THE jolly crew aboard East Looe's popular Ship Inn, make it a fun place to be all year round, but during the festive season they like nothing better than gearing up in readiness for the town's annual New Year's Eve invasion.

During the day on December 31, it's all hands at the tiller as the staff strip the large bar area and poop deck of all the furniture, and replace the glasses with plastic ones. Managers for the last seven years, Richard and Jacquie Rix, say it is the only way the pub can cope with the thousands of visitors pouring into Looe for one of the country's best New Year parties.

The staff have already chosen their fancy dress for the night - rumour has it this year's theme is 'doctors and nurses' - an apt choice because you have to be in robust health to cope with the big 'celebration crush!'

But it's not all about New Year's Eve. The Rix's are very community minded, and throughout the year there is a healthy cross section of locals and visitors who enjoy the pub's spacious, but very friendly atmosphere. This is accredited to Richard and Jacquie's warm personalities which has rubbed off on the staff. They are a happy crew and therefore The Ship is a happy and busy pub. At the height of the summer season the staff numbers 25, but there is a mainstay of about 15 on a regular basis, the assistant manager being Matthew Edwards who has been at the pub for five years.

The pub, which is one of the oldest buildings in the town, is situated in the narrowest part of Fore Street, and is also adjacent to Castle Hill, once the original road into the port.

Richard and Jacquie were already well known before they took on the management of The Ship, a St Austell Ales house, as they were the former owners, along with Jacquie's parents, Peter and Ann Faulkener, of Morval's Snooty Fox. Sadly, Peter recently died, and he is very much missed by everyone.

Busy life

The couple met when Jacquie was managing The Old Mill in Newton Blossomville, Bucks, and Richard, a former farm estate manager was one of her customers. Her family has a long tradition in the pub trade, her paternal grandfather having been a drayman, and her maternal grandmother once owning her own hostelry.

The couple also have a busy home life, as they have four children, Kerry 21, Martine 20, Luka 11 and Aaron 9. It is because they are very much family orientated themselves that they have worked very hard to make the pub 'family friendly' and have licensed family areas. Open all day every day, the pub has become a favourite venue for morning coffee and you can often find mum's enjoying a break and a chat while their young children have a play.

On the morning the Cornish Times called there was a group around one of the tables who call themselves the Friday gang. Alison Pengelly and two year old daughter Katie, along with Julie Gregory, 18 months old Mitchell and gran Mrs Mary Stevens, and her friend Mrs Dot Bird , were all having a cuppa. 'We are relaxed in here because the children are so welcome' said Alison. 'We enjoy a coffee before we face the shopping'.

The Ship Inn is also known for good food, and Jacquie takes pride in the fact that most of the staff are well qualified. She is an NVQ assessor in management, catering, retail, customer service and administration, and trains here staff to high NVQ qualifications. 'We are a quality team' she says.

Jacquie plans the menus and is helped by main chefs Tim Tulley and Gary Dudley. Lunch and evening meals are served each day, and in the summer dishes made from locally caught fish are always popular.

The walls of the outside of the pub are adorned with various colourful boards, advertising the menus and what's going on throughout the week. In fact they have become quite famous because last summer they were mentioned in national daily newspaper The Sun. The work of Jacquie and Matthew, one of the board says 'Parents must be accompanied by children and dogs!'.

Sports

Although the Ship is popular with Looe's visitors it still has a large number of local regulars, and is involved in pub sports. There are presently four pool teams in the Looe and Polperro League, the pub having two pool tables, with two teams in the first division, one in the second and one in the fourth. They won the league last season and hope to get the double this year. Sunday is a particularly busy night with pool and karaoke both on the go. The pub also has a huge screen which is Sky Digital and attracts big attendances for major sporting events.

There is entertainment on Fridays when it's DJ night and in the summer months there is live entertainment, usually on Tuesdays, when all musical tastes are catered for from jazz to pop and blues.

But whatever you go to the pub for, and no matter what time of day you arrive you are always sure of a good welcome. Zoe Butters who works at The Mayflower Studio usually pops in most days to pick up some coffee for the rest of the shop staff. 'It's really good' she said. 'It's a laugh in here as well and I come in when I'm not working . The Ship has been my local for years'. The day she met up with the Cornish Times Zoe was having lunch with Sue Everett from Wadebridge, a second cousin whom she had never met before.

Sitting at the bar and having somewhat of a 'busman's holiday' was Neil Saunders, the chef at Tencreek. 'I come in here in the low season on most days for a drink and chat. It's the best beer in town' he said.

Neil, a former assistant manager at a pub in Banbury arrived in Looe back in July. 'I used to come fishing with a group of mates and grew to love the area' he said. 'I spent two days making up my mind whether or not to move here, and then I just packed a bag and took to the road. It took me eight days to walk to Looe, and when I arrived I went straight to the Job Centre, got a bar job at Tencreek, and have ended up as the chef. I am well pleased'.

Someone who has been coming to the Ship on holiday for the past 30 years has been Jack Palfrey, who comes to Looe to visit his relatives at Palfreys Bakery. However he says the main attraction for him is the landlady. 'But I've got permission from Richard to say that' he laughs'.