The Elephant Faversham Ltd

09/05/2026

Due to foreseen circumstances The Elephant on The Mall is closed today (Saturday), reopening tomorrow normal hours

23/04/2026

PRS/PPL biggest bunch of robbing bars*rds, removed my audio equipment let them know and now threatening action for non payment 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

12/02/2026

Why can’t the biased BBC shove the Olympics on BBC 52 and keep BBC1 as normal, why keep swapping channels??, not everyone wants to see a dismal Winter Olympics 🤬

27/01/2026

This Sunday 1/02/2026 The Elephant is closed all day. Staff Christmas dinner.

26/01/2026

A spoof from the Spire magazine in Faversham

26/01/2026

Who’s voted for this Labour government??, we are now paying for your stupidity and we’re losing pubs shops and restaurants

👻↪️ THE GHOST OF A U-TURN ↩️👻
(OR: HOW TO KILL A PUB IN TOTAL SILENCE)

Whatever happened to that "u-turn" we were promised? Remember a few weeks ago? The headlines were full of the Chancellor "listening" and "averting a rebellion" with a u-turn on the business rates hike? 🤔

Since then? Total silence. 🤐🤫

While the government pat themselves on the back for "promising" to help, those of us on the front line are looking at the cold, hard numbers for the year ahead. 🥶

And the numbers don't lie, even if politicians do. 🤥

My Rateable Value is increasing by 104%. 📈💀

Let that sink in.

They aren't just moving the goalposts; they’re digging up the pitch and charging me double for the mud!

You can talk about "lower multipliers" and "permanent relief" all you want in Davos or Westminster, but when the base value of a building doubles overnight, a 5p discount on the tax rate is like putting a plaster on a severed leg! 🩹🩸

Here’s the reality of the "Silence Strategy"…

☠️ The "Pub-Only" Distraction:
They’ve hinted that maybe, just maybe, pubs will get a bit of extra help…while the rest of hospitality is left to drown. It’s a classic divide and conquer. But a pub doesn't survive in a ghost town! If the local restaurants and shops go bust because of these rates, the "social fabric" they claim to love becomes a threadbare rag.

☠️ The Vanishing Act:
A "promise" to look at a package isn't a policy. You can't pay a VAT bill with a press release from three weeks ago. We are days away from a new season of costs, and we are still flying blind!

☠️ The 104% Reality:
How many businesses do you know that can survive a 100%+ increase in their core property tax? In what world is that "supporting the high street"?

The British Pub isn't a bottomless ATM for the Treasury! 💸

It’s a community hub, run by people who are tired of being told "help is coming" while the bailiffs are circling the block. 😰

I’m done with the "hints" and the "maybes”! 🤷‍♂️

We need the details, we need them now, and we need them to actually mean something!! 🤬

Is your local facing a "valuation nightmare" like mine? Are you seeing your favorite spots go quiet because they don't know if they'll be solvent by summer?

Drop a comment below! Share this post!

Let’s keep making as much noise as we can, because the silence from the Treasury is deafening! 📢

21/01/2026

True

🍺 PUB vs SUPERMARKET 🛒

The price of a pint at your friendly local pub is a LOT more than a couple of tins are from the nearest supermarket! No s**t Sherlock! 🕵🏻‍♂️

As well as being grossly unfair on the hospitality industry, this difference is also hugely damaging to society!

So…

🔍 Why the price difference? 🔍

VAT DISPARITY
🛒 Supermarkets pay little to no VAT on food sales, allowing them to subsidise alcohol prices.
🍺 Pubs pay higher VAT (20%) on ALL sales, making it harder to compete.

OVERHEADS
🛒 Supermarkets have lower business rates, energy costs, and labour costs compared to pubs.
🍺 Pubs face substantial business rates, higher energy, and increased staff costs, all impacting the final price of a beer.

LOSS LEADERS
🛒 Supermarkets use cheap alcohol to draw customers in, who then buy other profitable items.
🍺 Pubs struggle to even offer “happy hours” these days, due to Licensing regulations around promoting excessive drinking.

🤔 Is any of this fair? Is it f**k!

But this goes well beyond fairness…

There is, obviously, a societal cost associated with alcohol consumption…

A cost to the NHS and the Police, a cost to families and individuals, a cost to society as a whole…

Yep, a pub landlord is standing here and saying: booze can indeed be bad! 😱🤯

BUT…

And it’s a big one…
(I like big buts and I cannot lie!)

🍺 Pubs facilitate moderate drinking in a controlled and regulated social environment. We are literally licensed and regulated to ensure we keep you safe. And we actually want to keep you safe - we do actually give a s**t about you! A pub is somewhere others can monitor your consumption and well-being, whilst also offering all the social benefits you come here for in the first place.

🛒 Supermarkets, on the other hand, take your money and then no further f**ks are given. Without the regulated environment, without the social constraint of a public setting or the need to travel home, it can be easier to drink excessively and in isolation, with all of the negative implications that can carry on both a personal and societal level.

🤔 So what can we do about it?

So long as alcohol continues to be legal in this country (which I firmly believe it absolutely f**king should, because…beer! 🍺🤤), we have one really bloody obvious option…

One option that addresses both of the above issues and helps ensure the long term survival of our cultural mainstay: The Great British Pub…

TAX SUPERMARKETS MORE. TAX PUBS LESS.

It’s literally that simple! 🤷‍♂️

Encourage public safety and save a British institution all by simply getting taxation the right way round. 🙌

Tell me I’m wrong! Because it seems really bloody obvious to me…surely government can see it too?!?