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00:01I've run hotels most of my working life.
00:05So we've got 23 rooms in house tonight. Thank you very much to all of you.
00:10So I know all too well how brutal the hospitality industry can be.
00:14That is terrifying.
00:16We've put everything that we have into this.
00:17And this year the situation truly is dire.
00:21You've got me worried about that now.
00:22I have a lot of pressure to make sure that I deliver.
00:26With businesses facing spiralling energy, food and wage costs.
00:31I have a big sense of responsibility.
00:34And customers who have less money to spend.
00:37Frankly, sweet Fanny Adams.
00:39From country pubs.
00:40Careful of the dog ****.
00:42To seaside hotels.
00:43This is going to be done for Friday. I have somebody in here Friday night.
00:47Shepherd's huts.
00:48You've got a big one. Thank you.
00:50To family guest houses.
00:51Makes me think of Scarlett O'Hara.
00:54They're all in desperate need of my help.
00:56She's just pulled up and I'm terrified.
00:59I'll be getting my hands dirty.
01:01Come on, the pint work.
01:03And delivering some hard truths.
01:06I think you're bonkers.
01:08Hello.
01:09To help owners across the country get back in the black.
01:13Something has got to change.
01:15You're very silent. Why?
01:17You're the expert.
01:18Before everything comes crashing down.
01:21We're just hoping we can catch it before it's too late.
01:25That is my challenge. Should I choose to accept it? And I do.
01:32This time.
01:34Why is everything so weedy?
01:36So noisy.
01:37I'm called in to help a couple.
01:39There we go. One cheese toasty.
01:41At this point, I'm wondering if I can stay somewhere around.
01:44Whose lifelong dream of running a pub.
01:46The bedroom you gave me.
01:47It's completely bland.
01:49Has become a living nightmare.
01:50Well, this isn't really nice.
01:53No?
01:54Was I not clear about that?
01:56Don't be homeless. Not my age.
02:02Living the dream, as I say.
02:05Nine years ago, 58-year-old agricultural engineer Stephen.
02:10There you go, young man. That's your one.
02:12And 57-year-old former acquisitions analyst Julie.
02:15Not doing the best job at it.
02:17It's only pillowcases. It's fine.
02:19Tied the knot.
02:20Get down. Calm. Calm.
02:23You don't like us sitting next to each other.
02:24You get jealous.
02:27Both divorcees with four grown-up kids between them,
02:30they dreamt of a new life working together, running a pub.
02:34We've both been made redundant,
02:36and we decided after a bottle of wine,
02:39oh, yeah, that could be fun.
02:41Just to hang out with people and your own money.
02:43Yeah.
02:44So, despite almost zero experience in the hospitality trade,
02:48I'd never pulled apart in my life.
02:51In 2018, Julie and Stephen bought a 16th century Grade II listed coaching in.
02:57I just fell in love with it straight away.
02:59The Swan is the last remaining pub in Monks Ely,
03:03a rural village of just 500 residents,
03:06eight miles from where they lived in Suffolk.
03:09It supported four pubs in its time,
03:12and three of them are now gone,
03:13and we want to do anything we can to keep it going.
03:20The newlyweds sunk everything they had into their new business.
03:25We've invested a house, cars, redundancy payments,
03:31everything into this place.
03:32I would say £600,000.
03:35It included private accommodation on the top floor,
03:38three storage rooms on the floor below,
03:41a 35-seater restaurant, commercial kitchen,
03:44and a large bar area.
03:47We had rose-tinted glasses.
03:49You buy a pub, money rolls in,
03:51and your job is to count it,
03:53and go to Tenerife once a year,
03:55and move all the other landlords.
03:56The actual reality of it was totally different.
03:59It was just full-on, like, hit the ground running full-on.
04:03It's one of the hardest jobs you can do.
04:06This is a cellar.
04:07Normally it's dark when I'm sitting in here crying.
04:10But before they had found their feet in the trade,
04:13Covid hit,
04:14and like 81% of hospitality businesses,
04:17the pub and restaurant were forced to close indefinitely.
04:22Come on.
04:23And when lockdown ended,
04:25the hospitality landscape had changed dramatically.
04:29The chef's salary doubled,
04:31and that's if you could find a chef.
04:33A lot of chefs were going on to do delivery driving
04:35and the work-life balance improved
04:37because chef's life is just sort of full-on as well.
04:41And the chefs that were left were saying,
04:42well, this is my salary, this is what I'm expecting.
04:46And we just couldn't afford that.
04:48We'd been bankrupt.
04:49With no staff available,
04:51Julie had no choice but to step into the kitchen
04:54despite no formal catering training.
04:57Every night we went to bed, Julie was in tears.
05:00You don't want to see something you love in tears all the time.
05:04I literally was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
05:06It's a little bit raw still, I guess.
05:09We were literally rock bottom then, so it's sort of a trigger, I guess.
05:15At breaking point, the couple made the decision to step back.
05:19They secured a tenant landlord who signed up for seven years.
