Another junction

Well I am here again. I have 1 day left teaching at The Westgate School then I am officially unemployed again. It has been a very good 2 years association with the place. A fabulous school with great young people and suh a dedicated, creative and hardworking staff. I will miss the place. Room 25 with its air con on full blast became my place of work and I was quite protective. Good location, air con, staff loos 10 Yards away, staff room the same, no stairs, IT support around the corner and main assembly hall across the corridor. Only downsides were the canteen being in another block and being next to the Y10-11 playground meant we often had balls slammed into the windows.

This time I am better prepared for the future. I am looking at pubs still and there are plenty of them. Eling near Toton has 3 pubs and I'm thinking they are all available. We will need to put the house on the market so I am thinking I need to get a p/t job doing bar work again but this time perhaps with some management thrown in. Gotta learn to do rotas, stock take, handle takings and perhaps even put in orders. Would also be good for it to be a food pub.



As I am 55 I can apply for my teachers pension albeit reduced. Should be possible to clear debts and give us breathing space to get the business plan in place. Personally I would prefer to get a freehold pub that has been closed up so I can spend some time planning a launch event.  On the other hand Kathy is more into us getting a place as a retreat so with extra accommodation and nice gardens. A compromise would be a smallish B&B/hotel with bar.

Anyway 6 weeks paid leave ahead to sort things out. Here comes the summer and it's been so hot so far. Anyone know a good Christian Chef?

Two years on.

I have gone back to teaching!  But the pub idea is still on. I have got myself qualified for my licence and running a pub food and beer operation but failed to get the pub I wanted. Tesco beat me to The Woodman and now it's a Tesco Express! Mind you I believe there was some backroom dealing happening as this news story suggests Tesco only got the lease in October 2011 and I was asking about the pub from March 2011. I actually got told by Enterprise Inns via email that it was not available in August 2011. I am sure the store was not necessary as there is a store across the road and there was a One Stop (owned by Tesco) 25 yards away. I would have employed at least as many people as Tescos and there would be a community focus. Maybe I should have done more and actually campaigned about the closure. I didn't really get much backing from my church at the time. Some thought the pub should be closed anyway. It did have a terrible reputation. But a missed opportunity I think.

So anyway, meanwhile I have done a year as a weekend barman at The Hunters Inn in Romsey and gone back to teaching supply at first then a year covering someone on maternity leave at The Westgate School in Winchester. Teaching Business Studies which again has helped me get genned up on how to run a business.

My job at Westgate ends this July so I am free again to pursue the pub idea. What I need is a Christian Chef/Partner and the right pub. Any takers? Trouble is I want a pub in my community of Lordswood etc. As well as The Woodman going and apparently The Sporting View is being leased by the people who run Inferno in town. Missing out there too. Maybe I am walking the wrong road or maybe the timing isn't right but why am I 'just' missing out? Perhaps it's my lack of wholeheartedness and fear? Do I have to push through or is God closing doors?

The thing is running a pub essentially means selling potential poison. How do you make a successful business selling alcohol without helping people get drunk? Of course the law says I can be punished for selling alcohol to someone who is drunk but it seems everyone does because when does 'merry' become 'drunk'? If I have 3 pints I am merry if I have a fourth I am probably drunk. Has anyone been in a pub where you are refused your 4th pint of the evening? Pubs are going out of business at the rate of 25 a week. Is there a business model where the pub avoids encouraging drunkenness yet stays in profit as a wet-led pub? I would obviously do food and events such as music but the key for me is reaching guys who are pub-goers not church-goers with the gospel and support for them in difficult times.  This means it may need to be a 50-50 wet-food led pub. Perhaps the vision needs firming up. I need to visit and talk with some Christians who run pubs and find out what vision they have and how they cope with the challenges of profit and loss when there is no gambling, no getting pissed, no drugs, no debauched party nights and no dodgy dealings on the premises. 


Sound odd? But surely there are people out there who could appreciate such a place and still have a good time feeling safe and not having to break/bend the law or do stuff which in the end isn't good for them and is lately about escaping reality for a few hours. Would the hope of eternal salvation not be better than the hope of winning the lottery or this weeks meat draw? I guess someone's pride allows them to win the meat draw but would baulk at just having the meat given to them because they are short this week? Does winning the lottery come across as being more likely? You can read about past winners and maybe even meet them. We can read about and meet people who believe they are going to heaven but its not evidence heaven really exists. Would you go to a pub where you can meet people who believe in heaven and where you can discuss the bible over a pint?

Lots to consider still. Hope God gives me some direction soon. 

Credits 

Photo of Woodman © Colin McQueen 2011
Men drinking beer and reading bible - Image credit: prawny / 123RF Stock Photo