His parents, Con and Iris ran the Crown in Heathfield for eighteen years and prior to that had pubs in the East End of London. But Paul can go back even further to his Great Grandmother who ran three pubs in the East End and another relative who had hostelries in the West End and a group of Coffee Houses (ironically called The Star Dining Rooms).
When Paul left school in Heathfield he worked briefly in London while still living with his parents and used to consider The Star in Waldron as his local. But when the then licensee Verity Martin confided that she was giving in her notice to Charrington's, the Brewery which owned it, Paul spotted an opportunity. He went home and told his parents, who promptly applied for the tenancy with Con and Paul as joint licensees and in October 1982 their life in Waldron began.
At the time the Star was characterful but run down, needing redecoration and attention being paid to the land behind the pub which bore no sign of ever having been a garden. It was hard physical work but gradually the pub was smartened up and when new legislation from the Monopolies and Mergers Commission led to many country pubs coming up for sale, the family applied for a mortgage and bought The Star. The village was full of a cast of characters, (men and women) with interesting backgrounds, which made it a fascinating place attracting young and old customers. When there were anniversaries (particularly of wartime events) uniforms were dusted off and worn and reminiscences exchanged. Residents were always ready to help each other out and regular snowfalls and extreme weather, such as the Great Storm of 1987 brought out the Dunkirk spirit. Hundreds of trees were brought down, blocking lanes and damaging houses and there was no electricity in the village for two weeks but the pub was open seven days a week and no one went hungry
In the years that followed, major events came and went : a smoking ban in all pubs barely caused a ripple. "People just got used to it" Paul remembers "and there was no unpleasantness" The new century arrived and so did computers and mobile phones, Royal events and festivals were celebrated with street parties outside the pub, plays were put on as promenade performances and there was even a film. a thriller with the pub and village scenes used as a backdrop to a murder, attracting the attention of the local cold case police depaartment and television coverage. Always The Star was central to the action.
And then came the Covid Pandemic and overnight, for the first time in Paul's experience, the Star had to close its doors. The closure began on 23 March 2020, the day before Mothering Sunday. The village fell silent but in that early Spring, when the sun shone day after day, weddings were postponed, funerals ent ahead with no mourners, holidays didn't happen and the hospitality industry cruelly suffered. But a vaccine was invented and gradually the future brightened.
It was two years before things becan to get back to normal and the buzz returned to the cheerful pub. The break allowed a rethink of its opening hours and logic dictated that on Mondays and Tuesday it stayed shut. Low alcoholic drinks were invented and drinking habits changed, especially among the young. Now a fresh chapter opens with a new family moving in upstairs. Things will change, new ideas will develop but still the Star will be central to the social life of this loveliest of rural villages.
Good luck to Simon, Nicole and their family aas they move in. Our very warmest good wishes and love go to Paul Lefort as he retires and with his wife Deborah starts exploring the world beyond Waldron. Thanks for the memories! ENDS