I hate stuff and Paul loves stuff. Our solution is the Yorkshireman; the name of the Dale Farm bar. We had a large, empty but attractive chalk barn which wasn’t being used for much other than storage and spiders. Paul started to convert it into his own pub. It also houses his extensive collection of collections and is an ongoing creative work in progress.
What I originally might have called ‘junk, junk, clutter’ has turned into a living work of art. There are random collections of bottle openers, toy cars, tankards, hip flasks, beer trays, hats and caps and his much loved Belgian beer glasses.
The whole barn is also a memory board of meaningful items. Little reminders of our life at Dale Farm forming a kind of 3D scrapbook where every item has a story to tell. The crash helmet that Mary made Bill wear for cutting down trees (former owners), my Dad’s old skis, one of the kids’ teddy bears, a tractor steering wheel, antique original farm tools, local road signs (legally acquired after accidents!), Paul’s old rugby shirts, a memento of every wedding held at the farm.
The sum of the parts is a beautiful, idiosyncratic room that has been known to leave visitors lost for words.
Of course this pub is not just quirky. It also has pool table, 50 inch TV, bose sound system, pool table, darts, log burner, 20 brands of single malt, half a dozen flavoured gins and the same on vodkas, draft ales, craft beers and much more. Latest addition is a board mounted 35 metre Scalextric track.
It is mainly for our own use when friends come over or for parties and so on. We only open to the public for special occasions such as weddings but if you are interested ask Paul and he will let you have a look. I guarantee you have never been in a pub like it.