He claims she told him: "We are white, you are English so you speak English in my pub otherwise get out." Other drinkers who witnessed the row and spoke up for Mr Sharp and his 49-year-old daughter Nichole Falconer were also ejected, he said. "I honestly couldn't believe she was telling us we couldn't speak German. Now and again the odd German phrase slips up – it is my daughter's mother tongue. It is natural," he said.
"It's not as if we were always speaking German and being rude. I could understand if it was all the time and looking at her as if we were plotting, but we weren't. I think it is a sad reflection of her attitude to life that she can be upset about speaking a language she can't understand. It's outrageous. She was just like a mad woman completely possessed." The incident has been reported to police as a hate crime.
A witness said: "It's disgraceful. Everyone in the pub was horrified. We all left and I don't think many people will be going back." Mr Sharp, who was widowed two years ago, said it was the worst racism his daughter, an employment lawyer, had faced. "I would hate to think what my wife's family would think of this. But it's even more mind boggling to suggest that I am not patriotic if that what her problem was," he added.
7 comments:
If she's trying to get rid of her customers she's a dumpfbacke.
Looks like the landlady can hear all the english spoken as she likes... as she sits in her pub alone.
Two things strike me about this:
One that the landlady seems to think that the colour of Mr Sharp's skin is important. It would be interesting to know if she does discriminate on the grounds of race - if she does she is in breach of the law and should loose he licence.
The second is that from the story it appears that while the other customers claim they support Mr Sharp none of them stood up for him at the time. Had I been there I would have tried to get everybody else to walk out and promise not to return.
If I'm ever down that way I think I'll pop in and see how she feels about Welsh or maybe Gaeilge.
This is very sad, but the saddest of all is that it becomes an issue for the government to enforce as a "hate crime".
The landlady pays the rent, the electricity bills, etc., and should be able to enforce whatever stupid rules she wishes. Let her turn away customers if she wants.
Are you sure about your second point, Gareth? I got the impression people who were standing up for Mr Sharp were also ejected. The witness quoted at the end also says people left the pub out of solidarity.
"It's not as if we were always speaking German..." "I could understand if it was all the time..." There's nohing to understand here and nothing wrong with speaking German, Mr Sharp, so stop apologising!
The way I heard the story (on radio) Mr Sharp and his party left the pub, but other patrons remained. You are right that the story from the newspaper seems to be at odds with that version.
@Anonymous it is *not* the right of the licensee of a public house to make up their own rules. Nor has that ever been the case for as long as licensing came into being. Anything they do must comply with the law.
I'm old enough to remember pubs displaying signs saying "No Blacks, No Irish" but thankfully that sort of thing has been outlawed now.
And I don't know where you get the idea that the government is responsible for enforcement. The government are responsible for making policy and drafting legislation. The police are responsible for enforcement. Although the police will investigate this matter I doubt they will take any action other than to make a report to the local authority licensing committee. The landlady was certainly outwith her rights as a licensee and as such will probably get a warning. Unless of course she has already had a warning, in which case she may lose her licence.
If that happened round here the place would be full of people speaking foreign languages by now. But then we are an awkward lot up here.
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