Pub thriving because it is at heart of community

FIRBANK LANDLORD SIMON DELANEY IS PASSIONATE ABOUT JOB HE STARTED ‘ACCIDENTALLY’ 23 YEARS AGO

SIMON Delaney never wanted to run a pub.

DJing was his passion and how he made his living. But when the landlord at the Firbank in Wythenshawe - his local and a regular source of gigs - called a crisis meeting with staff to discuss keeping the struggling boozer afloat, he ended up ‘accidentally taking over.’

“I thought ‘oh well, I’ll do it for a bit. At least it will keep me in DJ work,’” says Simon, perched on a stool near the end of the bar.

That was 23-years-ago. The intervening period has been one of the toughest for pubs.

But while the smoking ban, cheap supermarket booze and Sky Sports have led to the closure of thousands of pubs across the UK, the Firbank - named Britain’s Community Pub of the Year and winner of a Pride of Manchester award in 2016 - has gone from strength to strength.

Simon, who grew up ‘a stone’s throw’ from the pub and was served his first pint there as a teenager in the early 1980s, knows exactly why.

“We’re a typical flat-roofed 1960s estate pub - exactly the type that’s dying out,” he said.

“For a pub like this to survive it has to be part of the community.

“Lots of pubs talk about being at the heart of their community, but the only thing they share with their community is a postcode.”

The Thursday afternoon the M.E.N. visits is a case in point.

Underneath a big screen proudly displaying a Manchester bee symbol and alongside workmen having a couple of lunchtime pints with their burgers, about two dozen pensioners are tucking into sandwiches and cups of tea.

They’re here for the Firbank’s weekly lunch club. Run with the Wythenshawe Good Neighbours scheme, it sees the south Manchester estate’s elderly dine out for £2 - all money goes to the charity.

For Simon, 52, who has been known to drive some of his elderly regulars to the doctors if they need a lift, and his wife Rachael, who runs the kitchen, it’s one of the highlights of the week.

He said: “We have a 100-yearold lady who comes along sometimes and she’s incredible.

“It’s great for them to get out in society, in somewhere that’s not a dusty old church hall or community centre, and some of the stories they tell are unbelievable.

“We also help them with things like Facebook and Skype and sometimes use the big screen for them to Skype their relatives