30/10/2026
I think we have just about picked ourselves off the floor after Sundays power cut disaster, that hurt an awful lot.
Well, another day, another reason reason to wonder if the government has actually RUN a pub!!
Apparently we’re supposed to
💷Pay higher wages
📈Pay 20% VAT
🍺Pay more duty - another 3.9%
🏠Deal with business rates that have doubled since the last budget
➕Navigate energy bills, insurance, supplier increases
❤️Keep delivering a brilliant experience without constantly putting our prices up. I have always strived to keep the b**r prices the lowest in the area.
And for all that? The support we get feels about as generous as a tic tak on a plate.
We absolutely support paying our staff properly. They work bloody hard, and they deserve it and i have the best team.
But here’s the reality: When the cost of running a business keeps rising; that money has to come from somewhere.
We can only absorb so much before some choices become very difficult and we’d rather not!
It’s just me here, the only pub in the village. We’re not a chain with other sites to spread the pain across. We cook all our meals freshly, buy quality ingredients from local suppliers, try and give opportunities to our young people in their first job, create a warm and inviting place to sit and catch up with friends and always put on entertainment and a reason worth coming out for.
So, to the Government: If hospitality is the heart of the high street or village, perhaps stop treating us like we’re there to fund the next lock in at a Westminster bar (to which the above doesn’t apply)
And to YOU, our customers. THANK YOU 💕
Every meal ordered, drink at the bar, event you attend at ours, every recommendation to a friend, review - genuinely matters. We know every penny counts nowadays.
You help us employ our team, support local suppliers and keep the lights on in a place that means something to the community.
We don’t take that for granted. Not for a second.
Please continue to support your local independant pub. We promise to keep doing our bit.
I am never one to talk politics as it is very divisive but this budget really has gone against all the promises and hope we were given.
