Biography, Autobiography, Old Steve of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom

1. The finding of the Pub and the then economic climate, at that time, started the long and protracted process of moving and that is something that is not easy when it entails moving from one business to another and where the private accommodation, in both cases, are part and parcel of the package.

2. Initially our biggest problem was to sell a business that was going down and the financial records of the previous five years or so, certainly showed and reflected that, and they would be the records that potential buyers would be taking away to show Accountants and Bank Managers etc. So we set the price as low as we could without giving the place away and although it took several months, someone eventually came along. They had, apparently, a large family, with some of them working, and they proposed to occupy a large proportion of the accommodation themselves and use the remainder to cater, at a reduced level, for the Holiday Trade. Their decision! Prior to that we had a Solicitor string us on for months with the promise that he would buy it for his wife but despite several, all to be paid for, approaches from our Solicitor, he never signed anything. The prat. He still works for the local CPS. Then there was another guy who rang and offered us five thousand less than we were asking and claimed that we would eventually sell to him. After that he rang regularly, once a week, and offered one thousand less than the previous week. He would also try and remind us that we had lost yet another thousand as he would have purchased the week before, at his previous offer, but for that now it was too late and we were continuing to loose money at the rate of a thousand a week and should realise that the sooner we let him have it the better for all of us. In the end I asked him if he would like to save some money and not surprisingly he said yes. So I suggested he stop ringing and save the cost of his phone calls and that I would count off the weeks and deduct at the rate of a thousand a week for him and then if I hadn't managed to sell by the time the purchase price had dwindled to nothing I would ring him and tell him where to collect the keys on his free purchase. Silly sod, but then I suppose with some people it might work. Some time later we found out that he was local and his particular speciality was handling Guest Houses and Flats on behalf of women divorcees. He would suggest to them that he bought their property at a ridiculously low price and then when the courts had awarded half of it to their husbands he would top up the woman's half with a cash settlement. The women loved the idea of pulling one over the estranged husband by ending up with more than half for themselves, which had it been doubled would have probably been a fair price for the property. He, in turn, was highly delighted and would open yet another of his 'Christian Homes' for young men, that he had a special interest in. He, and the likes of him, did more than his fair share towards the decline of Scarborough.

3. We squared everything off with the Bank, the Brewery and the Solicitors and at the end of the day ended up with part of a twenty-one year lease that we had got for slightly less than the going rate for leases on Pubs, in those days, and a much less Bank Loan and a business where the paying off of that loan would present no problem. Or the Banks must have thought so for they took a reducing lease as collateral. They did however insist on a substantial Insurance Policy that would prove to be quite significant later on and a survey by their nominated surveyor and for which we would have to pay. The then Landlady of the Pub would later complain, very bitterly, and claim that had it not been for the fact that they were eager to leave, she would have taken the matter further, as apparently and according to her, this surveyor was drunk, rude and suggestive and hinted at several ways in which she might persuade him to waive his fee. His final survey was then a waste of paper as his inventory included the property that belonged to the brewery, things that would be taken away, such as their personal effects, and things that I would buy both from them and the brewery. So not only was the man a local magistrate but he was an idiot of very low moral character and had no idea of his terms of reference or what he was doing and he cost me.

4. We had also listened to some Brewery Senior Area Manager tell us that from then on everything that went down your neck, with the exception of water, had to be bought from him. He had come up through the ranks, starting as a drayman, then foreman and then as an area manager and so on, until finally, going down again to a quality control inspector before being sacked and no wonder. Our lease basically stated that we were only tied to the brewery for the purchase of bulk wet-stock, i.e. barrels of beer, lager and cider in exchange for them providing the lifting equipment, pumps, coolers etc. and that we were free to purchase, on the open market everything else, which included bottled beers, soft drinks and spirits. A few years later all that would change with the introduction, through Parliament, of the 'Beer Orders' Act that would signal, among many other things, the death of the Great British Pub. But that is yet another story. We were moving and that would be on the Bank Holiday Monday in August. One of the worst possible days to choose as we, at the 'Hotel,' had guests in. It was the last Public Holiday of the year and so the town and naturally the pub were busier than usual. But the people going out of the pub said fine by them, as they were keen to go, and those coming into our place said the holiday was the only convenient time for all of them to be off work and to move, so our solicitor shrugged his shoulders and so we had to agree. After the time delay and everything else, we were the last ones to want to jeopardise things at this crucial stage.

5. I felt sorry for the people staying with us, at the time, but all I could do was tell them, the night before, what was happening and at my wife's insistence inform them that up to that point we would not be invoicing them for their stay. The least, she said, we could do to prevent any repercussions.

