Pub gets chancellor's seal of approval
When John King licensee of the Bulls Head, Chelmarsh, wrote to the Chancellor thanking him for the measures to help pubs through the pandemic, from job retention to Eat Out to Help Out, he could never have dreamt how Rishi Sunak would use his comments.
For the Chancellor mentioned the pub in his virtual Conservative party conference speech, thanking John and wife Norman for putting Covid safety measures in place to keep their customers safe.
The couple and their son, Richard, were asked if he could use their email in his speech at the weekend.
Richard said: "It was good to be able to furlough staff knowing that they would still have money coming in. And the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was wonderful, coming at such a crucial time. We have been here for 15 years and we have never had such a busy month.
"We are lucky to have our chef Richard Lipscombe to help make our diners' experience such a good one and we also have a wonderful garden so we were able to offer seating outside, along with all the Covid safety we put in place."
"Even though we were aware that the Chancellor was going to mention us, it still seemed pretty surreal to hear him."
It is not the first time John's letter writing has paid dividends.
After writing to thank Lloyds Bank for its help during lockdown, the bank contacted the business - which also has bed and breakfast rooms and self catering accommodation - Richard found himself appearing in one of its television adverts.
