31/10/2026
The Chancellor and the Dishwasher ♥️♥️♥️
I’ve been saying the same words for nearly 36 years.
“Can you just last until Christmas?”
Not to my staff, I should point out.
To the dishwasher, the boiler, the fridges and anything else in the pub that looks as though it’s considering early retirement.
There’s something quite ridiculous about standing in front of a piece of kitchen equipment, talking to it as though it might understand.
“Come on, just get us through Christmas.”
I’ve even been known to give things an encouraging pat.
And sometimes it works.
Although I suspect that’s more luck than mechanical sympathy.
When I first took over The Three Cups in 1990, I was 20 years old.
I knew how to pull a pint, look after customers and work ridiculously long hours.
What I didn’t know was how much time I’d eventually spend worrying about things that nobody else sees.
Back then, if something broke, you rang someone to mend it.
These days, you ring someone, discover how much it’s going to cost, sit down for a moment and wonder whether you could learn to mend it yourself.
And then there’s the Budget.
Every year I listen, hoping there might be a little something to make life easier for all of us running independent businesses.
Perhaps a reduction in VAT, a little help with business rates, or just something that makes all the hard work feel a bit more worthwhile.
Instead, I usually find myself reaching for the calculator.
Again.
I sometimes wonder what the 20-year-old me would think if she could see me now.
She’d probably be astonished that I’m still here.
She’d certainly be horrified at the price of a barrel of b**r.
And I think she’d have needed a stiff drink after opening the electricity bill.
But she’d still recognise the pub.
The laughter coming from the bar, the regulars putting the world to rights, the conversations you can’t help overhearing and the familiar faces that have been coming through our door for years.
Those things haven’t really changed.
And neither has that feeling when you unlock the door in the morning, wondering what the day might bring.
Running a pub has never been easy, but I don’t remember it being quite this complicated either.
But after all these years, I still love it.
I just wish the Chancellor would occasionally make it a little easier.
And if the dishwasher could hang on until January, that would be lovely too.
♥️♥️♥️
Could I ask you a little favour?
There’s a campaign called VAT’s The Problem, calling for VAT on hospitality to be reduced to 10%, to give pubs, restaurants and other hospitality businesses a better chance.
If you love your local pubs and independent businesses, it would be lovely if you could support it.
Every little bit of support helps. ♥️♥️♥️
https://www.vatstheproblem.co.uk/
