Iris and her husband showed how 'real' pubs ought to be run

A very large gathering assembled to fill the chapel at Durrington Cemetery for her funeral on the 21st, going on to the Cricketers at Broadwater to lighten the spirits afterwards.

It should be put on the record that Iris and her husband Alan were two of the last old-fashioned licensees from the pub trade in the area, and they brought a dedication and professionalism to that trade which marked them out as head and shoulders above the rest.

I first got to know them in the late 1970s, when they were at The Lamb, Angmering, and no one will argue that they made it one of the very best pubs in the county, where they let out rooms and kept the warmest of welcomes for every type of customer, from the golf club patrons to the livelier village locals and all passing trade, as well, which came from afar for their good food.

They were always impeccably attired, Iris usually in a dress, Alan jacket and tie, and they had a knack also of getting good people to work for them: many will remember Marcia, Colin and Jim.

I think their first pub was The Woolpack over at Fishbourne and, then, from The Lamb, they went over to the Six Bells at Lyminster in the 1980s, ending their time at Pebble Beach, East Preston, famous for good food and its beautiful seaside setting. The pub trade has suffered terribly over the last few years, besieged by the health lobby, the smoking ban, a government which taxes it to the limit and beyond, not to mention supermarkets selling drink at giveaway prices and "pubcos", with their upward only rents.

So many will not know or remember how good a well-run traditional pub should be, and Iris Andrews provided just that.

Happily, there is some continuity here as one of the three sons, Derek, is executive chef at the Cricketers, where the same exacting standards set by his parents are maintained.

Richard Foster

Beech View

Angmering

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