Wetherspoons.

[gulliver1]

Tim Martin is to receive a Knighthood in the New Years Honours.For services to business And Brexit..OMG they are giving these knighthoods away.

[dustypuss]

I know is microwaved but it's still good

[fender62]

spoons is cheap and cheerful, some places better then others, tim employs thousands let alone businesses that support spoons breweries catering suppliers etc, if anyone deserves an award it him... this is just another brexit and tory slight, i guess people who work in parts of the black economy and also claim benefits deserve awards.

[Maydup]

Good news. A knighthood for a great entrepreneur who employs thousands, refurbishes some huge high street properties and pays mega taxes. 

[bazwillrun]

"this is just another brexit and tory slight"
eaxcty,  and by the obsessed troll who doesnt even ive here...and as  usuaL its another post thats been well and truly trounced.....

[bazwillrun]

*live

[Peter Pedant]

Why shouldn't a very successful businessman, a man whose business employs many thousands of people,  not be worthy of a Knighthood?

because Baroness Mone  is  still a bad taste lingering in our mouths - living saint tho  she may be

[davebro3]

apples/oranges PP

[gulliver1]

How many of his pubs... has Tim Wetherspoon Martin had to close down since Brexit .which he backed ? .🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣lol

[douglas9401]

Oh I don't know, some say both are the friend of the four-pinter.

[ToraToraTora]

Did he close the one in your village Gully?

[Gramps82]

Gulliver 18.07.  There are 811 Wetherspoon Public Houses in the U.K with 22 having been closed down due the high cost of living, nothing to do with Brexit at all, but of course that is not something that you will ever accept as you blame all the problems in the UK. Never mind that other countries throughout the world have all experienced similiar problems.

Perhaps you should begin to realise that the world has faced its worst few years due to COVID, the Ukraine war and now the troubles in the Middle East but gradually the UK is starting to recover.  I know that you are opposed to Brexit, and I accept your views on this matter, but why it should bother you as an alleged overseas resident is beyond me. Do you not think it time that you stopped flogging this dead horse and concentrated on things that really do matter.

[Deskdiary]

I love a Spoon.

My Spoon is in Tunbridge Wells and the way they've been sympathetic to the orginal use of the building is fantastic.

https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/kent/opera-house-royal-tunbridge-wells 

[New Judge]

Yes, the Opera House is very good, DD.

If you want to see another example of Mr Mrtin's organisation breathing new life into an old building, take a look at The Royal Victoria Pavillion in Ramsgate:

https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/kent/the-royal-victoria-pavilion-ramsgate

It had laid derelict for around 15 years (having been used - most inappropriately - as a casino and a night club). Wethers bought it from the Council for £1 and spent £4.5m renovating it. It has brought visitors to a town which, it has to be said, has not got much going for it (apart from being the terminus of the High Speed rail service from London).

To answer gulliver's question about closures - my local 'Spoons was one of those closed. It did so because the lease expired and the landlord decided to quadruple the rent. Needless to say it now lays empty and instead of a reasonable rent the landlord now gets nothing. That had nothing to do with Brexit either.

 

[Maydup]

The Winter Gardens in Harrogate is another example of a beautiful building repurposed by Wetherspoons. 
 

[New Judge]

Indeed maydup.

Was there a couple of years ago. Love the little booths at the top of the stairs (which I believe were the ticket offices when the Winter Gardens was originally opened). And that twin staircase down to the bar !!! 

[Deskdiary]

So what we've discovered then is that Mr Martin (soon to be Sir) sympathetically repurposes otherwise empty buildings, brings employment and provides a welcome service.

What an utter despicable bustard he is and is in no way deserving of a gong.

Talk about a Gulliver face-palm moment (I know he does it a lot, but this is a doozy!).

[Ellipsis]

> Business secretary Kemi Badenoch pushed for his candidacy behind the scenes, the Daily Mail reported, arguing that it is wrong for successful entrepreneurs to be overlooked by the establishment because they supported Brexit.

That's a member of the Cabinet, working behind the scenes, to push for a knighthood, which is already a damaged institution, because she was concerned that otherwise he'd be overlooked by "the establishment" that she is part of! What a crock it all is ...

[jno]

well, I think businessmen who employ lots of people and make lots of money should all get kighthoods and my friend Baroness Bra agrees and so does Fred the Shred. It's people like them wot make Britain Great.

[Togo]

The"Spoons" up here in Llandudno is another example, like Tunbridge Wells, and Ramsgate, of premises that would have been left to decay despite being a listed building. I know that the upkeep of the place is crippling and the photos shown of the site do not show, and so do not do justice to the huge domed 4 storey high stucco decorated ceiling. Not my venue of choice, but if needs must and circumstances dictate that need to be there to liase, then I do. More sneering from the wastelands of the dustbowl of Europe. They all rely on Eeyoo handouts there and wave there empty begging bowls at Brusssels on command. 

https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/wales/conwy/the-palladium-llandudno

[gulliver1]

Tim Martin has told his 40,000 staff to go and work for Tesco  amid the uncertainty  over their futures.