00:00So we're here in Sedgley at Sandy Bar, and we're with, go on sir, Paul, introduce yourself, buddy.
00:05Yeah, I'm Paul Turner, I'm from the Save the Crooked House campaign.
00:09And?
00:10I'm Dean Sands, now of Sandy Bar, which is now a microbar.
00:15Yeah, we should say, actually, it was Sands Caf, wasn't it?
00:18But as of a couple of weeks, you know, a micro-pop, like you say, so a brand new venture, really, in that respect.
00:22Brand new venture, I changed it from being a cafe, now just a microbar, open from 12 to 10 every day.
00:28And I can vouch, you've got a great selection of different drinks on, guys, so get yourself down.
00:33Paul, what are these lovely little beer mats we've got here, what's going on?
00:37So this is an idea one of our group came up with, why don't we get some beer mats?
00:43So we've got four designs, there are four different designs.
00:46On Saturday, we went around pubs all around Sedgley, Gornal, Wamborn, Dudley, Kingswimford, Wordsley, Himley, I'm trying to think of it anywhere, I've missed, Woodsepton.
00:58And we took those other beer mats around and dropped different ones in different pubs.
01:03So there are four different ones to collect, and they're sort of around, everybody's put them out, everybody's happy with them.
01:10And we've got a lot of people saying they've already gone collecting beer mats from different parts of the Black Country.
01:17A nice design, actually, aren't they, with the little brick backdrop on there.
01:20Yeah, I can't take any responsibility for the design, it was somebody else, one of the others, Dave, who's one of our members, who did the design of the beer mats.
01:30But yeah, they're very nice.
01:31And there's a little code on there, a little scan code, what's that do if you scan that?
01:35There's a QR code, if you point your camera, your phone camera, a smartphone camera at that, it gives you the link to the Facebook Save the Crooked House group.
01:44Cool, and there's a bit of blurb on the back of them as well, isn't there?
01:47Yeah, on each one.
01:48So it's all a bit different, yeah?
01:50I'll share some texts.
01:51So go on then.
01:52They're all four of them.
01:52Well, we won't get you to read all four, but let's see you're reading in public scale, read us one of them.
01:58OK, so number four says, with over 37.5k followers on Save the Crooked House, let's get it rebuilt Facebook page.
02:08You all want it rebuilt brick by brick.
02:11They say good things come to those who wait.
02:13However, Tuesday the 5th of August 2025 marked the two-year anniversary of its demise.
02:19We think we've waited long enough.
02:21Pam Ayres over to you, and this is a poem that Pam Ayres wrote.
02:24The Crooked House, the Crooked House, somehow caught alight.
02:29The Crooked House mysteriously bulldozed in the night.
02:32Little wonky pub where folk forget about their troubles.
02:36Funny and familiar and flat, reduced to rubble.
02:40Is that the famous Pam Ayres then?
02:42Oh, right.
02:43I didn't know.
02:43I've not heard that line often before.
02:45That's quite nice.
02:46She wrote this a couple of years ago.
02:48Yeah, yeah.
02:49I was almost tempted to get you to have a go at the accent then as well.
02:52She's got a very distinctive voice, hasn't she?
02:55So, what's the thinking with the beer mats?
02:58This is all about just really, it's that part of the process of just saying,
03:03we're still here.
03:04This is still our mission.
03:05That's what it's about, yeah?
03:06Yeah, I mean, we're a little bit stuck because the legal process is sort of on hold.
03:11So, there were people arrested for the arson.
03:16That case is with the CPS or Staffordshire Police.
03:20We're not sure exactly where it is going between the two.
03:23So, that case hasn't proceeded.
03:25We've then got the enforcement notice, which was served by South Staffs District Council,
03:31ordering them to rebuild because they illegally demolished after the fire.
03:34Yeah, and that is, they've appealed against that and the appeal hearing was supposed to start
03:40on the 11th of March this year, but they then went to the High Court and they've asked
03:46that we, or they've asked that the whole thing is held until the arson case is resolved.
03:53So, we're now on hold.
03:55Everything is just sitting there.
03:57So, we want to keep this in the public eye.
03:59We don't want people to forget about this.
04:02We've got lots of things we're doing, not just about the crooked house,
04:05but about the immediate environment around the crooked house.
04:08I guess, I mean, from an outsider's point of view, I'm kind of thinking,
04:12well, hang on, if they demolished it and they shouldn't have demolished it,
04:16what's the other case of the chaps who burnt it down, got to do with, you know what I mean?
04:20And if, really, should that case just be cracking on in your view?
04:25Yes, the enforcement notice doesn't rely on them having set fire to it.
04:29Yeah.
04:29At the end of the day, after it had burnt, it could have been redone,
04:33it could have had a new roof, it could have been refurbished.
04:36There shouldn't have been any issue doing that.
04:38It would have been expensive, but it wouldn't have been anywhere near as expensive
04:41as starting to build it from scratch.
04:43Yeah.
04:43And now we're in a position where, you know, all you've got is a pile of bricks.
04:47What's the logic that they've given, saying, well, we're going to put the other case on hold
04:52then until the arson case is finished?
04:53Are they elaborating any more on that?
04:56The people who are subject to the enforcement notice have said
05:02that they don't feel that it's appropriate to proceed
05:05until it's been decided who caused the fire.
05:08So this is a, sounds like a bit of a delaying tactic that they've put in
05:14and it's worked for them so far, sadly.
05:18Cool.
05:18But yeah, we're still all here, aren't we?
05:20You know, we're still all in the woodworks
05:22and, you know, we still want it back as much as ever.
05:26And we look forward to that.
05:28Yeah, we're going to keep on fighting.
05:30We look forward to those days.
05:31Cool.
05:32Right, well, these look great, lads.
05:34He's even got a little display going here as well, ready to go on the wall.
05:40I think what you'll find is these are highly collectible.
05:43Yeah, yeah.
05:43So people can go around different establishments,
05:45collect one at each establishment,
05:47or what we're going to do is put one in here each week
05:52for the foreseeable future, come in, grab them off the table
05:56and let's support the campaign to get this place rebuilt.
06:00Awesome work.
06:01Well done to all involved, guys,
06:03and thank you for your continued efforts with this marvellous campaign.
06:06Cheers, guys.
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