05:24Within seven months he was gone,
05:26because he couldn't make it work.
05:28He was losing £1,000 a week.
05:32Forced to return, things had to change.
05:34I was like, this time it's on our terms.
05:39They closed the kitchen.
05:41This used to be our main dining area.
05:45Now it's the pool table.
05:47And turned their attention to three upstairs rooms,
05:50which they had converted into letting rooms during the pandemic.
05:54I decorated everything.
05:55I kind of tried a country sort of themed wallpaper, really.
05:59And I quite liked the wallpaper, so I continued it out into the hallway.
06:03So this room goes £150 a night.
06:06But the rooms aren't selling.
06:09Our occupancy rate's 9.4%.
06:12Pretty rubbish.
06:14Yeah.
06:15All the money we're getting in, really, is coming from the drinkers.
06:18But we can't rely on that alone.
06:20Their income stream is now so fragile...
06:23That's £19.
06:24It's nearly as cheap as up north, ain't it?
06:26..that this 500-year-old public house could be forced to close.
06:31There you go.
06:32We don't want to be the last landlord and landlady in Monks Island.
06:36Leaving Stephen and Julie with nothing.
06:39It's not a hobby for us.
06:41It's our career, our home, everything's tied up in this place.
06:45So it's got to work, hasn't it?
06:47Don't be homeless.
06:48Not my age.
06:56Suffolk attracts 35 million visitors a year.
07:00It's got the sea.
07:02It's got wonderful rural landscapes.
07:06And it's no wonder, with its picturesque medieval towns and villages
07:10stunning countryside as captured by John Constable.
07:16Steve and Julie were novice publicans.
07:20We've been on spider watch.
07:22I don't want to find in a random spider.
07:24This was their life's ambition, to live the good life.
07:28And they found it not to be everything they expected.
07:33It's all very nerve-wracking.
07:35No-one likes to be criticized, I guess.
07:38I'm sure she'll say some things we don't want to hear.
07:41But hopefully she'll aim mostly maturely.
07:44In one way, you know, you have to salute people who drop everything to follow their dreams.
07:50But most people go in with unrealistic expectations, not nearly enough money, and with delusions of their own abilities.
08:03Well, it's a nice cheery colour.
08:08This is the pub of the village, so it must be very dear to locals' hearts.
08:15There's a hanging basket.
08:18Mmm.
08:19This is the first sign that all might not be well.
08:22Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday closed.
08:25Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
08:29Two till nine?
08:31I mean, lucky them.
08:33Drinks only, restaurant permanently closed.
08:37I'm starting to understand why I might be here.
08:40So, to work.
08:42Hi.
08:43It's very nice to meet you.
08:44Angie, hi.
08:46You know, I don't want this to sound rude, but what the hell do you do with yourselves?
08:49You've got clothes Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
08:53So, I'm not going to have you tell me you're overworked.
08:55We won't say that then, no.
08:57No.
08:59So, tell me what on earth made you want to do this?
09:03I'd been looking for a pub for quite a few years and saw, up in the dining room areas, a
09:08lovely picture wall, like, with mirrors.
09:10And I was like, ah, that's exactly what I wanted.
09:13This is the pub.
09:13And what's worked and what hasn't?
09:15I had my regulars, drinkers, but I don't quite know how to get more in.
09:20When we got to the pub, the first night we was here, 150 people, and one of the regulars said,
09:26take a photo of all these people, three quarters you'll never see again.
09:30And unfortunately you haven't.
09:31You do end up taking it personally.
09:33You do take it personally.
09:33They're not coming in because they just don't like us.
09:35So, did the rooms work out?
09:37We've got two more bookings to do until the end of the year.
09:40Next year we've got two.
09:42Occupancy is 9.4%.
09:44Gosh darling, that's very dispiriting.
09:47OK.
09:48I think the most useful thing is for me to go and look at the bedroom.
09:51Yes.
09:54So this is Swan Suite.
09:57This is my favourite room.
09:58Are you happy for me to look around and then I'll come and talk to you a bit more later?
10:02Lovely.
10:03Thanks very much.
10:04All right.
10:07Scary.
10:08She's been in the tray for years, so she's got the right to be quite blunt, I suppose.
10:16It's just dreary.
10:18Quite dreary.
10:20Doesn't feel to me like a classic country pub, which is what it should feel like.
10:26People want it all cosy.
10:29I mean, look at the furniture.
10:31What are you doing at that little funny table?
10:35I am itching to move things out.
10:39If I was staying somewhere, that's the room I'd choose because that's all me.
10:43I decorated it.
10:44I furnished it.
10:45I'm not mad here on this wallpaper.
10:47Why is everything so weedy?
10:51It's just weedy.
10:52It annoys me.
10:53I feel like it's comfortable and cosy.
10:57I wish I was going to say, bloody awful, darling.
11:01At £150 a night, I would expect much more of a personal touch.
11:06There's no note from the owners.
11:08There's not a flower in a vase.
