Earl Grey 1980s - 1990s

South Kent Gazette 4-1-1984

Local News

Penalties for swearing in a public house have helped raise £75 for mentally handicapped children. Publicans Sandy and Joe McIvor have kept their ears pinned back during 1983 to make bad language pay. For any time a customer cussed it cost them 10p, and the money, including £1 notes has been dropped into a gallon whisky bottle on the bar of the Earl Grey in the Old High Street, Folkestone. Sandy and Joe has a smashing time to free the money from the bottle. It was handed over to Andy and Sue Lilly, from the Mencap residential home in Bouverie Road West to help boost the charity`s general funds for children at the home. Cases of soft brinks were also given to the home by Mr. Ian Browne , of manufacturers Canada Dry and Rawlings.

Folkestone Herald 28-2-1986

Local New

A pub landlord has been cleared of a charge of handling stolen wine.

Joseph McIvor, of the Earl Grey, Old High Street, Folkestone, denied dishonestly receiving the wine. And he was acquitted with two other defendants after the judge directed the jury to return a Not Guilty verdict. Judge Margaret Cosgrave said the prosecution had failed to show the wine was stolen. In the dock with McIvor were landlord of the Priory Hotel in Dover, David Hossick, and West Malling restaurateur Enrique Martinez.

The Maidstone court earlier heard from prosecutor Nicholas Beddard how, in August, 1984, more than 1,000 cases of wine meant for Waitrose were stolen from a lorry in Essex. It was alleged that a month later some of the wine was on sale in Kent. He claimed McIvor collected up to 180 cases of wine from a pub in West Malling. He later sold some to Hossick and Martinez. All three denied knowing the wine was stolen when interviewed by the police. Some of the wine went to Dover and the Earl Grey.  When Hossick was seen by the police, he said he bought 20 cases of Waitrose wine from Joe McIvor at £1.20 a bottle. He said he was told it was bankrupt stock. Later he said he had bought 100 cases from McIvor. Martinez told police he had bought the wine from “Joe”, who had a pub in Folkestone. McIvor told police he had paid a man he did not know £1,800 in cash for the whole consignment of 180 cases.

Folkestone Herald 24-6-1988

Local News

Pint-size grandmother Jeanne Robey is clean, well-dressed and politely spoken. Yet she is banned from at least five pubs in Folkestone alone. As soon as she walks into the bar, customers and publicans threaten her, call her names, refuse to serve her, and then demand that she leaves. Her crime? The 5ft 2ins gran works on a P&O cross-Channel ferry.

The 46-year-old grandma was a geriatric nurse for eight years before ac­cepting a job with the ferry company last May when money ran short.

Now, the extra cash in her pocket has meant that Jeanne has to pay heavily in another way. Once a bar assistant and regular in a handful of pubs in Folkestone’s town cen­tre, she is now booted out of those same drinking holes, threatened with vicious beatings and vulgar jibes.

This week, after hearing of her story, the Herald insisted on checking the facts.

On Monday, usually a quiet night, Jeanne and I walked into The Earl Grey in the Old High Street and quietly asked for a drink. Minutes later we were hand-clapped out of the pub. Even before we reached the counter, a young man sitting in the comer got up, and told the landlady “Don’t serve her, she’s a scab”. The landlady then refused to serve us, saying “You’re not welcome in here. I’m on strike and it’s against my morals to serve you”. We left.

At the Portland in Langhome Gardens, landlord Brian Godfrey immediately refus­ed to serve us, saying “Jeanne, you know you’re not allowed in here”. When asked why, he said “She causes too much aggravation”.

But the worst treatment came at the Bouverie Arms at Cheriton Road, Folke­stone. As soon as we walked through the door, a customer sitting near the doorway, yelled “F.... scab” at Jeanne. As we walked towards the bar, he continued swearing and shouted “You’re not allowed in here. Get out”. We were refused drinks at the bar, and as we walked out, a customer threatened “If you come back, I’ll get the whole pub to walk out.” Genuinely afraid, Jeanne left immediate­ly. I then asked the man why he treated Jeanne like that. He said “She’s a scab. She knows she’s not allowed in here. This is not a pub for scabs. If she stays in here, I’ll get the whole pub out. I’ve done it before, and I know they’ll walk out again if I told them. Scabs don’t drink in here”.

Jeanne was convinced we could drink at The Imperial, in Black Bull Road. She’d worked there as a barmaid and had known landlord Mr. Vic Clark as a friend for 20 years. She was wrong. As we walked in, the pub went quiet. The landlord told Jeanne “I can’t serve you. I’m on the line. I’ve got the boys in here”.

Jeanne says she can count another four pubs in Folkestone who have also banned her. Bitter Jeanne said “I have lived in this town all my life. My father had a tobac­conists shop in Tontine Street for over 50 years. Now I am being threatened and always have to watch my back. It is terrible that P&O workers have to be careful where they drink. Surely in this free country, people who want to work should be allowed to without recrimina­tions”, she said.

Photo from Folkestone Herald

Folkestone Herald 25-11-1999

Local News

One of Folkestone`s oldest pubs, the Earl Grey, was badly damaged in a fire that left the roof in danger of collapsing around the chimney. The police and fire brigade responded to reports of smoke coming from the Old High Street pub in the early hours of Saturday, and four fire engines arrived to fight the blaze. The landlady of the pub suffered superficial injuries, but she was not taken to hospital. There were no other injuries. No suspicious circumstances have been reported.

A spokesman for the Fire Brigade said “We would like to emphasise that in the event of a fire we want people to get out and stay out. A lady sustained burns while trying to tackle the fire and endangered her life and ours in the process”.

The Fire Brigade prevented the fire spreading to adjacent properties. It is not known when the pub will be open again to drinkers.