6. The day of the actual move was a complete shambles, as everything had to be done in the one day. To start with the removal firm that were to move us were late and when they did arrive, it turned out they were the same firm that were to move the people into our place, but we didn't know that beforehand and so they turned up with a gang of men and a full load, belonging to the incoming family and had nowhere to put it. When challenged as to why they had done it that way the guy in charge claimed it was because the incoming family had said there would be plenty of room. They were not happy when I insisted that all my stuff should leave before I allowed anything to be offloaded and brought in. There was a delay and panic, on everyone's part, until they located another van and it arrived, knocking down a stone gate post as it backed into the Car Park and sparking off the first of many arguments that would follow on that day, and days after, as they loaded all our stuff up and into it. The incoming family turned up 'en-mass' and before they were literally into everything and wanted to completely monopolise us with their needs and wants, said the gate post was our responsibility as 'our' removal van had done it and that to not let their belongings in, before mine went out, was sheer awkwardness on my part, despite it being obvious to anyone with one iota of common sense that it was not only impractical to do it that way, but that it was physically impossible also. My argument, concerning the gatepost was that it was the fault and responsibility of the Removal Firm and the incoming guy said OK as long as I sorted it out. The guy in charge of the removal said no, it was not their fault, as it would not have happened if I had not insisted on doing things my way, which had resulted in the need for a second van and an inexperienced driver due to the Bank Holiday. When I challenged how they proposed to do it with only one van, to them they seemed to think it was obvious. If they could not get everything inside then either ours or theirs could have been stacked outside in the Car Park and to the question of what about it if it had rained, the reply came back that it wouldn't, but if it did, then that would just be hard luck for somebody. From the outset I was suspicious that all this had more to do with the Bank Holiday and the paying of wages than anything else. Later our solicitor would refer the matter of the gatepost back to the incoming people as he claimed it was their responsibility to sort it out with the removal firm, as at the time of the accident the property was effectively theirs. But all that would come later and was hassle that I could well have done without. At the time the incoming people, who alone with all their possessions, should not have been there, started arguing over what was going and what was staying and refused to refer to the inventory, which I had to admit contained literally thousands of items, as you can imagine, but was what had been agreed to, and that their memory, particularly from those in the group who had not been wholly involved from the beginning but who now insisted that they had been told certain things, was not good enough and to claim that we were taking more than we said was unfounded. He got mad and I got mad and in the end I said, 'If there is something missing from the inventory when we have gone, see the solicitor and I will make it right.'

7. When our stuff finally pulled out and I went along with it to the Pub we found that on arrival they had not managed to get clear of there, as they had been held up by brewery people and stock takers etc, who all wanted to pounce on me to sort out 'that side,' so that they could all get away, it being Bank Holiday. In the meantime the people coming into our old place, the 'Hotel,' wanted to monopolise my wife to show them and to explain to them, how where and why everything was as it was, where it was, and how it all worked and to not release her to come and help me until they were satisfied. I insisted, over the telephone, she tell them that she would go back after she had supervised the offloading and distribution of our possessions in the private accommodation of the Pub while I attempted to sort out the business side. She didn't come straight away and later told me that they had fully expected her to show them how to prepare and serve the evening meal for the guests and that she had only solved the problem by getting the girl next door to take them in and feed them, the guests that is, for that evening. Later when we went back to the girl next door to thank her and ask what we owed her, she said, 'nothing' as she felt she would be adequately compensated by the future business she had, hopefully, gained from next door, several of the guest having already, come along later, and transferring to her for the rest of their holiday.

8. In the meantime I was trying to do both jobs and the 'furniture delivery men' were not helping. Because I was not in the position to give them 'beer' and everyone else was ignoring their hints and suggestions that free drinks would help the job along, they adopted a very bad attitude and literally dumped everything in the nearest convenient rooms and totally ignored the upper floors and of course by the time my wife arrived it had all gone too far, so she let them carry on in order to get rid of them as quickly as possible.

9. We should have all gone to Court that day for the transfer of the licences but the Police Inspector, who also turned up to add to the confusion, said that because it was a Bank Holiday there would be no Court Sitting and that we should all attend the following morning at 10-00 am and that he was authorised, by the Court, to inform us that we could, in the meantime operate and would not be required, if we so wished, to open on the lunch time of that Bank Holiday Monday. You see, in those days, you not only had to apply to the courts for such things as extra 'special' hours, over and above those stipulated by law and the terms of your license and during which you 'had' to open, but you also had to apply to 'close' for any of those hours, otherwise your license could be revoked. Good old fashioned English Law, introduce during the 1914-18 war, where Pubs were closed to keep the Ammunition Workers out, but where they were also 'guaranteed' that they would be open at certain times and all would be controlled by decree of Parliament, who thereafter did little in order to satisfy the 'Total Abstinence Lobby' and others who's votes were essential in any election and also the Police who said that thereafter to change anything would lead to increased lawlessness. Thank goodness it all changed shortly after we arrived and the Police were shown to have been wrong but sadly those changes, along with many other misguided and ill-conceived reforms, brought in around the same time, also proved to be the down fall of the traditional 'Great British Pub' and we are now all left with the shambles that we have today.