11:11Looking around, it's no surprise to me that their occupancy rate is a miserable 9%.
11:18Look at the miserliness of this tray.
11:20Why is there only one cup?
11:22The thing that I find extraordinarily dispiriting is this is someone's dream and it looks like this.
11:33It's no one's idea of a kind of cosy little Suffolk pub.
11:38It's kind of pretty bland and I think quite depressing.
11:51It just takes so long, iron and duvet cover.
11:54You try and iron a super king-sized duvet and see how long it takes.
12:00After meeting later in life, Julian Stephen bought a fur baby and the 16th century listed thatched ale house in
12:08the medieval village of Monxelian Suffolk to live out their shared dream.
12:13It can't carry on like it is.
12:15If things don't improve, I'd say we've got probably six months a year.
12:19One evening, I think I took 20 quids and the rooms have gone flat.
12:23It's soul-destroying.
12:24They're struggling for custom.
12:26Everywhere I go, it's failing.
12:28And my curse with these fake lines.
12:32And in my brief time here, I'm starting to see why.
12:35This is where I really get cross.
12:38What do these have to do with Suffolk?
12:41I've never seen a giraffe in Suffolk.
12:44The flock suite.
12:46I really, really dislike how every single bit of this space has been done.
12:51Wouldn't it be nice if that wasn't facing a wall?
12:56Obviously, this is a IKEA antique user manual.
13:02I don't use a manual.
13:05House rules.
13:06I would never start with house rules.
13:08My fight is included in your stay.
13:10We have no control as to its speeds.
13:12I've never seen that.
13:13Breakfast is served between 8 and 9.30 a.m.
13:19Oh, thank you.
13:23It would be great if you could jot down the time you'd like breakfast.
13:26This ensures we set our alarm clocks.
13:28At this point, I'm wondering if I can stay somewhere else.
13:32Full English breakfast is two sausages, two bacon washers and one egg.
13:36I didn't realise that eggs weren't such a premium.
13:39Let's see if there's only one towel in the bathroom.
13:42Or one towel!
13:46If Alex has got an idea how we can do it successfully,
13:49then we'll have to listen, won't we?
13:51Is that me being in the kitchen?
13:52Yeah, yeah.
13:52That foot will be going down now.
13:56B&B guests are served breakfast in the pool room.
14:01Is this really the room that they want to have their guests' breakfast in?
14:06It's just such an odd combination of bits of furniture.
14:10You know, that lovely wall of mirrors.
14:12What good are they here?
14:15And finally, to the bar.
14:19This is the nicest area, next to the roaring fire.
14:24But although it's got the fire, it's got that bright white spotlight
14:28on a grey chimney breast.
14:31What's obviously missing here is cosiness and warmth.
14:34I haven't got much time, so I'm going to tell Stephen and Julie straight away
14:38what I think of their dream pub.
14:41Somehow, this is the least country pub that I've ever been into.
14:46OK.
14:47Yeah.
14:48It doesn't have a soul here.
14:52The bedroom you gave me, it's completely bland.
14:56A country pub B&B is supposed to be cosy and welcoming.
15:03You know, it's not the kind of place that you'd say,
15:05gosh, to your friends, you must go to this little pub,
15:08because it was so cute.
15:10You've got fake flowers, which are my absolute loathing.
15:14You've got giraffes on the land.
15:16What have they got to do with Suffolk?
15:17There's nothing that gives you any lift of the heart.
15:22I mean, the first thing, you open the guest folder,
15:24and it's got a list of house rules.
15:27I mean, come on.
15:29Start by saying, I'm Stephen and Julie,
15:33and we'll bend over backwards to make sure you have a wonderful stay.
15:36Not, here are our ten rules and regulations.
15:40Do not fall foul of us.
15:42And, by the way, let me know when you want breakfast so I can set my alarm,
15:45because otherwise I'd rather watch daytime deli in bed.
15:50Yeah, maybe it comes across like, we don't really want them here,
15:53it's just their money deal.
15:55Oh!
15:56No, no, I'm just thinking about it.
15:58Which side are you on?
15:59I think on that one side.
16:00Down here, I think, which is the bit that works best,
16:04there's...
16:05Wait.
16:07There's a bar.
16:08Down here, you've got this glaring bright white light
16:12on a grey mantelpiece.
16:14Mm, right.
16:15These terrible spotlights,
16:18highlighting your Malteser treat bags.
16:21They go well, though.
16:22They go really well, actually.
16:23They're our biggest seller.
16:24Well, it's desperation!
16:26All you've got in that horrible little menu board out there
16:30is your opening times, which are frankly a bit pathetic.
16:33I mean, what do you do all day?
16:35I don't know.
16:36It's all down to our fur, baby.
16:39Brewster's a...
16:40He needs a lot of attention.
16:42Name the dog!
16:44How much did you make off the pub last year?
16:46About £2,500 a week.
16:48It's the drinkers that keep us going, really.
