Latest news with #pub
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jeremy Clarkson says 'I'm done' and he makes huge business decision
Jeremy Clarkson has declared he is 'done' with business and admitted: "I don't understand it." The TV star, who bought a pub in Asthall last year, said he 'just wants a good craic' as he shut down the possibility of taking on any more entrepreneurial ventures. He opened The Farmer's Dog on the back of his success with his 1000-acre Diddly Squat farm and shop. READ MORE: 'Armageddon' alert to hit every UK phone - everything you need to know before 10-second siren sounds However getting the pub ready for opening wasn't an easy task - as fans of his Clarkson's Farm show will know - and he doesn't plan on doing it again. Speaking to The Times, Jeremy said: "I'm done with business now. "I am not starting another business as long as I live. I don't understand it and am not motivated by money. I just want a good craic." While Jeremy's pub has attracted punters from far and wide, some may not be familiar with the funny reason behind the name. In the fourth episode of the Amazon Prime Video show, Jeremy reads through documentation about handling the pub's purchase and discovers the surrounding area is regularly visited by people who enjoy having sex in public spaces. He also learns that the pub's garden area is designated by the council as a picnic site, the Mirror reports. The former Top Gear host put a call in to his lawyer to explain the situation and he was told the site previously attracted some "unwanted and anti-social behaviour" that "might put you off eating your picnic". Jeremy was told by the lawyer: "We have happened upon some quite interesting photographs which capture certain graffiti and certain goings-on." Upon visiting for himself, Jeremy found the x-rated behaviour was still going on as he found underwear thrown in trees. Jeremy later shared a snap on Instagram, which showed him stood outside of the pub holding stick with a pair of black and pink knickers hanging off the end. He captioned the picture: "Tell me you bought a pub on a dogging site without telling me you bought a pub on a dogging site."
BBC News
15 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Staff left 'heartbroken' over Hull Sutton Fields pub fire
Staff at a pub in Hull have said they have been left "heartbroken" after a fire in the early hours of the morning caused serious damage to the crews were called to the Sutton Fields pub on Oslo Road at about 02:25 BST, according to Humberside Fire and Rescue pub's occupants had left the property and were all accounted for by the time the crews arrived, a spokesperson said.A statement from pub staff which was posted on social media said the blaze had been a "devastating event for the whole team" and it would remain closed until further notice. "We are sorry for any inconvenience and may not be able to respond to your messages," the statement said."If you have bookings, please assume they are cancelled."According to the fire service, crews had arrived within six minutes of the emergency call and the blaze was extinguished by 05:45 alarms had alerted the occupants so they were able to get out of the building, the spokesperson said."The fire started outside, spreading to a pergola before reaching the property," they investigation into the incident had been launched, the spokesperson to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
ABC News
a day ago
- Business
- ABC News
Drought-affected Victorian town of Penshurst has 'one shot' to save its last pub
Surely there could be no worse fate than a country town losing its last pub in the middle of a drought. That's why a south-west Victorian community is banding together in the hope of raising $1 million to buy the town's last remaining watering hole. So far, the 670 residents of Penshurst, a rural town about 300 kilometres west of Melbourne, have raised $250,000 to bring the Penshurst Hotel into community hands. But the group still has hundreds of thousands of dollars left to raise, with little time left. At the turn of the century, there were six pubs in Penshurst, but now only the Penshurst Hotel remains. The pub went on the market in April 2025, and the community has tried to buy it out of fear it will be shut down or turned into something else by new owners. The group's offer for the property has been accepted by the owners, but sales contracts are yet to be signed. The ABC understands there have been four other offers on the property from potential buyers across the state, including from Melbourne and Ballarat. Ray Allan moved to Penshurst eight months ago and is spearheading the campaign to buy the historic bluestone pub. "Pubs are critical things in small towns," he said. The pub is open a few nights a week, but only for drinks after the bistro closed in January 2024. The closest pubs are a half-hour drive away. Mr Allan, who is also a member of the Penshurst Progress Association, said the pub was vital for locals' mental health. "This is not about saving the pub," he said. Across the state, a growing number of pubs have been taken over by community groups. Just this month, 83 community members pitched in to buy the Maroona Hotel near Ararat after the owner put it up for sale. Mr Allan said about 40 Penshurst residents met in April to discuss collective ownership of the Penshurst Hotel, with people invited to buy a unit share worth $5,000 each. In six weeks, Mr Allan said about 30 shareholders committed a total of $250,000. Once the sales contract is signed, the group has about six weeks to raise a further $200,000 to close the deal. Mr Allan said he was feeling confident the necessary funds would be raised, but there was "also a bit of a niggle" of doubt. If successful, the group hopes to raise yet another $650,000 for repairs to the 1850s-era building, including refurbishing the kitchen and dining areas to reopen the pub for meals. The Penshurst Hotel would initially be operated by the community, with the option of leasing it to a third-party operator down the line. Penshurst resident Kate Orchard said many of the people who had contributed were farmers who were battling the drought. "They are doing it so tough with feed costing what it does, but they realise how important this was and [found] that little bit of money," Ms Orchard said. "The front street looks like a smile with the front teeth gone. "This is a one-shot go … if this fails, we probably won't ever get it off the ground again." Eileen Copeland operates the local post office and is among those who contributed to the fund. She said she hoped a successful pub would bring more people to town. "The more people who stop in the town, the more likely they're going to wander in here and buy something from me," she said. Australian Hotels Association chief executive Paddy O'Sullivan said community-owned pubs that pitched themselves as a tourist destination, as well as being a local hotspot, were best placed to succeed. Mr O'Sullivan said communities needed to be prepared for the challenges involved in running a pub, such as staffing and the long hours, and ensuring it was financially viable. But he said he believed the trend of more establishments entering public ownership would continue. "It's great to see," he said.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Noel Edmonds savours 'nutter status' as he unveils big plans on Kiwi Adventure