10. Anyhow I still had to open at 5-00 pm that day and so having managed to push everyone out and without even having had a cup of tea all day, we decided that with the hour or so, still left, we would return to the 'hotel' and try and sort that out. I had never seen so many people in what was a fairly large commercial kitchen and where each one was either shouting at someone or trying to talk over all the rest. I tried to deal, as far as they would let me, with the guy, who I thought had bought the business and all he was concerned with was establishing the level of advanced bookings, which he was committed to, and how much deposit money I had received against them and would be handing over to him. After that and a shambolic description to the group, he had insisted should gather round, of which key, on a very large bunch, was for where, and especially the one they were all most interested in, the safe key, in which there was obviously nothing, he didn't seem much interested in anything else and as time was running out and I objected to being bombarded with irrelevant questions about the business, that were obviously of no concern to most of those asking, and there seemed to be dozens of them, I suggested we leave, go to Court the following morning and sort out the rest that afternoon. I was certainly not going to get involved in how you made Yorkshire Puddings or what sized dishes were for what or if one tea bag was sufficient, if you put Bicarbonate of Soda in, to make forty cups of tea or if the guests were expected to make their own beds. I had a Pub to open at five o'clock that afternoon.

11. I looked in the cellar, tried to remember where all the switches were, when the back door bell rang. Cursing I went and opened it and found myself confronted by two members of staff, that I had originally been introduced to and which, by law, you inherit with any business, employing staff, that you take over. They explained that they had decided to come in early as they felt I might struggle somewhat until I became familiar with everything. The only decent thing that had happened, as far as I was concerned, on that day, up to then. The Bar/cellar-man, as he was, said that until I felt it right to do it my way he would be happy to look after things as he was used to them and that included the rotation of stock and the making out of order lists and many other minor, yet essential, items etc. He proved to be worth his weight in gold and stayed with us until he decided to return to a previous profession, the sea. The Barmaid was an excellent worker, knew most of the regular clientele and could handle all comers, but who sadly let herself down, despite many years with us, by turning dishonest. I wish I had known exactly when she turned or if in fact she had been that way from the start, as I am sure we would have parted company much sooner, as we did as soon as I realised what was going on. Another Barmaid failed to turn up and we never saw her again while all the others came and went, in time, as they were apt to do in the Pub trade.

12. I don't know why but every Landlord and Landlady, for miles around, came to look and snipe at us that night and despite one of the staff trying to sell one Landlady a measure of optic cleaner, out of the wine cabinet, we got through. Later I would find out that the high level of curiosity, and the cold shoulder that followed, was to see who had managed to get one of the best Pubs in the area. My kick back after that was to enjoy the pleasure of knowing that they all watched me closely and few of them would make a move, especially when it came to setting prices and later to varying opening times, before they had checked out mine and would then emulate me.

Anyhow we got through that first night without too many scars and fended off all the suggestions, from the paying punters, as to how we should run the pub in future, obviously to their advantage, and where the last guy had gone wrong in that area. It was amazing also how many thought that free drinks should be the order of the day and especially if we wished to ensure their loyalty in the future. Sad people.

13. Our bed was under a pile of other items, randomly dumped by the removal men, so that night, from around two-thirty in the morning, we slept in a guest room.

14. The following day I turned up at Court to surrender my license from the Guest House and to apply for the Protection Order on the Pub. The guy from the Guest House was there to apply for a Protection Order on the license I was surrendering and a Solicitor was there to surrender the Pub license. You need to be a lawyer to understand 'Liqueur Licensing Laws' in the UK. You apply for a license, through a solicitor, who charges the earth for the privilege and posts the requisite number of public notices and issues the paper work to the Police and the Courts. You are then interviewed by the police and if they are satisfied with your application it goes forward to the Courts. Then you have to turn up and apply for it, in person, at a special sitting of the court. There, and again, if there are no further objections and there usually are a few, on religious grounds and what have you, which the courts ignore, you will be granted the license, but it will not be issued. You are instead issued with a 'Protection Order' which allows you to operate until the next scheduled sitting of 'The Brewster Sessions,' where a special licensing court would then decide if you have conducted yourself in a manner befitting a pillar of society and thereby be justifiably called 'Landlord.' In those days a conviction for even a very minor offence would have prevented the issue of even the Protection Order. (And I went along with and believed in all that crap). Now-a-days, following all the changes and the pressure from the Breweries, who support, financially, all the political parties, and a government that will not accept responsibility for the demise of the Pubs, which between them they have brought about, anyone with any amount of cash can get a Pub and often breweries will even lend 'ingoing money' to potential licenses daft enough or conned into borrowing it and as one colleague rightfully stated, half of them you would not have even allowed in our Pubs, let alone served them, for their appearance, attitude and manners often leaves much to be desired.

