Wales’ ‘toughest pub’ has £1 pints and £300 behind the bar for Sunday session
North Wales' toughest pub had £1 pints on a Sunday and was so notorious that it starred in a documentary about bolshie boozers.
The Old Vaults in Wrexham, North Wales let the cameras in for a noughties documentary series on Britain's toughest pubs.
Tony Taylor used to run the Old Vaults, now under new ownership and called The Long Pull, and disputes the image portrayed of the haunt on the Sky show, called 'The Toughest Pubs in Britain.'
He said that producers put £300 behind the bar during filming on a Sunday in 2004, so as to maximise the good TV that they might capture.
"The show was filmed on Sunday, starting in the morning, and the producers put £300 behind the bar," he told North Wales Live.
"Sundays were busy days for us back then anyway because it was pound-a-pint so you can imagine that people were quite intoxicated by the end of the day.
"Most of the pubs in Wrexham had refused to go on the show but I didn't mind having the cameras there and the customers definitely enjoyed it – even more so as the day went on."
The 59-year-old took over the pub from his parents in 2003 before parting ways with it just two years later. He continued: "My reaction to the show itself was mixed at the time because of the way it had been edited.
Elon Musk calls out Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber – for not Tweeting enough
"It was edited in a way that just ignored the good parts. The way the pub was portrayed wasn't really fair, but once you let a film crew in you're asking for trouble really – add free drinks into the mix and you're going to have a lively time.
"At the end of the show, there's a shot of a man walking out the pub and falling over but he was part of the film crew."
The historic pub, which is housed in a mid 19th century building, had skirmishes like any other boozer, but Mr Taylor said it wasn't an issue during his time in charge.
To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
"I wouldn't have said it was one of the toughest pubs when I was in charge. If there ever was a fight or anything like that it would sort itself out quite quickly, but it wasn't ever a big issue for us," he said.
Mr Taylor, who now runs a parking ticket appeal business, did say that the show is good for looking back at old regulars that have now passed away.
He said: "We had a lot of regulars who I got to know quite well. Big June in particular was a character.
"She was a trans woman and would come to the pub on a regular basis. She's passed away now sadly but I remember her fondly – she was one of the regulars who was there when the show was filmed and had a starring role."
Source: Read Full Article