LETTER: Incredible request for pub funding

Phew! What is the reason for this incredible request? Well, Sara likens the pub to a ‘piece of living art’!

If the property remains in her and her husband Clive’s hands what does this benefactor gain? Going by the article – nothing!

Sara goes on at great length to state that at this pub (sorry, ‘piece of living art’), the regulars are all looked after and it is a real community! It is true to say that you have to be a special person to be accepted at this pub, it’s very cliquey!

There are a number of old regulars and locals that have found that they no longer wish to drink in the establishment.

I am one of those people that have never been banned from a licensed premises in my life and then get banned from this pub even though I was not in it at the time. I know others of the same ilk!

At one time all of North Sussex CAMRA was banned because I referred to Tesco selling bottled beer in a news item on the website that I used to run for CAMRA.

This newspaper article shows a presentation for the CAMRA Pub of the Year award! This is a misrepresentation as the award being given is a ‘Bus to the Pub’ award presented by Stuart Elms and is not officially recognised by CAMRA. However, the Bus to the Pub group is made up of CAMRA members.

Although I have fought against pub closures as part of my previous roles of press officer and webmaster in CAMRA, my feelings for the Royal Oak is a wish that it was no longer a pub.

I don’t think that Tesco would even be interested in this one so perhaps Sara should sell it off as a house.

If you have £300k to spare I should invest it in paintings.

REX GIBBONS

former CAMRA webmaster and press officer,

Crawley Road,

Horsham