The Pub

Dear Jessica Brennan, let’s remember all the great times we’ve had at our local. Love Mum xo

Dear Waltzing Weasel,

Recognizing the importance of the local pub, HRH Prince Charles described it as an essential service to the village, and as one who often sits within your walls, I would agree. Over the years you have welcomed us as newcomers, nurtured us as regulars and valued us as permanent residents.  You have hired the kids we know as hostesses, scolded them as waitresses, and taught them real-world lessons they might not otherwise learn so well.  You have provided us with new friends, given us celebrations with old friends, and mourned with us lost friends. You have given us a safe place to go when the world has seemed too much.

When we are happy, we want to come to you and when life becomes overwhelming, you are more than comfort food, you are comfort itself, the place we want to be for awhile, away from our personal realities, a place where heads can clear, and friends can fill us up with a joyful reminder of the truly important things.

When we have business to discuss and weighty decisions to make, we do it with you. We have shared tall tales with you, been noisy with you, told the same jokes (over and over) to you; been quiet with you. We have even cried with you, but not nearly so much as we have laughed – not those polite tiny laughs either, but the big round bellyful of laughs that come from a place that Shepherd’s Pie never gets to, and we are not alone. From a frosty Christmas Eve afternoon, to a sweltering summer night we can’t imagine that this place would not exist. So I wanted to say, that on those inevitable days when it must feel like just pies and pints to you, please know it gives “the village” so much more than that.  In the few seconds we all have to call life, your walls surround us with memories of days gone by, and promises of good times to come. Thank you so much.

Everyone has a great story to tell.  If you would like to participate in a writing workshop with Dear Jessica Brennan’s mum, please send a note to: dearjessicabrennan@gmail.com.  We would love to hear from you!