We closed the pub on 1st November 2008. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make, but the reality of the situation was that we just weren't financially viable as a business. We were being offered the freehold at a price far in excess of the true value of the property and also had the added complication of two poor summers in succession not providing us with sufficient working capital to get through a potentially long winter. Helen had been working ridiculous hours and we just seemed to be going one step forward and two steps back.
After shutting the Provi' things became very depressing. When you have spent two years surrounded by local people who have come to be a valued part of your life to suddenly finding yourself alone all day it creates quite a vacuum. As the saying goes, 'nature abhors a vacuum'. Soon that space was occupied by the need to leave the pub, a place that had become home to us. We had sold our cottage and had purchased a property in Cornwall; this was going to be part of a new start. Now, several months later it is easy to ask why we needed to go so far, but at the time it seemed the best option. We had nothing to offer the village having failed to make a long term venture of the pub and I couldn't bring myself to become a regular of the Pig's Nose. That was a step too far. I knew that our locals would obviously go back there, in fact to be fair, the majority of them had continued to drink there even during our time at the Provi'. This was something I respected, because the customers valued the fact that they had the choice of two watering holes and supported both accordingly. We moved to our new home in Cornwall on Christmas day 2008. We managed to eat our Christmas dinner at 21:45 that evening and then all promptly fell asleep.
Seven months have passed since then and in all that time we have tried hard to maintain a regular contact with East Prawle and the wonderful friends we made there. The upshot is that we are moving back. I intend to explain all the whys and wherefores in the next few postings, because it is still part of our adventure. I also intend to spill a few beans along the way. Watch this space (if you are interested?)
