Island Life Magazine Ltd December/January 2018 | Page 117

Food and drink
Instead the pair took refuge in
the pub cellar for the night, and
waited it out.
Next morning, they were
greeted with a scene of complete
chaos, from broken furniture
and shattered windows to major
structural damage.
Oddly, though, a shelf full of beer
mugs over the bar had remained
spookily intact.
While relieved to have escaped
unscathed, Brenda and Chiv
realised that they wouldn’t be
pulling pints for a while – and
in fact the reconstruction of the
pub took a full 18 months, during
which time they had to stay with
friends on the Island.
They returned to the pub for a
while, but Brenda says it never felt
the same afterwards, and she and
Chiv went on to run a care home
business before finally retiring to
Sandown.
In the years since then, she has
been widowed and moved to the
mainland to be near family – but
recently whilst clearing out some
cupboards, she came across
photos of the storm-damaged
pub after that fateful night, and
decided to send them to the
current licensees, Kate and Tim
Green.
“I couldn’t bring myself to
throw them away, and thought
they should be back as part of the
history of the pub” she said.
Fast forward
Tim and Kate Green, who moved
into the Culver Haven three years
ago with their children Joseph
and Bella, say they were delighted
to receive the pictures, and plan
to display them in the pub for
posterity.
Kate was still a schoolgirl when
the storm happened, but she has
her own strong memories of the
drama.
“I remember people on the
beaches, pilfering coins from the
fruit machines that had been
smashed up!” she laughs.
Now as the latest custodians
of the popular pub with its
magnificent 360-degree views,
Tim and Kate say the family love
living there, and trade is going
from strength to strength.
“The place had been closed
for a while when we came here,
and it needed some serious TLC,
but now we’re doing a roaring
trade and a lot of it is down to
the location, which is fabulous,
and which our regulars really
love.”
As well as the uninterrupted
views across to Portsmouth, many
regulars also call in to see the
pub’s resident dog, a characterful
Cockerpoo named Humphrey.
“We love it here” say the
Greens.“ Yes the weather can
certainly get a bit wild at times
because it’s very exposed – but
the pros very much outweight the
cons, so we’re definitely here for
the long haul!”
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