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Free Beer for Pub's Most Loyal Drinker -
Scotsman.com ^ | October 10, 2003 | Ben Garside

Posted on 10/11/2003 11:51:09 AM PDT by UnklGene

Free Beer for Pub’s Most Loyal Drinker

By Ben Garside

A 90-year-old war veteran has drunk in the same pub for the last 72 years, his landlord confirmed today.

Tommy Spurr has supped an estimated 52,000 pints of beer and the same number of glasses of whisky over eight decades – popping in almost daily for his never changing order, two pints of bitter and two glasses of whiskey.

Pub locals and Mr Spurr’s family gathered at the White Cross Pub, Pudsey, West Yorkshire, to celebrate his birthday yesterday, where current landlord Colm O’Neill presented him with a cake and a certificate for a free pint of beer every day for life.

The retired warehouse manager first walked into the White Cross on his 18th birthday in 1931.

He ordered two pints of Tetley’s bitter and two glasses of whisky, and he went back virtually every day since, to the same pub, with the same order.

“He’s part of the fixtures and fittings,” said Mr O’Neill.

“At quarter-to-five every day he walks in, regular as clockwork. You can set your watch by him. He’s a lovely character.

“If he’s a bit late we think there’s something wrong, so we give his daughter a call to check.”

Mr Spurr said: “I like the bitter and I have two ‘wee ones’. It’s a nice pub and I like my spot at the bar.”

The father-of-one, who has two grand-daughters and three great grandchildren, only missed out on his drinks when he was serving his country during the Second World War.

Mr Spurr was a soldier in the Burma campaign.

“I missed having a drink at the local while I was a soldier, apart from the day our officer brought a bottle of whisky and we managed to get our hands on some,” he said.

Tetley spokesperson Donna Cresswell said: “We’re delighted to hear Mr Spurr is such a fan of our beer. It’s clear our product has stood the test of time.”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: beer
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1 posted on 10/11/2003 11:51:09 AM PDT by UnklGene
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To: UnklGene
Sounds like he's pretty well preserved....
2 posted on 10/11/2003 11:55:59 AM PDT by proxy_user
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To: UnklGene
Norm!

A Cheers Norm Perterson reference.

3 posted on 10/11/2003 11:57:30 AM PDT by glorgau
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To: All
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4 posted on 10/11/2003 11:57:41 AM PDT by Support Free Republic (Your support keeps Free Republic going strong!)
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To: UnklGene
Now 'eres a mahn after me own 'eart!

FMCDH

5 posted on 10/11/2003 12:04:15 PM PDT by nothingnew (The pendulum is swinging and the Rats are in the pit!)
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To: UnklGene
Fresh English beer on draft, the fountain of youth.
6 posted on 10/11/2003 12:07:26 PM PDT by dennisw (G_d is at war with Amalek for all generations)
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>bump< to a good soldier
7 posted on 10/11/2003 12:07:45 PM PDT by Cboldt
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To: UnklGene
Pub locals and Mr Spurr’s family gathered at the White Cross Pub, Pudsey, West Yorkshire, to celebrate his birthday yesterday, where current landlord Colm O’Neill presented him with a cake and a certificate for a free pint of beer every day for life.

A nice gesture; 25 percent off his bar bill for the rest of his life.

(I wonder if they ran the numbers to figure out how much that covering 100 percent of it would have cost)?

8 posted on 10/11/2003 12:10:48 PM PDT by strela ("It's about governance. It's not about sermons." Brooks Firestone)
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To: UnklGene
– popping in almost daily for his never changing order, two pints of bitter and two glasses of whiskey.
presented him with a cake and a certificate for a free pint of beer every day for life.

He drinks 2 pints a day + 2 glasses of whisky and he only gets 1 freebie pint of beer per day???

Good grief, that's barely more than a standard 10% senior discount!
The geezer's 90 years old, he deserves a better deal than that!!!

9 posted on 10/11/2003 12:13:22 PM PDT by Willie Green (Go Pat Go!!!)
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To: UnklGene
Tommy Spurr has supped an estimated 52,000 pints of beer and the same number of glasses of whisky over eight decades – popping in almost daily for his never changing order, two pints of bitter and two glasses of whiskey.

Looks like the author is trying to cover all bases. Or maybe he stopped by the pub before writing the story. Generally, it's "whisky" if it's Scotch, "whiskey" if it's Irish, Canadian, or American. My money's on "whisky."

10 posted on 10/11/2003 12:13:32 PM PDT by southernnorthcarolina (No matter where you go... there you are.)
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To: strela
A nice gesture; 25 percent off his bar bill for the rest of his life.

Nah, it's less than that. Whiskey typically sells at a higher price than beer.

11 posted on 10/11/2003 12:14:54 PM PDT by Willie Green (Go Pat Go!!!)
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To: Willie Green
Well, this is Scotland; they're notoriously tight with a shilling.
12 posted on 10/11/2003 12:16:20 PM PDT by southernnorthcarolina (No matter where you go... there you are.)
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To: Willie Green
Nah, it's less than that. Whiskey typically sells at a higher price than beer.

True. At least they're standing him for his first belt then.

13 posted on 10/11/2003 12:17:06 PM PDT by strela ("It's about governance. It's not about sermons." Brooks Firestone)
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To: Allegra; Xenalyte; Flyer; Bacon Man; mhking
Beer Bump!

I'm a big fan of consistency!

14 posted on 10/11/2003 12:20:18 PM PDT by humblegunner
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To: southernnorthcarolina
Well, this is Scotland; they're notoriously tight with a shilling.

LOL. When they open their sporran, the Queen blinks at the light ...

15 posted on 10/11/2003 12:21:18 PM PDT by strela ("It's about governance. It's not about sermons." Brooks Firestone)
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To: humblegunner
And a big fan of spelling "consistancy" too.
16 posted on 10/11/2003 12:22:11 PM PDT by humblegunner
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To: southernnorthcarolina
Well, this is Scotland; they're notoriously tight with a shilling.

This very much reminds me of something I read in Reader's Digest some years back. A woman was sewing herself a new purse and did not have a zipper of the right size, so she used velcro for the closure.

Shortly thereafter she went on a vacation in the U.K. In Scotland she went shopping and drove a hard bargain with a shopkeeper, claiming to be of Scottish descent herself. Then she opened her purse to pay.

Quoth the shopkeeper; "Aye, it's a proper Scot's purse. It screams when you open it."

17 posted on 10/11/2003 12:27:41 PM PDT by LibKill (Force has settled more issues than any other factor. Forget that fact and pay large.)
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To: LibKill
Or how about this: What is the definition of a copper wire? Two scotsmen fighting over a penny.
18 posted on 10/11/2003 12:38:05 PM PDT by doodad
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To: humblegunner; Xenalyte; Flyer; Eaker; Bacon Man
I'm a big fan of consistency!

Humblegunner will be receiving a similar award in about 50 years or so.

19 posted on 10/11/2003 12:42:49 PM PDT by Allegra (If conservatives are "to the right," then liberals are "to the wrong.")
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To: doodad
Ha... I see that you and others are perpetuating that racist ethnic stereotype of Scots being tightwads? Wait until the EU Commission Against Ethnic Stereotypes hear about this one, you insensitive people...
20 posted on 10/11/2003 12:45:02 PM PDT by Own Drummer
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