I wonder if it will be business as usual for Sam Smith's pubs.
a friend drove for him for 15 years.
not a very likeable gent it seemed.
huge changes at the brewery i reckon.
not a very likeable gent it seemed.
Strong shout for understatement of the century, not to speak ill of the departed.
huge changes at the brewery i reckon.
And Tadcaster town planning.
Fingers crossed, a few managers might now be attracted to their pubs.
This was the guy who sacked a landlord for not stocking his favourite dessert?
I'm sure he'll be missed
As a tadcasteronian friend says, if Humphrey was found dead in an alleyway with a knife in his back, they'd be several thousand suspects....
He has seriously held Tad back, half the place is his derelict properties.
Came here to link to that Guardian article.
The guy was like a real life Dickens character, and I bet there's a good chance that the settling of his estate will be like a rerun of Jarndyce Vs Jarndyce
Apparently his son will be taking over – I just hope they manage to get the pubs back up and running – it's not everyone's taste, but a decent pint of Sam Smith's can be pretty good, and the lager is far superior to most mass-produced stuff.
– it's not everyone's taste, but a decent pint of Sam Smith's can be pretty good, and the lager is far superior to most mass-produced stuff.
It’s funny but in the 90s - before we knew all about people behind businesses and their politics etc - I made a point of finding Sam Smith’s pubs as they always had good beer at reasonable prices and without the shit that lots of other pubs had.
As a student in London The Chandos in Leicester Square was a favourite and probably 50-80p cheaper than anything else nearby. I went there a couple of years ago and it hadn’t changed a bit (not necessarily in a good way).
I'd not even heard of this guy. I've just read that Guardian article though.
What a strange man he was!
Something just occurred to me.
I think he's have been right at home on the forum. 😁
I hadn't heard of him either. I fundamentally disagree with him in every way.
However, if I was in his position, I could easily see myself building an empire based on trying to force every bar I controlled to fashion itself after a Parisian existentialist cafe from the 1950s.
Yep, I detest the man but I can also see myself doing the exact same thing if I was in his position.
What a strange man he was!
The BBC article has been treading a fine line of trying to say nice things while also knowing the guy was a "character":
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0ky1v2e275o
As a tadcasteronian friend says, if Humphrey was found dead in an alleyway with a knife in his back, they'd be several thousand suspects....
He has seriously held Tad back, half the place is his derelict properties.
I am a local. Its fair to say that the general response has been not that far removed from dancing in the streets.
The memories of that A64 diversion, which he had the power to resolve quickly and easily, still hurt!
That Guardian article was fascinating, well worth a read. He really dd sound like a modern day Scrooge.
