Applaud the trade for progress on racism

Luckily, the pubcos have always given full support on the issue of race and recruitment over the years. When I started in the mid-1970s, it was different.

With a lot more mixed-race people and those from ethnic minorities entering the trade now, together with the boom in pub food, your ethnic background will not be a problem if you meet the expectations of pubcos.

As I’m from a mixed-race background I’ve seen it from a licensee’s perspective. I have worked with this issue for more than 30 years. In all fairness, the industry should be proud of how the race issue has become a small one over the past 10 years.

Where the issue falls down is with the customers. There will always be bar-room bigots. It is part of life in a British pub and is mostly caused by people having a few too many.

Very few licensees, but there are still some about, encourage racism to increase their bar takings. These few-and-far-between licensees need to take a reality check.

Over the years I have found it is best to keep any sort of race issues in-house. If you take it to the police or the authorities it becomes a bigger issue than it is.

I learnt long ago not to bar people who were racist to me. I have been physically, mentally and verbally abused, even been spat at, and the skill is to be fair-minded and robust.

Thankfully, over the past 10 years, things have got a lot better. I recall in the late 1970s people on stag parties could walk around Blackpool in golliwog and black and white minstrel fancy dress but now it is ‘mankinis’ and Rambo outfits. That is progress.

So any mixed-race or ethnic-minority licensees should have no fear of racial abuse if they are prepared to take a few quips on the chin and give a few back.

I have always found most customers are ‘colour blind’ but it should not stop them being opinionated on race issues. If you can’t go to the pub, have a drink and talk about any topic, I think it would be a bad day for the trade.

I have to say that, with this being a sensitive issue, these thoughts are my own personal thoughts and not those of any organisation I am affiliated to.