15. After my court appearance and that lunch time session it was time to go back and finally square off everything at the Guest House, where I hoped things would be better. At least the pressure of the previous day had passed and when we got there it was a bit quieter and there were only about four or five of them to deal with. But the main man was 'at work' and he had not said anything to me about that earlier, when he could have, at the court hearing.

16. I have already mentioned Stock Takers and Inventories, which are all part and parcel of this kind of thing. Well I had prepared an inventory, similar to the one presented to me, when I first bought the 'hotel,' and which had taken me weeks to prepare, as I wanted it to be accurate. Then I had submitted a copy, via the solicitor, to the incoming people before the sale and in it, it had been agreed that on the day, when we guessed we might be pressed for time, as we certainly were, we would manually check and mutually agree the value of the stock held in two very large deep freezers and in the Bar. All other provisions and expendable stock, which we had been using up to the day of the changeover, would be ignored and be to their advantage. I expected some minor discrepancies when we went back as they had been there twenty-four hours but nothing like what I found myself confronted with. Mother and eldest son demanded that I reimburse them for a very large Industrial Dish Washing Machine that they claimed did not work but which we had used and was in perfect working order, on the day we left and the Telephone Answering Machine. I looked at the Dishwasher and it was dead and I got the impression that the safety fuse had blown, as it did when it was not operated correctly, so I told them to look in the file, that I had left, and they would find the service engineers and when the son said that after having done so they would be sending me the bill, I was not best pleased and told him to send it to the solicitors. When I ran through the operating sequence of the Telephone Answer Machine it was obvious, from the shambles of the pre-recorded message, where you could clearly hear them all arguing over how to work it, that they had all been having a go and so I told them I did not want to know. But there was more. In the storeroom, where there were two large deep freezers, which we had left fully provisioned, as they were essential for the catering, we found, in one, a few bags of frozen vegetables, mainly peas. In the other, I don't know what, but only a few bits and bats. They stated that they didn't expect to pay for them as they didn't want them and we could take them away if we wanted. In the Bar, well you can guess, nothing. Completely dry, or as near as dammit, and I had left enough stock for at least that week and if the empties and dirty glasses were anything to go by, then it had been on hell of a party the day before and so according to them, there was nothing owing to me from there, as there was nothing in there. People then seemed to come in from every direction and one complete stranger, to me that was, even wanted to know what they were supposed to do as there was nothing left in the fridges and what did I propose to do about it? Someone who had obviously been primed but then had badly miss-timed or miss-judged it. I was tired and punch drunk and the Pub was far more important and so we walked out. I rang the solicitor, who was rather surprised, but said there was nothing, legally, we could do as that was the level of the stock at the time I had agreed, verbally, the day before, to take it. As for the Dish Washer and Answer Machine, he said, forget them, as they would have to prove neglect or misrepresentation on my part. Then, as if to rub salt in my wounds, he said I should have withheld the deposits and that would have given me some bargaining power. Weeks later my wife would feel obliged to ask one of their younger sons to leave the Pub, after he had been bragging, while under the influence, to all his friends with him, of how they had ripped us off and what a party it had been.

17. Months later, while we were still tying up loose ends, I mentioned the stock and the broken machines to the solicitor and asked if he had heard anything further and he said no. He again said what a pity I hadn't got a signature, on a stock sheet, on the day we left. I laughed and said to forget all about it, despite there being quite a lot of money involved, as there had been far too many other pressing matters to attend to, at the time, so that one mistake, though costly, would have to be written off to experience. I have always tried to be honest and so I realise are most people, but it is the degree of honesty that can and does, throw it.

18. The outgoing Landlady, from the Pub, did her best, but with limited time, many things were still left in a shambles. But apart from leaving a very large dog kennel, in the back yard, that they wanted to sell from there and eventually did, and one or two things that were not quite as they said they were, they left and were not too happy, when they turned up a couple of nights later, to sit on the customer side of the bar, and have fun with their ex-customers and all at our expense, that I felt it necessary to ask them to make it their last visit.

FAVOURITES.