城。当然，这想法没错。都柏林确实是社交生活最为活跃的城市，尽管15年前大家往往会加上“同性恋当心”的提醒。可喜的是，情况已经发生了变化。

In the 1990s Dublin was marketed in Britain and Germany as a “stag night” and “office party” destination， with the new fast ferries （which cross from Holyhead in 100 minutes） and the cheap flights offered by Ryanair making it an easy place to spend a weekend. By the start of the twenty-first century the spread of low-budget airlines， adjustments in the exchange rates， European Union enlargement and changes in fashion saw a drop in that party tourism （which migrated to Prague and elsewhere）.

20世纪90年代，都柏林在英国和德国是作为“告别单身之夜”和“办公室聚会”的所在而被推销的。因为新开辟了快船航道（从霍利黑德出发，100分钟就能到都柏林），瑞安航空公司也提供了便宜航班，去那里度周末就轻而易举了。21世纪刚开始，由于低价航班的扩张、汇率的调整、欧盟的扩大和时尚的变化，这个聚会旅游的打卡地风光不再（转去了布拉格和别的地方）。

Aspects of the heavy drinking culture were unattractive to other kinds of tourists， and Temple Bar， for instance， now actively discourages the “stag night” trade. That increase in tourism from the young caused some public order problems， but also contributed to a relaxed attitude that appeals strongly to multi-cultural tourists.

过度饮酒的文化对其他一些旅游者来说并无吸引力。比如，圣殿酒吧现在就积极支持取消“告别单身之夜”这一项目。来旅游的年轻人增多，尽管产生了一些公共秩序问题，却也增添了轻松气氛，大大吸引了多文化旅游者。

But sociability is not a commodity that can be ordered with a pint of stout. A visitor might get a lot of pleasure from visiting pubs that are beautifully dec-orated and pubs that have interesting historical associations. Many a visitor enjoys a drink in the Palace Bar or McDaid’s in the knowledge that these are places where Patrick Kavanagh1， Flann O’Brien2 and Brendan Behan3 might have been seen in the 1940s and 1950s.

但社交并非商品，不可用一品脱烈性黑啤酒换得。装修漂亮的酒吧和能令人联想起很多有趣历史故事的酒吧，可能会让游客得到很多快乐。许多游客喜欢在皇宫酒吧或麦克戴兹喝上一杯，因为他们知道，20世纪40年代和50年代，帕特里克·卡瓦纳、弗兰·奥布赖恩和布伦丹·贝汉都可能光顾过此地。

Fans of Ulysses will probably go into Davy Byrne’s because that is where Leopold Bloom had his lunch. Neary’s was traditionally a theatrical bar， and Doheny & Nesbitt’s was always popular with politicians， journalists and lawyers. John Kehoe’s， the pub closest to the National Library， has a great traditional decor and is very busy in the evenings， with customers spilling out into the streets. The Republic of Ireland has recently introduced a ban on smoking in public places， and this is felt most dramatically in the changed atmosphere in pubs. J. P. Donleavy’s description of McDaid’s in the 1940s is a reminder that it is people， not places， who make great pubs：

《尤利西斯》的粉丝不妨去戴维·伯恩酒吧，因为那就是利奥波德·布鲁姆吃午饭的地方。尼亚里是一个传统的戏剧酒吧，而多尼-内斯比特酒吧则是政客、记者和律师们常去的地方。离国家图书馆最近的约翰·基欧酒吧有着很棒的传统装饰，晚上生意非常繁忙，大量顾客在那会儿涌上街头。最近，爱尔兰共和国实施了公共场合禁止抽烟的法令，使气氛大为不同，在酒吧最为显见。J. P.唐利维对20世纪40年代麦克戴兹酒吧的描写让我们明白，成就好酒吧的，不是场所，而是人：

If a drink were needed in the pub as it invariably was following anyone’s meeting one another for more than three minutes， folk would only have to descend the stairs， step out across the street and walk twenty yards to the corner， turn left by the exotic furs displayed in a window， and proceed past Tom Nisbet’s painting gallery and into John MacDaid’s pub. Which advertised “Where the drink is efficacious and the conversation effervescent”. Slowly but surely this converted church at 3 Harry Street with its cold， barren， lofty interior， its grim downstairs lavatory and a back door out to a side lane， became an established meeting place for poets， painters， writers， and various chancers and con men， the latter who， poor souls， erroneously thought such people worth associating with. Although this public house had a bemused owner and an extremely pleasant and understanding bartender， the only one in Dublin ever to have bought yours truly4 a drink， nevertheless this big grim room to have become celebrated in any manner， was a mystery to all who went there.

见面超过三分钟就需要到酒吧喝上一杯，这是常事——若如此，只需下楼梯，出门过马路，走20码至街角，在一个展示异国皮草的橱窗前左转，再往前经过汤姆·尼斯贝特画廊，就进入约翰·迈克达德酒吧了。酒吧的广告词是“畅饮热聊之地”。这个酒吧位于哈里街3号，由教堂改建而来，室内一片高冷萧瑟，连楼下的卫生间都阴森可怖，一扇后门连通外面的小巷，如今渐渐定型为诗人、画家、作家，以及各种投机者和骗子的固定聚集地。这帮投机者和骗子，一些可怜的家伙，错误地以为那些文艺界人士值得交往。这家酒吧有个风趣逗乐的老板，还有个讨人喜欢且善解人意的酒保（他是都柏林唯一请我喝了一杯的人）——尽管如此，这么一间森严的房舍如何变身成了鼎鼎大名的酒吧，这对所有去过的人来说依然是一个谜。

Likewise you will find the music you are interested in by talking to people and by looking at the papers， but if you have never had the slightest interest in Irish music do not expect to be able to walk into some charming little pub and have the locals entertain you.