A
Interview
When it comes to success in the
licensed trade, being a big character
is a definite plus – and Wight
Mouse landlord Andy Greenwood
certainly ticks that particular box.
The six foot four Yorkshireman is a
former cruise ship drummer, with
a dry Northern wit, a passion for
cricket, and such a legendary love
of hot curries that he even named
his boat The Curry Cruiser. Jackie
McCarrick spoke to him, and found
out why, after years of sailing the
world, he’s come to regard the
Island as home.
He’d sailed thousands of miles across the
world’s oceans, but the short ferry ride he
took across the Solent in late 1995 turned
out to be the most significant sea crossing
that Andy Greenwood would ever make.
At the time, he and his wife Cheryl, still
only in their mid-30s, were successfully
running their second Whitbread pub
in Romsey, Hampshire, having already
turned around the fortunes of The Bugle
in nearby Botley.
It was a brewery manager who
suggested they might like to consider
taking on The Folly Inn at Whippingham,
East Cowes - and Andy jokes that since
he’d only recently bought himself “a nice
new nautical coat”, he reckoned that
would be enough to equip him for life
at the internationally-famous yachtie
watering hole.
He and Cheryl agreed to take up the
challenge, and in early 1996 took the
reins for what they expected to be a six-
month tenure. As it turned out, though,
they were there for a total of over 18
years, with a one-year break in the middle.
During that time, the pub became
known Islandwide for its lively, party
atmosphere, Mediterranean-themed
Saturday nights, big band events, and
dancing on the tables – and it was by no
means unusual for the Greenwoods and
their hard-working team to serve over
1,000 diners in a day.
But then when you consider their
background before going into the pub
trade, it’s hardly surprising that Andy and
Cheryl made such an impact.
The ocean wave
The couple had met in 1984 during a
world cruise on board the Sea Princess,
when they were both working as
entertainers – Cheryl as a dancer and
Andy as a drummer with the band.
He may have been a good musician,
but he freely admits that when it came to
dancing, he was “terrible”.
So when a team of championship
dance pros put on some ship-board
classes, he decided to bite the bullet and
learn some nifty ballroom dance moves
in order to surprise his mum when he
landed back home.
Cheryl went along as his partner, and
they became good friends – although the
‘here-today, gone-tomorrow’ nature of
their working lives meant that they didn’t
actually get together for a few years.
“Working onboard with P&O was a great
life for a single man” Andy recalls. “It was
a lot of fun, took me around the world
several times, and certainly developed the
social skills that helped me later on in the
licensed trade”.
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