Linked to Sunday Scribblings 'absorbed'
Previously
in A Chequered Career……the Stage Door was well and truly on the gastro-map……..the
pre-theatre meal however was a victim of its own success. At around six o'clock
every evening we would go from empty to full within minutes and find ourselves
turning people away…..It was not long before the performers discovered us…….even
today, whenever I sit down in front of the TV I can guarantee seeing several
celebrities I’ve cooked for…..he made more of an impression on us than all of
the stars added together. He was Professor Britten…….he last thing he said to
me was 'Goodbye my dear friend'. He was buried in a cardboard coffin under a
tree in a copse.
CHAPTER 18 - A
PERFECT FACE FOR RADIO!
The Stage Door
Bistro had become a firm favourite, especially among the theatre going public. The
local paper loved us and provided us with welcome free publicity. Our humorous adverts
on Sovereign Radio were often commented on, so much so that I was invited to
host a weekly cookery programme live on air every Friday. I worked with a DJ,
Paul Martin who spun discs at intervals during the broadcast and pretended to
be assisting me in our imaginary kitchen. Listeners actually believed we were
cooking live on air even though we never actually said we were doing so! The idea behind the show was to offer a two or
three course menu for which I’d give recipes and cooking tips. I’d also suggest
suitable wines. I also took a few listeners questions. At this point I should remind
you that I had no formal training. All my preparations were concocted by
guesswork with a sprinkling of good luck thrown in. Whilst my recipes generally
worked, I had absolutely no idea about wine and I consulted reference books to
come up with my wine tips! As for the questions, I refused to take them live on
air, and I chose which ones to answer after thumbing through a trusty off-the-shelf
cookery book!
I had always
hankered after running a pub. I saw myself at the helm of a timbered country
inn, the type I loved to visit on rare days off. In retrospect, I made an
unwise choice when I decided to get myself a hostelry to run aside the Stage
Door. Glutton and punishment are the two
words which retrospectively spring to mind! I approached Greene King, one of
the UK’s oldest and most respected brewing companies. You may recall that I
mentioned a while back that my wife Sarah was a teacher and therefore only a
part timer in tour catering endeavors The thing was, Greene King had a strict
policy of only employing live-in couples. So Sarah bless her heart accompanied me
to the interview and managed not to let on that we would be continuing with her
full time job of educating the young folk of Eastbourne. Well, we got away with
it and viewed a few suitable boozers including the Kings Head at Rotherfield
which has become well known recently as the regular haunt of Lisa Marie Presley
Well, we didn’t choose that one, and instead settled on The Brewers Arms in the
rural and completely isolated village of Vines Cross. I should remind you that
whist all this was going on I was still running the Stage Door Bistro, although
I was little more hands-off as I had a manager by the name of Karen fronting up
the operation.
The Brewers
arms had been serving beer uninterrupted since 1753, even during the Second
World War when one of the bars was used as a schoolroom for evacuees from bomb
ravaged London. The locals called it The Clappers a name which went way back
over the centuries and is still its preferred title today. The building was
half original, with an additional piece tacked on the late 1800’s. In the old
part it was necessary to duck under some of the beams to avoid bumping your
head, whilst in the comparatively modern section, the ceilings were incredibly
high! The heating was supplied exclusively by three fireplaces, one of which
was in a cosy inglenook. There was of course a beer garden and it overlooked
open countryside, an area officially designated to be one of outstanding
natural beauty. We also had a delightful little children’s play area with a slide,
climbing frame and swings. There were just seventy small houses and cottages in
the village and the only other business was a car repair garage and body shop
across the road. The was a tiny church affectionately known as the Tin Hut due its
corrugated iron construction.
That was pretty well it. The pub was well and
truly at the hub of the community with all sorts of outside activities going on
such as club and council meetings, music festivals and the famous Vines Cross
Village Bonfire and firework celebration which had forever taken place on
Halloween night; more about that later!
We had the
traditional setup of rooms. The Public Bar was where the locals congregated to drink. From the high ceiling were hung eight antique bicycles including tree penny farthings. Also suspended above our heads were ancient wheelbarrows and various farm implements.The walls were adorned with groaning bookshelves and decorated with dozens of pictures by local amateur artists,. Above the wood burner was a blackboard with our menu scribbled in chalk. It was what is termed today ' shabby chic'!
The Saloon Bar served as a quieter place to drink as well as being a more formal place to eat. There was also a little snug which housed
one long table and then a small room at the far end known as the Clappers bar where the
walls and even the ceiling were completely covered in china plates, dishes,
cups, saucers and tea pots!
The pub had always been known for its wonderful displays of flowers especially in the spring and summer
months We had twenty hanging baskets, about ten half barrels and even an old toilet overflowing with petunias. Half of the building was covered in Virginia creeper which turned a shade of deep red in the autumn.. It was magnificent. Thank goodness for the automatic watering system I had installed!
For about thirty years the pub had been run
very successfully by a Welshman called John. He was much loved in the village
and when he suddenly died he was great loss to the community. His son ran it in a kind of care-taking roll until I came along to take over the reins. John was
to be a hard act to follow and I had to make a good impression from day one and
I was determined not just to carry on with the traditions but to add to them. I
inherited an excellent troop of staff members including Lynn who had been pulling pints behind the bar since her 21st birthday twenty five years
previously! I employed a new chef at the Stage Door Bistro and installed my
trusty cook Scott in the pub kitchen. It worked! In no time at all Sarah and I
had become absorbed in village life.
To be
continued
Who wouldn't want to visit a pub like this one? Glad you are continuing with your reminiscences they are a delight to read.
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