16:51They may turn over £2,500 a week,
16:54but the running costs are steep at £5,000 a month.
16:58If I can inject warmth and welcome
17:00into at least two of the three rooms,
17:02they could become the money spinner
17:04that the couple desperately need.
17:06What do you think you've taken on accommodation this year?
17:09£11,000, roughly.
17:12OK, I'm going to talk you through this.
17:13I'm working on the basis of two rooms
17:15and £150 a night for four nights
17:18is £1,200 per week.
17:21So that would be £62,400 per year.
17:24And then let's say you'd have a maximum occupancy of 60%.
17:30That would be £37,440.
17:33But to achieve this figure,
17:35the standard of their rooms has to vastly improve.
17:39Tomorrow morning, I'm going to take you off
17:40to look at somewhere really nice.
17:42Right.
17:43Well, this isn't really nice.
17:45I'm sorry.
17:46No.
17:47Was I not clear about that?
17:49Yeah, I think you was.
17:50I thought I was trying to make a joke.
17:52I'd done the room, so I felt a little bit sort of upset
17:57that she didn't like it.
17:59But I kind of get where she's coming from.
18:01Now, I'm excited for change.
18:02They took it better than I expected.
18:05I think Stephen G are actually just so relieved
18:07that someone is going to give them a road map to follow
18:10because they've been wandering blindly
18:13without a map or a flashlight
18:15and they're lost in the bogs of Suffolk.
18:19They're wondering which way to turn next.
18:32It's a beautiful morning here in Suffolk.
18:35Quite a comfortable bed, lots of hot water.
18:37I am ready for the fray.
18:40Today, I want to open Steve and Julie's eyes
18:44to what people expect from a little countryside pub B&B
18:48and really kind of enthuse them again
18:52because I feel like that is definitely lacking.
18:55Especially in the kitchen.
18:56So it's with trepidation that I'm off
18:58to the not very glamorous pool room just above the bar,
19:02for breakfast.
19:04Morning, morning.
19:05I hope you slept well.
19:07I did, thank you.
19:08Excellent, excellent.
19:09Please, can I have eggs and bacon?
19:11Yeah.
19:11With two eggs, please.
19:12Two eggs and how would you like your eggs?
19:13Can I have them poached?
19:15OK.
19:18Julie had zero cooking experience
19:20when she stepped in to run the restaurant in 2022
19:23and it knocked her for six.
19:25So I'm hoping poached eggs isn't a trigger for her.
19:29It's the poached egg pressure.
19:31Oh, no.
19:32I decided to bloody cut out.
19:34No.
19:35Do you need a hand, darling?
19:37No, you're fine.
19:38Thank you, darling.
19:38That's right, sweetheart.
19:39You're absolutely fine.
19:40I'm the toast dropper.
19:42That's what I'm allowed to put in the kitchen.
19:43I don't want to do it too well.
19:44She says she needs to get back in the kitchen.
19:46Here you are.
19:47Thank you very much.
19:48Go to take some bacon.
19:49Enjoy your breakfast.
19:51Mmm.
19:54Yummy.
19:55Why do you do breakfast in here?
19:57It feels a bit like an afterthought.
19:59It's close to the kitchen, so if there's anything needed there,
20:02you know, people can kind of get our attention.
20:04I mean, downstairs is a much nicer room than this is.
20:07It's not like you'd want to have a cup of tea sitting in here.
20:13It's clear that Julie and Stephen need a masterclass
20:16on how a country pub should look,
20:18so I've arranged a visit to a 15th-century pub with rooms
20:22in the next-door village of Builderston,
20:25just two and a half miles away.
20:27Pretty, isn't it?
20:28Mmm.
20:29Yeah.
20:29The prices here at The Crown are on a par with their own,
20:32but the rooms are worlds apart.
20:35You get quite a lot of bang for your 145 quid here.
20:39Yeah.
20:40Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
20:41The competition is fierce.
20:44Come and see another room.
20:46The only way for Julie and Stephen
20:48to increase their occupancy rate
20:49is for me to completely makeover their rooms
20:52and inject some country pub chic.
20:55The colour.
20:56Mm-hmm.
20:57The soft.
20:58Yeah.
20:59You know, your rooms are quite hard.
21:02Yeah.
21:02What they're very good at doing
21:03is reminding you the whole time that you're in Suffolk.
21:07Mm-hmm.
21:07Yeah.
21:07Not a giraffe in sight.
21:12Bit of an eye-opener, yeah.
21:14I do feel like a bit sort of,
21:16oh, because I'd done our rooms
21:18and I realised I'm a bit **** though.
21:21I didn't know why we weren't getting the bookings.
21:24Now it's kind of like, oh, OK.
21:26What is lovely here is space.
21:29And I think space is the biggest luxury you can have.
21:34Now that I've shown Julie and Stephen firsthand
21:36a blueprint for country pub accommodation,
21:40I'm going to remodel two of their rooms.
21:44I think there's some loose shelves in there.
21:46And I've called in my designer, Claire, to help.
