I know only too well having run pubs for over 30 years.
We left our last pub in Feb 2003 as I didnt want to start all over again in a new pub at 60 years old and since then we have just done a few holiday reliefs for managers tenants etc to keep the wolves from the door. Will not do any more...
Ata guess I would say that it was probably late summer Sept/October ush of 2005. We went back earlier this year, during the summer the food was quite good, a bit more expensive. What i did notice, being an ex publican, that in their position, next to a playing field they offered very little...
I used to take my wife to the Jolly Tanners in Staplefields for a meal quite often because the steaks were good but one day we stood like a pair of stiff pricks in the lower bar waiting to either be served or given a menu whilst the woman! stood chatting in the top bar and then served her...