Why I signed the Proud of Pubs Charter - and why I believe in my pub
We are professional licensees and have been running successful pubs for the past 27 years. We are very proud of our pub and the part that we play in the local community. We provide a safe environment in which people can meet friends, eat excellent fresh food and have fun. Pubs play a very important part in local communities, whether they're in a village or in a city. Their projected image should be so much more positive than it is at the moment.
Brits are able to go to their local, talk their problems out with friends or staff they are comfortable with and go home feeling better. If Americans had pubs like ours, they wouldn't have the need for so many psychiatrists!
This applies to people of all ages and from all walks of life. Our pub, the Wheatsheaf, still has lots of elderly customers. Pubs are getting a bad image and the trade needs to stand up and do itself justice. We need people to talk up their pubs and realise their benefit.
The industry raises lots of money for charity, for example, which the Daily Mail never mentions. Bingeing is only one tiny reality of publicans' lives.
Years ago, when pubs started to close in large numbers, they were sorely missed, and this may be about to happen again. We realise that rents are going up and it's becoming more difficult to turn a profit, but we need to keep the pub alive.
It's about having a belief in pubs. You can't say it's just a job. You have to see it as a way of life. We've got to the stage where we have to be positive.