Landlord thanks customers for keeping pub open
Tuesday 25th October 2011, 11:44AM BST.
Pub landlord Phil Rothera today thanked customers who kept his business going while he was having treatment for cancer – by moving to the other side of the bar and taking on unpaid shifts.
Regulars at the Cross Keys in Selattyn, near Oswestry, came to the rescue when Mr Rothera was taken ill earlier this year and his wife, Hilda, was unable to carry on alone.
A rota was drawn up over the summer and e-mailed to customers, who helped out with serving, cellar work, cleaning and even recycling bottles.
“We wouldn’t have managed and we would have had to have closed the pub when I was laid up having chemotherapy after I was diagnosed with colon cancer back in May,” said Mr Rothera today.
Now back behind the bar this weekend, Mr Rothera paid tribute to all his customers who helped out. “I was feeling so ill that I just couldn’t do anything and there was too much for Hilda to do by herself,” Mr Rothera explained.
He said he particularly wanted to thank David and Gwyneth Parish, who had set up the rota of helpers.
“As soon as they knew I was ill, they asked the regulars if they would help and, I believe without exception, everyone said they would do what they could.
“People helped behind the bar, down the cellar, did cleaning and with taking the bottles to be recycled. It’s all worked absolutely brilliantly,” he said.
A former farmer, Mr Rothera, 68, has been the landlord at the Cross Keys for 21 years.
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