Meet the landlord: Paul Eldred of The Marmion Tavern
LANDLORDS Paul Eldred and Gail Laurence (120369-1)
Paul Eldred worked as The Marmion Tavern’s head chef before he took over the pumps behind the bar.
Before that he ran The Gravediggers pub, in Highland Road, Eastney, for three months while partner Gail worked full-time as a court clerk at Portsmouth Crown Court.
In between her duties in the court room Gail helped out behind the bar at the Leopold Tavern, in Albert Road, Southsea, and the Travellers Joy, in Milton Road, Milton.
Paul, who grew up in Luton, Bedfordshire, said: ‘When I started working at The Marmion Tavern I fell in love with the place.
‘I worked hard and when the position to run the place came up, Gail and I jumped at the chance to run it together.
‘We make a great team. We bounce off each other.
‘Running a pub becomes your life. But we love it.
‘You can’t treat it light-heartedly. You have to throw everything into it.’
The couple, who met in Luton, moved to Portsmouth together after Gail’s family relocated to the area.
Gail said: ‘I used to run a hotel in Luton so I had a good idea of what was going to be in store when running a pub.
‘Me and Paul have different skills so that’s why things run smoothly.
‘We’re in it for the long term. ‘We’ve got a lot of new ideas and we plan to do a charity night in the near future.’
Paul added: ‘So many local pubs are shutting down now so we’re trying our hardest to keep ours running.
‘Everyone from all walks of life come through our doors.
‘It makes for some great conversation.’
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Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
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