MAGAZINE #9​
ABOUT US
JONTY THE LANDLORD AND PANSEY THE PUB CAT
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Jonty has had 5 cats over the last 18 years but he hadn’t intended getting another one. That changed when Larry, a friend, gave Jonty a kitten a couple of years after he moved into the Duke of York.
The kitten was quite aggressive to begin with and customers, particularly those wearing shorts, often left the pub bearing visible scratch marks, and even blood! Because of this characteristic, Jonty decided to name him ironically and chose the name ‘Pansey’.
After 4 months or so of training, Pansey has become the perfect pub cat. He is no longer confrontational but he’s also no pushover. He has an established routine and will go in and out whenever he wants. He has 6 favourite chairs in the pub and will move from one to another whenever the fancy takes him. He’s not unduly concerned by the presence of most dogs but he is aware of their proximity.
When he was younger, he was not that steady on his feet and had a habit of falling off of things. As a consequence, blinds were fitted to all of the upstairs windows. Jonty’s description of him is “He’s not the cleverest cat on the planet, but I think he’s the nicest”.
YORK ROAD DEFIBRILATOR
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The life-saving device is now in place outside The Duke of York pub on York Road.
Spencer Mulholland worked with Jonty and Amanda Newbery at the Duke to help them receive the 50/50 grant funding from the Department for Health and Social Care, with the outstanding balance being raised using crowd funding and collecting generous donations from members of the fantastic Salisbury Community.
The installation was then carried out free of charge by local electrician Chris Presley in October.
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Spencer says that CPR and Defib training has generously been donated by Carolyn Port of Winterbury Training, who also recognises the importance of training as many people in the community as possible. We really can’t thank Winterbury Training and Chris Presley enough. They are true community heroes and their efforts may very well save a life.
A training session has been arranged in the Community Room at Tesco in Southampton Road for Friday 3rdJanuary 2025 at 6.30pm. CPR and defibrillator training will be given to the community free of charge, having first registered at the Duke of York. The instructor Carolyn, who is also a Trustee of The John McNeil Opportunity Centre, would be grateful for any small donations to the centre on the night.
OUR LOCAL SINGER
Pete Donnelly is a true local, having been born in Coldharbour Lane. His family also live locally. He went to Westwood St Thomas School and is still in touch with several of his old schoolmates, many of whom also pop into the Duke of York for a pint. Pete is a semi-retired plasterer who was lucky enough to learn from Bill, his father, who came over from Ireland in the 1950s to work on the restoration of Lambeth Palace.
The singing started for Pete when his wife, Jan, put his name forward to sing ‘In the Ghetto’ at a friend’s barbecue, as she thought it would suit his voice. He was a real trooper and, despite the fact he had never sung to anyone publicly before, he performed and it went down a storm. Since then, he has made it more than a hobby, buying all the best gear and learning to sing songs from all genres to ensure he entertains the whole audience.
Pete likes to sing whenever he goes abroad. If there's a karaoke bar anywhere near, he will head for it, often pulling faces when their equipment does not come up to scratch. On a birthday trip to Ireland four years ago, he got up to sing with the entertainer in the City West Hotel, where he gained some Japanese fans. Much to Pete’s amusement, these new fans were so impressed they filmed his performance.
Pete likes to sing, loves to entertain people and just loves seeing people enjoying themselves.