"Hi, I'm Mark Daniels, and you might remember me from such blogs as Why I Love My Brulines and Sky-high pricing continues..."*
But enough about that for the moment because, after the last couple of weeks, I think there's reason to cheer and be positive for the summer.
Nobody can deny that nowhere else in the world does pomp and ceremony like we do. Even if minibuses were used. (And was I the only one to notice that those buses carried the royals down The Mall in number plate order?)
What a day that was. With the exception of men in small sheds, our motor industry is now mostly owned by foreign companies, the management of our public transport system thinks it's wise to close for maintenance works on a bank holiday weekend, and our pub industry continues to tie itself up in knots over differences of opinion but, on the world stage, watched — and enjoyed — by an audience far greater than any football game, the British put on a show that nobody else around the globe can match.
And it was all followed up by a national 'Wedding Breakfast' that put my wife's fortieth birthday party to shame. Obviously.
Packed to the rafters
Villages, towns and cities across the land held parties and many pubs were packed to the rafters.
It was great fun, and it all followed a glorious four-day Easter bank holiday weekend that saw the sun drive people away from their homes and in to the hospitality industry.
I've been unbelievably proud of my staff over the past couple of weeks — we're a small pub, run mostly by myself and my wife, but the merry crew of help-me-outs who show up to ensure we can spend a bit of time with our children every now and then really threw themselves in to the work and I'm grateful to them for it.
As I lay on the sofa yesterday, enjoying my first full day off in three weeks by catching up on the entire series to date of Blue Bloods and scoffing my children's Easter Eggs, I reflected on the fact that the past two week's trade was reminiscent of what it was like in early 2007, but without the smoke.
And speaking to many of my local peers and friends in the industry, it's been nice to hear that similar emotions are felt.
Let's hope that this is a portent of something good to come for our industry this summer, and not just a blip. It was, after all, neatly summed up by a post somebody placed on my Facebook page over the weekend: Carlsberg don't do bank holiday weekends, but if they did...
* If you're not familiar with the character Troy McClure from The Simpsons, then the opening line might not make any sense; however, I'm extremely pleased to have been invited to continue writing my thoughts for the new Publican's Morning Advertiser. Normal service is now resumed...
Mark Daniels is the licensee at the Tharp Arms in Chippenham, Cambridgeshire
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