There’s a last chance to experience the Christmas in the Trenches events at Chester’s First World War-themed Albion Inn.
That’s because landlord Mike Mercer, who is passionate about the Great War period (1914-18), is putting the pub lease up for sale to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles of June 28, 1919, which ended hostilities.
A former merchant seaman, Mike runs the city centre alehouse with wife Christina as well as his daughter and head chef Clare Churchill.
The annual Christmas in the Trenches events are very popular featuring songs, music and readings from the Great War presented by the talented Matt Baker on piano and accordion featuring mezzo soprano Patricia Hammond. Hopefully piper Shonagh Duncan will join them.
The £35 per head ticket-only black-tie events, which include a three course meal, take place on the evenings of December 18, 21 and 28 and January 12. The December dates are pretty much fully booked with a just a few places left.
Admission includes a tot of Benedictine to raise a toast to the Boys of the Old Brigade.
There are also more informal lunchtime events, from 2-5pm, priced £15, again with Matt Baker. Guests are invited to join the ‘kazoo band’. The Christmas Eve event is a sell-out but another date has now been added for Sunday, December 23.
Mike, who turns 79 in January and is Chester’s oldest and longest serving publican, said: “It’s harking back to years ago when things were held in a more civilised manner. The atmosphere varies from very sombre for the commemoration to a bit of a laugh when we have the songs.
“We try and let people leave without wanting to cut their throats!”
There will be a raffle on the night with monies raised going to the War Memorials Trust.
“It’s going to be the last of them because The Albion in its current form won’t be here for much longer. So anyone who wants to experience Christmas in the Trenches needs to get in as quickly as possible,” added Mike.
Tickets are available by popping in to the pub or calling 01244 340345.
| When Mike Mercer first arrived at the Albion Inn some 47 years ago in 1971, a pint of beer cost just 13 pence. And the characterful publican, who was just 30 at the time, has even kept the original lease showing the pub’s entire cigarette stock was worth £11.66. The layout of the late Victorian pub is much the same today as it was then but much else has changed. Back in the 1970s the alehouse was typical of its day, a place where predominantly men went to drink and chat, but today it offers award-winning dishes and is popular with couples. Mike, who has run the pub for the last 30 years with wife Christina, recalled the early days: “There was no food at all, not even a batch on the bar – a packet of crisps and a packet of scratchings and that was it. “And, of course, in those days all you had to do was open the door and the place was full in five minutes. Everybody stayed in drinking until 3pm. It was like a money-making machine.” He remembers the days when workers, including council staff from the nearby County Hall, drank at lunchtimes. Although he explains that plenty of business was carried out, albeit in a more informal setting than the office. As a traditional back street pub, the Albion is a rare and dying species and unique in its decor. Mike says he and everyone else will have to accept The Albion, owned by Punch Taverns, won’t stay the same which is making the neighbours ‘twitchy’. He added: “People need to realise that if they want to visit The Albion in its present state they will have to get serious about it.” Mike, who has turned ‘grumpy’ into a humorous art form, says he’s ‘too old’ for the pub game now and struggles with ‘a few health issues’. “I’m just abusing customers!” he joked, explaining that Christina and daughter Clare perform the heavy lifting nowadays days. Many love his infamous blackboards which inform passers-by the hostelry is ‘family hostile’, does not serve meals with chips, has no gaming machines and does not allow pub crawls or hen parties. And the pub has been graced by celebrities over the years including the Pet Shop Boys, film star James Mason, Paul Barber, who played Denzil in Only Fools and Horses, singer Tony Christie, and composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Mike, a grandfather of three and father of three daughters, says his impending retirement is ‘obviously a big decision’ but has ‘not really registered’. As for where he and Christina will live in the future, nothing is finalised. But one thing is certain, the pub memorabilia won’t be going with them as Mike is selling it as a contribution towards his pension. “I don’t think Christina would be enamoured – because there’s only two of us so we won’t have a big house – if it was cluttered with bayonets and rifles and casualty lists from the First World War!” |
