At a time when scarcely a day goes by that we don’t hear of another soldier dying in Afghanistan, the
insensitivity of Kent licensee Bernice Walsh is beyond belief:
Landlady Bernice Walsh, of The Windmill, in Weald, Kent, told former RAF serviceman David Marchant that people could buy poppies ‘somewhere else’ when he asked her permission to leave a poppy tray in her pub.
She sounds like the kind of person who really believes in making her pub part of the community:
Another villager, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s a shame because people in the village want to support her, but she keeps rubbing people up the wrong way.
“We need a pub - it was closed for six months and then she came and everyone was really pleased about it, but immediately she banned dogs and it's a village pub and people like to take their dogs in so it’s upset an awful lot of people.”
She should remember that the community doesn’t need her, but she needs them. And Remembrance is not about the glorification of war but about the courage and sacrifice of the ordinary soldier. I wonder how long it will be before the Windmill gets a new licensee...
I think your statement: "the community doesn’t need her" is perhaps a little unfair. Surely they need somebody to run the pub?
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying she did the right thing as I think the vast majority of people still support the poppy appeal.
As for dogs in pubs, it's a tricky one. Some people don't like dogs. Some dog owners are not respectful of that. We are dog friendly but that does have it's drawbacks and some complain about it. It is impossible to keep everybody happy.