Credit due

8:18am Thursday 24th April 2008

I do get irritated by the one-size-fits-all' mentality of so many of today's amateur management consultants who always see simple solutions to other people's problems.

In the present environment when pubs throughout the UK are closing daily and the residence-time of landlords is generally less than three years, then surely Sandra Brown who has held the licence of The Plough at Long Wittenham for over 16 years must be credited with some authority.

We all know how much attention Governments pay to the voice of protest groups. Perhaps your correspondent could list the successful protests in the last ten years - I can't.

Of course, life is changing but like most people I would wish the changes to be gradual rather than imposed - evolution rather than revolution.

Pubs now have significantly improved ventilation, so why not smoking and no-smoking bars? Many people still prefer the company of friends over a pint, rather than the more intimate atmosphere associated with dining out.

Like Long Wittenham, Sutton Courtenay is a large village, but three out of the four pub tenants have changed in the last two years.

We also are an attractive riverside village, but I would hardly call the rat-runs we experience every morning and evening passing trade'. I suspect this also applies to Long Wittenham.

So, what did our three disillusioned landlords do wrong? Certainly they all tried hard and lost trade when the no-smoking ban was enforced.

T R Moss Sutton Courtenay

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