21:49Gosh, it's heavy. That looks better.
21:51Yeah, it's so much better.
21:52But I want Stephen to do some of the heavy lifting too.
21:55Hang on, I'll get the other side.
21:57Yeah, yeah.
21:57Hang on.
21:58All right.
22:00Shall we just leave you there?
22:01I shall make much part of it, won't I?
22:02I'm looking forward to seeing how it can be transformed
22:06from what it is.
22:07I hate this set up.
22:09In an ideal world, I would put the bed down there.
22:12Yeah.
22:13205.
22:14So that would fit.
22:15Let's give it a whirl.
22:16Hang on.
22:17Good Lord.
22:18Oh, dear.
22:19I think that's done for.
22:21You hold that.
22:22Yeah.
22:24Oops.
22:28Okay.
22:29With the rearranging done.
22:31Right, my darling, come in.
22:32I've charged Julie with the decorating while I'm away.
22:35Right.
22:36I love your mirrors.
22:37And I love the fact that they were your dream room.
22:40Should we repurpose that?
22:42Yep.
22:42Which would really hide that wall.
22:44Yep.
22:44Not a fan of the wallpaper, either.
22:47It's just a bit meh.
22:49It's okay.
22:50You know, think of the rooms that we've seen
22:52that have been glowing with colour.
22:54And that are really beautiful.
22:54Really kind of cosy.
22:56Yeah.
22:57I don't mind painting over that.
22:58If it's that offensive, I'll paint over it.
22:59It's not offensive, darling.
23:01It's just a bit...
23:03near.
23:04Twi.
23:05Let's go into the other big room.
23:07Okay.
23:09I'm beaming.
23:10Absolutely amazing.
23:11I've never known what to do in here,
23:13but I hadn't thought of this.
23:15Darling, you've got to play.
23:17I always think that a hotel's like a doll's house.
23:20Keep moving the things until you've got it completely right.
23:23Yeah.
23:23Seeing Alex sort of take on things, it's...
23:28Why didn't I think of that?
23:32I've won over Julie and her weedy rooms,
23:35but now I have a much bigger battle on my hands.
23:38I've arranged to meet the villagers
23:40to find out why they don't frequent the pub.
23:44Clearly, the relationship has broken down
23:48between Steve and Julie and the village,
23:50and I'd like to see if it's repairable.
23:53I mean, without the village behind them,
23:56it's going to be a very long, slow winter.
24:07In Suffolk...
24:08We need to know what the community want from us
24:12to be able to provide that to them.
24:15Stephen and Julie are desperate to entice more villagers back to the pub,
24:19but believe the relationship has soured since the restaurant has closed
24:23and their opening hours have reduced.
24:25So I've been sent in as their official envoy
24:28to meet members of the parish council, local businesses and retirees.
24:34So I'm working with the swan.
24:38I just wanted to find out if there's a rift that needs repairing,
24:41because they feel as if they're not loved by the village.
24:45I don't know if it's a rift, but I think we're used to having
24:48somewhere you could eat and take family.
24:50I know, I know, but they're not going to do food again.
24:54All it takes is for one chef to let you down,
24:57and Julie trying to do it, and she's not a chef.
24:59I see their situation, and it's not a them and us kind of thing.
25:04But we need the drawer as well to go in.
25:06But can I ask your opinion, sir?
25:08I've lived in the village 49 years.
25:10Gosh.
25:10I'm really disappointed that they feel in some way
25:15alienated from the village, because that's not the ghost in my opinion.
25:18I don't go as often as I should,
25:21and that's driven by the current opening hours as I understand them.
25:25We used to like going for a walk,
25:27and then calling in on our way back before going home for lunch,
25:30because my husband likes real ale.
25:32But with the opening hours, we've gone home by then.
25:35Here's an idea.
25:36Okay, brilliant. I'd love an idea.
25:37If they could open from, say, 12, I think that would help.
25:41Food doesn't need to be over-complicated.
25:44Something warm and simple at lunchtime,
25:46at the weekend particularly.
25:48I think you're right. There has to be a halfway house.
25:50I think that was really useful.
25:52Okay. I am really grateful to all of you
25:55for coming and talking to me about it.
25:58There's a dislocation between what Julie and Steve think
26:01that the village think of them,
26:02and what the village actually think of them,
26:04and I think it's going to be a lot easier to reconnect
26:07than I feared.
26:10When I went to the village,
26:12I wasn't quite sure what I was going to get,
26:14and they were all so nice about you.
26:16That is nice to hear.
26:18Brice that chip off your shoulder,
26:19and understand that in a retired village,
26:22people want to go out, but they can't just drink.
26:25I made it absolutely clear you're not ever going to do proper food again.
26:29Yeah.
26:29Just wondering if there's a little halfway house.
26:32It's down and down and down halfway house.
26:34We were talking about it last night after our chat.
26:37So this is my challenge to you for when I come back.
26:40Right.
26:40I want you to have a competition between the two of you.
