Along with my husband Stephen, ran this pub
for 2 years 1979 -1981. approx. dates. This was a Davenports Public
House.
Steve was the licensee and when the Chief Constable made his first visit
to talk to my husband, he said he was the youngest licensee in Birmingham,
at that time he was only 24, which in those days was very young to be a
Landlord. Most Landlords in those days were in the 40's.
We had an extremely busy trade, lunchtime was hectic - all the local
office workers from Lucas Great King Street, HP sauce and other local
businesses came to eat at the Pub. I seem to remember nearly all the
items on the menu were under £2.50 e.g. sausage, eggs and chips was only
£1.50. The dearest item was Gammon, Eggs and chips. We had two cooks in
the kitchen who camein at 11 am. to prep, and worked solidly until 3.00
p.m. Everything was with chips in those days.
In the evening there was a different atmosphere. There were Asians,
Jamaicans, Irish, English and other nationalities . The Bar was always
packed and we had Darts teams and Domino Teams. There was definitely
friction amongst some of these groups and we did witness a couple of
fights during our time there. You certainly needed your wits about you as
this was a tough Pub to manage.
The Pub also had an outdoor where we sold everything - Bread, Tights,
Sweets, Coffee and of course Beer from the tap. I remember an old lady
who came in every evening for a jug of beer for take-out. We always had
queues of children wanting the penny sweets (we did try selling Mars Bars
etc.) but reverted to the penny sweets because that was what they could
afford.
The area was dodgy even then and my husband always had an escort to go to
the Bank on the Lozells Road. We had to bank the money in a money bag
on Christmas Day - that was always scary because of the amount of money we
had taken. There were times when we found people on the flat roof of the
Pub - but we never had a burglary at the Pub.
We had a lot of staff , Janet Bailey was one of the cooks - she lived
across from the Pub - she now lives
in Great Barr. Doreen was the cleaner, also a nearby resident, who
because her husband John, was a dustman who started work early, cleaned the
Pub at 5 am. They and their family emigrated to Austrailia. We trusted
her with a key and she used to come in and go home before we even woke
up. We had one Jamaican bar man called Joe Stephenson. His brother Ivan
went with the previous licensee to work at The Tunnel (this was a brand
new Davenports pub). We had a glass collector called Harold (who
was probably in his 60's) and a right old character. Everyone would buy
him drinks and it was not unusual to find half pint glasses of mild all
over the place (all belonging to him). He would also wash and clean the
cars of some of the Managers and Executives who were in the Pub for lunch.
I also remember the bar staff took 10p as a tip during this time. Sorry
I cannot remember the wage pay scale.
We sold copious amounts of Mild in those days, Bitter and Davenports
Continental Lager. The ladies in those days drank sherry, babycham,
martini, vodka or gin and tonics. And of course nearly everyone
smoked in those days - Woodbines, Gold Leaf, Embassy No.1, Kensitas -
there were no cheap lighters in those days - we sold Swan Matches and the
other small red and blue box (can't remember the name). Could be Bryant
and May. Cigarettes were sold in a machine, situated in the hallway.
Once or twice people tried to steal it and it was broken into also.
We had a juke-box which in those days took a lot of money - sometimes
people would get angry at the end of the night if they had put money in
and their song hadn't come on - it was always difficult to get people to
go home.!
Davenports was a great company to work for and the Directors treated you
like family. Our Director was called Mr. Booth and he always addressed
us as Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher, when he visited us. Every Christmas
Davenports put on a do at the Reservoir Pub, Earlswood, for all the
licensees - all food and drink paid for and a dance. We were also
invited to the Brewery in Bath Row for official visits round the actual
Brewery.
We left to take over the Coach and Horses in Leamington (another
Davenports Pub). The next couple who took over the Cross Guns were Barry
and Olive Timbrell.
