09/10/2026
💔 Disappointed doesn't even begin to cover it…
Since taking over Ye Olde Mustard Pot, we've invested thousands of pounds of our own hard-earned money, along with countless hours of time, effort and hard work, into improving the pub and its b**r garden.
We've done all of this because we genuinely care about our pub, our customers and our community. We want to create somewhere that families can come together, relax, make memories and enjoy spending time.
One of the improvements we made over the summer was installing and painting fencing around the children's play area. This wasn't simply to make the garden look nicer — it was to create a safer, enclosed space for children to play. ❤️
So you can imagine how upsetting it has been to discover, over the last few days, that fence panels have been broken and damaged, stones from our wall have been damaged or gone missing, and what appears to be red paint has ended up on our roof.
What makes it even more disheartening is that some of this damage is to something we put in place specifically with children's safety in mind.
Hospitality is hard enough at the moment without having to deal with things like this.
Anyone working in the industry will know just how challenging it is to keep an independent pub going. With ever-increasing costs, rising bills and the everyday pressures of running a business, it's certainly not an easy industry to be in.
But despite all of that, we've continued to put our own hard-earned money back into the pub. Not because we have money to spare, but because we believe in this place. We want it to succeed, we want to see it thrive, and we want to create something that our community can be proud of.
In fact, we've spent today out buying autumn decorations, excited to make the pub look lovely and welcoming for the changing season. 🍂🎃
And I think that's what makes this all the more upsetting. One minute we're happily choosing little touches to make the place feel special for our customers, and the next we're looking at damage to things we've already worked so hard to improve.
We're not a big chain with endless funds available to repair and replace things. We're a family-run, independent pub, doing our very best in an industry where every penny really does count.
It's not just a broken fence panel or a missing stone. It's money we've worked hard to earn, hours we've spent making improvements, and effort we've put in on top of everything else that comes with running a pub.
We don't expect everyone to understand just how much goes on behind the scenes, but we don't think it's unreasonable to ask people to show a little respect for what we're trying so hard to build.
Every improvement we've made has been with the very best intentions, and seeing that hard work damaged is incredibly frustrating and, quite frankly, heartbreaking.
Our b**r garden is here for everyone to enjoy, especially the little ones, and we want it to remain a lovely, welcoming and safe place for families for years to come.
All we're asking is that people treat it with the same care and respect that we've put into creating it.
Please, let's look after it together. ❤️
Ye Olde Mustard Pot 🍺🌿