26:44To come up with three things.
26:47Each.
26:48Each.
26:48You could offer,
26:50without it making you feel tearful or you feel cross.
26:53And I want to try it.
26:54It doesn't have to be fancy.
26:56Right.
26:57Is it a hot sausage roll?
26:59Or a bowl of soup with a crusty roll?
27:01OK.
27:02I know that it's hard work, and I know you've worked really hard.
27:05You're going to have to...
27:07Tough a lot.
27:08Put your big girl pants on.
27:10I'll put my big girl pants on.
27:12I'll put my big girl pants on.
27:14So big girl pants on all round,
27:16as along with trialling bar slacks for my return,
27:19they've a busy couple of weeks of decorating,
27:22both upstairs and down.
27:24I would like to challenge you to paint the chimney breast,
27:28to change that very bright white light, please.
27:31Right.
27:31And then on our last day,
27:32we're going to get the village in.
27:34OK.
27:34To see that you've tried your best to go somewhere
27:37to meet them with the food.
27:39We need to kind of up our game and, you know,
27:41put more effort in, I guess.
27:43All right.
27:44Cheers.
27:46It's probably going to kick up the arse we needed, aren't we?
27:49Because we want it to be successful, don't we?
27:51Because our own man have business.
27:52I think Julia's very bruised
27:55and it's quite hard for her to be enthusiastic
27:58about their reduced offering.
28:00I think the worst that could happen
28:01is that they don't find the energy
28:04and the enthusiasm to make another attempt.
28:10I'm not too bad at the paintbrush.
28:13As long as you don't look too closely.
28:14While I'm away for two weeks,
28:16I've given Julia Paint Pot
28:19and my designer Claire
28:21to give the rooms a country pub revamp
28:23in the hope of lifting their occupancy
28:25from a rock bottom 9%.
28:29Hopefully Alex won't accuse us of being lazy this week.
28:31We've been non-stop.
28:34A lot of people like scotch eggs.
28:37And I'm encouraging the couple to offer food
28:40to tempt more villagers in.
28:43Hopefully Alex will love black pudding
28:45because there's quite a bit of it in here.
28:47I've asked each to make three quick and easy bar snacks.
28:51This is the delicate part.
28:52For me to taste and choose between on my return
28:55and cost them out to ensure
28:57they make a decent gross profit or GP.
29:01My scotch eggs work out at £1.56 each.
29:05I was thinking about £5.85 at 68% GP.
29:11That's about right.
29:16There we go, one cheese toastie.
29:19When I looked at my wife's cheese toastie today,
29:21I don't think I've got much competition here, to be fair.
29:24My mojo is a little bit lost in the kitchen.
29:27It's pretty flat, don't it?
29:29It's not popped up.
29:36It's been two weeks since I was last at the Swan,
29:39the only remaining pub in Monks Ely, Suffolk.
29:43Hello darling.
29:44Hi.
29:46So what have you accomplished in these two weeks
29:49since I last saw you?
29:50A lot.
29:52You certainly gave us the kick up the backside we needed.
29:54I'm so excited about doing the bedrooms.
29:58What haven't you managed to get done?
30:00Food.
30:01That's kind of my nemesis.
30:03I know that you've been very bruised by your restaurant experience.
30:08Brings out the anxiety in me, yes.
30:10But we've got to find a way to offer something that isn't going to trigger you.
30:15Why don't you present your food auction while you show me the rooms?
30:20OK.
30:21Yeah.
30:21Let's go.
30:22Come on.
30:22I've been let off the hook so I don't have to be in the kitchen, so happy days.
30:27When I first saw the flock room I wanted to run a mile.
30:32With its stark lighting and oddly positioned furniture.
30:37Oh my gosh.
30:43Now it's a beautifully composed room.
30:48Spacious and cosy all at the same time.
30:51Just moving things.
30:52It's just made such a big difference to the room.
30:55You would come in here and feel like you'd really lucked out.
30:58Yeah, I was super, super, super happy.
31:00Good.
31:01And now to the room where I first stayed.
31:10It's a complete country pub makeover.
31:15Gone is the ginormous wardrobe and bland wallpaper.
31:19In its place, warm, bold colour has been injected through paint, soft furnishings, good lighting, design and of course Julie's
31:29favourite mirror feature wall.
31:31This looks absolutely gorgeous.
31:34It looks very thought out.
31:36I mean that is one of the most amazing transformations that I've ever had a pleasure to play a part
31:42in.
31:42Don't make me cry.
31:46Steve and Julie welcome you to the Swan Inn.
31:49Woohoo!
31:50Thank you for choosing to stay with us.
31:52Please don't hesitate to contact us.
31:54We're all so on point darling.
31:56It's just a lovely Suffolk pub now.
31:59I would hope that it makes you fall in love with your business again.
32:03Oh absolutely.
32:03I can't wait to get people in here just to see how lovely it is.
32:07Three weeks ago I wasn't in a positive state of mind about how to do it.
