Tom Burnett

I’M sure most Leek pub fans over the age of 30 will remember their first trip to the old Earl Grey before it closed in 2009.

It was essentially a living room that happened to have a bar in the corner. It also had the infamous pile of televisions where a working one would be stacked on top of a broken one.

I’d be lying if I said I went in frequently, and I’d also be lying if I said it was one of my favourite pubs, but it definitely had a lot of character.

Pubs like that are increasingly rare, although they can still be found from time-to-time.

However I’d also be lying if I told you I wasn’t a massive fan of the new version, that opened as a freehouse in 2014.

The new owners massively expanded the floorspace and it felt less like someone’s living room you’d fallen through the door to and more like a brilliant ale pub which of course it was.

In 2015 I even did some shifts behind the bar. Not many but enough to teach me that I know which side of a bar I prefer to be on.

That pub, despite the fact I did some shifts there, won an exceptional array of accolades for the great ales it sold and the superb condition they were kept in.

It was named Staffordshire and Midlands pub of the year.

Much more than awards though, it was an excellent community pub.

You’d get a great range of beers to choose from and a warm welcome from the staff there.

That’s the most important thing of all. It was a pub where you felt welcome.

There was always someone to chat to if you fancied a chat - and you’d always be left alone if you fancied a quiet pint or to do some work (which I did quite frequently in there).

I wasn’t in there the night the Prime Minister announced all pubs were to close - but I was there the

Saturday before as I had a colleague visiting from another area of the patch.

The Earl Grey was always my goto pub when people came to Leek to visit. We had a good night.

Sadly the pub has not reopened following the lockdown, and it remains unclear if anyone will ever again get a pint on the corner of Ashbourne Road and Wood Street. I hope that one day it will. Whether it does or not is of course not something I have an answer to.

Times were difficult for pub landlords well before our current situation started. I doubt that they are going to get easier in the coming weeks and months.

In the meantime, as always, I’d urge people to support their local pubs (while complying with all relevant advice), not be afraid to try somewhere new and to raise a glass to the Earl Grey. A brilliant pub.