Durness landlord battles back after military planning backfires!
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A pub boss is fighting back after Europe's biggest war games claimed an unexpected direct hit – nearly 900 pints of beer!
For landlord Hugh Morrison placed a bumper booze order to cater for the scores of military that based themselves in Durness in Sutherland during the recent Exercise Joint Warrior.
The nearby Cape Wrath bombing range is one of the major centres of the almost two-week long war games, which ended on October 15.
Mr Morrison, who runs the Smoo Cave Hotel at Durness, ordered 10 kegs of beer for the thirsty sailors and troops.
The beer arrived on the second day of the war games, but three days later the Scottish Government announced new regulations that meant premises could only open indoors between 6am and 6pm, with no sale of alcohol.
Though some outdoor drinking was permitted, windswept Durness in October was not necessarily the best place to experience it!
To make matters worse, the pub's regulars do not usually like the beer that was ordered – but which was loved by the military.
Mr Morrison, who is also a Highland councillor for the north, west and central Sutherland ward, was left pouring one opened keg down the drain and was stuck with the other nine.
Though thirsty tourists and a few locals have helped him get rid of almost half the remaining beer, he is now left with four kegs, and a race against time to use the booze up before it passes its sell-by date next month.
So Mr Morrison has slashed £1 off a pint to £2.50.
"To make matters worse it is the second time I've had to do it this year, because the first of the Joint Warrior exercises was when lockdown came in. The brewery have given me my money back for them, but I won't get it for these kegs" said Mr Morrison.
"I bought 10 kegs this time of Orkney Gold and Coast to Coast which the military and tourists like – but it's not the locals' favourite tipple. They like Tennents and Guinness.
"The beer has a shelf life of about three months so under the current restrictions the only customers are likely to be locals and others in the Highlands or Aberdeenshire. Hopefully I won't have to pour the beer away if I can find the right customers to drink it. The kegs have cost me about £1200 and it's the second time this has happened to me.
"I'm not crying in my beer, literally, because it's the risk you take and there's far more serious things to worry about at the moment.
"But on some nights – pre-pandemic – you would get 40 to 50 military in and they are a thirsty lot. We also had international football games coming up that we were showing on TV to help boost trade. We are just keeping our fingers crossed we can get rid of the beer before its shelf life expires. Hopefully knocking a £1 off a pint will help – it might even persuade some of the locals."
Exercise Joint Warrior saw 11 nations taking part, bringing 28 warships, two submarines, 81 aircraft and over 6000 military personnel – including 130 ground troops – to military ranges across the country and to maritime exercise areas off the east, west and north coasts of Scotland.