32:13Whether it is even worth doing to be honest.
32:16But it's been really rewarding and fun to do as well.
32:21I'm hoping that the hard work continues downstairs.
32:28And it does.
32:30Gone is the grey paint and the bright spotlight.
32:33Leaving a cosy cockle warming seating area.
32:36This looks lovely.
32:40Everything just looks a bit nice and more country pub.
32:44It's been like a breath of fresh air really.
32:46To have Alex come in and put her spin on how you can make positive changes quite easily.
32:56While I'm admiring the fruits of their labour, Stephen has stepped up to the plate.
33:01And is cooking up a feast in the kitchen.
33:04I'm doing sausage rolls, scotch eggs and cheddar and ale soup.
33:08I was going to be in the kitchen.
33:10But in Suffolk they liked to see the land or behind the bar.
33:15So that meant then Julie was in the kitchen.
33:17Where she wasn't really wanting to be.
33:19Oh Stephen!
33:22Chef!
33:23I've never been called chef before.
33:26I mean look how that looks amazing.
33:29Look at that.
33:33Darling that is just delicious.
33:37It's bloody good Stephen.
33:40I tell you what, I would come in here to eat that.
33:43No joke.
33:44I really would, that's really very, very good.
33:46Boy done good didn't they?
33:48Boy done good!
33:50It feels like I'm on a cooking competition and it's nice to be appreciated.
33:55Here you go, sausage rolls.
33:57Cheddar and ale soup.
34:05It's delicious.
34:07The answer to all your problems is right in front of your face.
34:11I don't want you to have a restaurant again, but the bar snack.
34:15It might help you get a few more locals in.
34:17You are no longer required in the kitchen.
34:21You're fired!
34:22Yes, fired.
34:24Julie looks like a rabbit in the headlights about trying to make a toastie.
34:27Whereas Steve is completely in his element.
34:31So I'm quite happy to go with Steve's offering and just see how we can make it possible.
34:38Today is going better than I could have hoped.
34:40And now I have a special guest I'd like Julie and Stephen to welcome in.
34:45Hi darling.
34:45Hello.
34:46How are you?
34:47I'm good.
34:48These are Julie and Stephen.
34:50Hi, so nice to meet you.
34:52Hiro Brown is the editor in chief of Muddy Stilettos,
34:55a luxury lifestyle website with over 4 million readers a month.
35:00We are so happy to have you here.
35:02I'm really excited to experience what you've been doing.
35:06Hiro will stress test one of the new look bedrooms tonight.
35:09So in the morning this is where you'll be coming down for breakfast.
35:13Okay, fabulous.
35:14One good review from her could put their rooms on the path to success.
35:19So this room is the flock.
35:22Lovely, thank you.
35:23Settle in, enjoy your evening.
35:25And I'll see you in the morning for breakfast.
35:26Marvellous, thank you so much.
35:28Good night.
35:30One of the things that I always think, particularly with pubs, with rooms,
35:33is it should really feel like a home away from home.
35:36So I'm just going to relax now.
35:38And then, of course, I will report to Alex, Julie in the morning.
35:51It's my final day with Stephen and Julie.
35:54Two weeks ago, the couple were desperate for help to improve their dire 9% occupancy rate.
36:01After a mammoth makeover in the rooms, I invited luxury lifestyle blogger Hero Brown to try one out.
36:09Hi darling.
36:10Hello.
36:11Did you have an okay evening here?
36:13I did.
36:14A positive review from Hero could really kickstart the bed and breakfast strand of the business.
36:19My room definitely felt really homely.
36:23It's long and thin, but you don't really feel like that as you come in.
36:26Very clever use of space.
36:27It feels warm.
36:29It feels welcoming.
36:30I thought it was great actually.
36:31Thanks darling.
36:32If anyone knows how to do good hospitality, darling, by now it should be you.
36:38I'm horrifically fussy, but I'm very easy to please here.
36:42And do you think the swan has a chance of making it into muddy stilettos?
36:47I do.
36:48I do.
36:48Because it's got something that I think is the most important thing, which is a bit of soul.
36:53Thanks darling.
36:55I'm so glad Hero thinks that the swan could make it onto muddy stilettos,
37:00because I think it's the kind of special place that people feel really lucky to come across.
37:08Hero was very impressed.
37:10Good.
37:11And she stays in an awful lot of places, and to get compliments from her is not by any means
37:17guaranteed.
37:18Right.
37:19It's nice to hear that she's happy.
37:21I feel, sort of, we've done our job right, really.
37:24Rooms are one way they can boost their income, and bums on seats at the pub is the other.
37:29So, today I've invited the villagers for an open house.
37:33How are you feeling about having the village over?
37:36Anxiously nervous.
37:38Are you?
37:39It'll be fine.
37:41And we've got just under two hours to prepare, as Julie and Stephen have just one shot at this new
37:49first impression.
37:50Sorry.
37:52Stressful.
37:55That's going to be an interesting day, I think.
37:58Where's our dog?
