‘i had a Geldof moment when i saw that poor nurse crying’
TO HELP FEED NHS WORKERS DURING CRISIS
THE generous couple behind a restaurant’s free meals for NHS workers during the Coronavirus crisis has been revealed.
Honley’s Punch Bar and Tapas announced on Monday that £20,000 had been donated to enable it to launch a service to feed health workers on the frontline of the Coronavirus crisis for the next 12 weeks.
Now the philanthropic duo behind the move have been unveiled as Ian and Jill Swire, who live in the village.
Ian is the former chairman of Sheffield Eagles rugby league club and director of Amco Drilling.
Ian, 56, said he and Jill had made the decision to help after having a “Geldof” moment while watching a nurse in tears on the news - a reference to Bob Geldof ’s bid to raise millions after he saw television reports of the famine in Ethiopia.
He said: “We don’t have Sting or Phil Collins in our phone book but we do have Rick and Wayne at the restaurant, so we called them up.
“Punch Tapas is an integral part of the village and all of our children worked for Rick and Wayne as waitresses and pot washers during their schooldays, so we are now looking to return the favour.
“We’re in a lucky position where we can afford to put up some money to try and keep a business going and serve the NHS.
“Our eldest, Nicky, has been fantastic at organising it all. We’ve already had 500 orders in 48 hours and we’re probably well past that now.
“It’s been so successful that we’re now hoping to launch a crowdfunder to raise further funds.
“If we can get it to £50,000 that’s 500 meals a week.
“A tenner buys a meal, the community comes together and something positive comes out of this crisis.”
Ian said he and Jill had been in a restaurant in France when they got a message that the country was going into lockdown.
He said; “We immediately were concerned about what would be happening back home in England and Jill was worried for Rick and Wayne and for the restaurant’s future.
“We left in the middle of the night to get back before any borders were closed. We were shocked when we got off the ferry at Hull and found everything was carrying on like nothing was happening.
“I don’t think people realised what was coming but we wanted to get ahead of the curve.
“When we saw that poor nurse crying on the news is when I had the Geldof moment, like he did back in 1984.
“I said, ‘I’ve got to do something.’” In yesterday’s story the restaurant said it was planning to launch a takeaway service for members of the public. That has now been dropped to concentrate on the NHS workers’ scheme.
NHS staff are invited to complete an online registration form to receive a link to make their menu selection, on a first-come-first-served basis.