Noel Edmonds joked that he savoured "unique nutter status" as he unveiled grand plans to build an energy garden on his New Zealand estate. The Deal or No Deal presenter, 76, moved from the UK in 2018 and has bought a £15m estate called River Haven, which includes a pub named The Bugger Inn and a vineyard. His bid to create a thriving business has been documented in new ITV show Kiwi Adventure, and in the latest episode he revealed his idea of creating a special energy garden. He was confident about finding some "magic" stones with energy for the project, but admitted people thought that idea was "crazy". The episode that aired on Friday, 27 June saw Edmonds battling with the wet weather, with the star saying he was "haemorrhaging money" as rain kept punters from his pub. But when the clouds cleared, he and wife Liz visited a quarry to find the perfect rocks to start their garden. "Are there many people coming and acquiring rocks from you?" Edmonds asked the owner. "Because I always savour unique nutter status." The star said he was after "four magic ones". "It's all about energy," he said, after spotting one he was drawn to. "There are so many people who think you are crazy if you talk in this way about a rock having energy, being attracted to it, but they are the crazy ones. Because it has been known for thousands of years that we are energy beings." Read more: Noel Edmonds How Noel Edmonds went from TV's most famous host to rural life in New Zealand Noel Edmonds complains he is 'haemorrhaging money' on £15m New Zealand estate Noel Edmonds wants to challenge Jeremy Clarkson's Farm team "This thing about the energy, you have got to appreciate, we have all got to appreciate, that we are surrounded by this sort of invisible mist of energy," said the star. "One of the limitations of the human form is that we can't see it but yet your cat and your dog can see it." The episode also saw Edmonds end up taking an impromptu dip when his stepson pushed him off a boat into the river. The TV host had shared that he had toyed with the idea of offering rafting trips to guests and after he uncovered two rafts on the property, he and others from the estate decided to go out on them. At one point, Edmond questioned whether the rafts would speed up if there were less people in them, leading his stepson Harrison to creep up and push him into the water. He roared with laughter as he bobbed along in the river, before some of the team dragged him out. Chatting to wife Liz about his surprise swim, Edmonds joked that her first thought when she spotted that he wasn't in the boat was "life insurance". But she insisted: "It was, 'Oh God where is my husband?'" In another scene, Edmonds played the piano to the plants in his vineyard in a bid to help them grow. He told his team he'd read an old study that suggested that plants grew more if music was played to them. Having arranged for a truck to pull a piano through the fields, he sat down and tickled the ivories as his colleagues watched. The presenter was also reunited with Mr Blobby, who originally featured on his House Party show, when someone dressed up as the character for the estate's Halloween bash. "There is an assumption for some reason, that I go, 'Oh Blobby'," Edmonds said. "Actually I love the legacy of Blobby. The first reason is, it gave so much happiness. The other reason is, 'Cor I didn't half make a lot of money out of it'." Noel Edmonds' Kiwi Adventure is available on ITVX.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jeremy Clarkson admits to struggling with pub business
Jeremy Clarkson has revealed that the pub he recently opened will be his last entrepreneurial venture as he 'doesn't understand' business. The Grand Tour star, whose Prime Video series Clarkson's Farm is one of the service's most-streamed TV shows, extended his business empire in July 2024, taking over rural country pub The Windmill in Asthall – a 'village boozer' on five acres of countryside near Burford. He made the purchase after finding success with his now-famous, 1000-acre Diddly Squat farm and accompanying shop, which is run by the TV personality's wife, Lisa Hogan. The purchase of his pub, which is called The Farmer's Dog, features in the latest series of Clarkson's Farm – but he has now ruled out any similar ventures in the future. 'I'm done with business now,' he said in a new interview with The Times. 'I am not starting another business as long as I live.' Clarkson admitted: 'I don't understand it and am not motivated by money. I just want a good craic.' The TV personality is now producing a TV series showcasing his efforts to be a pub landlord – much in the same way Clarkson's Farm shows his travails of running Diddly Squat. But his efforts in purchasing the boozer were revealed in Clarkson's Farm, which unveiled the hilarious meaning of its name, The Farmer's Dog, in the latest season. In episode four, Clarkson is shown reading through documentation received from the lawyer handling the pub's purchase, and he learns that the surrounding Oxfordshire area is regularly frequented by people who enjoy having sex in semi-secluded public spaces. The episode shows Clarkson discover that the entirety of the pub's garden area is designated by the council as 'a picnic site' – a detail that he said became 'blurred and confusing' when he continued to read through the file. After calling his lawyer, Clarkson is told that the site previously attracted some 'unwanted and anti-social behaviour' that 'might put you off eating your picnic'. When Clarkson asked if this activity was centred around the public toilets, the lawyer said: 'We have happened upon some quite interesting photographs which capture certain graffiti and certain goings-on.' Upon inspecting the area, Clarkson discovered the activity was still going on, after finding underwear strewn about in trees. Clarkson first revealed the dogging revelation in a video shared on Instagram that saw him standing outside the pub, holding up a stick with a pair of black and pink knickers dangling off the end. He wrote: 'Tell me you bought a pub on a dogging site without telling me you bought a pub on a dogging site.' He also said he was surprised that West Oxfordshire district council approved his plans to transform the 'famous dogging site' that is 'full of dead rats' into a 'fun' village watering hole.