38:00A little bit stressed this morning, to be fair.
38:02A thousand jobs to do.
38:03You will not believe what Brewster's done.
38:06Oh, my God.
38:08Brewster!
38:10Done.
38:11Sorry.
38:12Julie and Steve were really nervous.
38:15It's so bloody hot.
38:16I hope not too many people want to hug me today.
38:18I'm far from huggable at the moment.
38:20That looks wonderful.
38:22I mean, it's all hands on deck now, isn't it?
38:23It's all been built into this moment.
38:25The message is that this is their pub.
38:28Love it as it is, or lose it.
38:30All right.
38:31Thanks for us, darling.
38:33All right, it's our happy day.
38:34No, Preston.
38:35What the hell are we doing?
38:38Hi, you all right?
38:40All village pubs, community pubs.
38:42The only thing that don't make a community pub is people not using it.
38:45We need customers in to support the pub.
38:49And it looks like they've heard Stephen's call to arms, as for the first time in many years, the pub
38:55has a full house.
38:57Thank you for coming, ladies and gentlemen.
39:00Now to win them over.
39:02I know lots of you are very disappointed that the restaurant has closed, but we really want this to be
39:08a pub for everybody.
39:09So what Steve's done today, rather deliciously, is his own homemade sausage rolls, cheddar cheese and ale dip, and his
39:18scotch eggs.
39:19Just have a taste, and tell us whether you think that this would be enough to encourage you to come
39:25in and give it your support.
39:27Thank you very much.
39:31Oh, let me get some napkins.
39:36He's a little dab bandit that's hot shakers, this one.
39:40Have you tried him?
39:40Of course I bloody did.
39:43Julie's been super stressed. I'm hoping that she's feeling okay.
39:47They've got some pretty harsh critics here.
39:49But if they win the villagers over, and each one of them spreads the word, they could help fill the
39:55revamped pub rooms.
39:57The rooms are open upstairs. If you've got family friends that want to stay in the village, do please go
40:02up, have a look about.
40:04Oh, isn't that nice?
40:06Oh, I like that.
40:07That's lovely.
40:08Nice.
40:09I didn't have any idea that they were like this, actually.
40:11No.
40:12No idea at all.
40:13There you go, jimble to the couple.
40:15Yeah.
40:17Yeah, Alex said, you know, let's make a feature of them up here, so it really does work.
40:23I don't think anyone in this whole pub that is here today had ever seen the bedrooms.
40:28But are they enough to tempt the villagers?
40:31We do have family that come up, and sometimes we need a spare place.
40:35Well, yeah, although it would be nice to be able to say, you go and stay in the pub.
40:38Steve and Julie have given this village somewhere lovely that the village can recommend to their friends and family to
40:44stay if they don't have enough bedrooms.
40:46Put that there for you.
40:48And what about the verdict on Stephen's bar snacks?
40:52Lovely food.
40:56I think this bowl of soup, with the flavour that they've got in it, I'd be thinking on a Saturday,
41:02actually I wouldn't mind popping in and having a bubble soup.
41:05I mean, I've got two young kids, and that's been a real sadness for me, because we want to support
41:11the pub, but if it's only a drink in the pub.
41:13Yes.
41:13Whereas bringing the kids in for a sausage roll, it's perfect.
41:16It's such a nice time.
41:18Yeah.
41:18We ought to thank you, really, for taking an interest in our pub.
41:22Yeah.
41:22Because it is important to all of us.
41:27It's clear that Julie and Stephen have renewed support from the village.
41:32So, now to get the commitment on bar snacks from the landlord and landlady.
41:38Julie and Steve, I want to ask you, in front of your assembled guests, whether you're going to do food
41:44on what days.
41:47So, we've made a pledge.
41:50We're going to open for food on a Friday and a Saturday.
41:53Yay!
41:56We'll be doing sausage rolls, Scotch eggs, homemade soup.
42:00And we'll be doing bar snacks, 12 to 5.
42:02He's a very good cook, and it's nice to Stephen's cooking to be appreciated.
42:08You know, it's a hard crowd, this village crowd.
42:12I actually do truly believe that some of those people who promise that they'll be in on a Saturday will
42:17be.
42:17I feel like Stephen and Julie fulfilled a dream, and yet it didn't turn out quite the way they wanted
42:24it to.
42:24But they do their best.
42:26And, I mean, honestly, I can't think of anyone I would rather have running my village pub than them.
42:34Hi, Alex.
42:36I just wanted to say thank you for all your help coming here.
42:39We've updated the photos on our booking sites, and we've seen some more bookings coming through.
42:45More views.
42:46And that is positive.
42:48Hiro Brown left us a lovely review online.
42:50Hopefully that'll help bookings going forward.
42:53We've also started snacks.
42:55The first week we had 25 people come in.
42:58So, yeah, hopefully things will start moving forward and we feel excited and positive for the future.
43:20We'll see you next time.
43:20We'll see you next time.
43:21Bye.
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