Perfectly situated opposite Looe train station, The Globe Inn is an excellent first-port-of-call for the weary traveller in need of a drink and some friendly conversation. Although, as landlord David Hill is keen to emphasise, the inn is very much a locals' pub first and foremost.

He said: "It's very easy to fall into the trap of gearing services towards the tourist season at the expense of local people, but we want to keep familiar faces smiling all year round as well as new faces passing through."

Beyond the vibrant pink walls of the building is a warm and cosy interior comprising two bars.

David runs the pub with his wife Maggie, who has added a special touch to the decor with an array of beautiful flower arrangements which have secured her a win in the 'Looe in Bloom' competition. There is a staff of five, including two cleaners and Maggie provides some splendid home cooking for the tempting menu written on a large black board by the main bar. The double meals (as in two servings for the price of one) are especially popular, although not everyone can make it through two steaks with ease!

Theme nights

The Globe Inn is not always the most sedate of places as Maggie explains: "We keep very active. There are theme nights on a regular basis. Burn's night sold out completely and we had Chinese New Year on February 5. The next big event will be St Piran's Day on March 5th, where we will be serving plenty of 'teddy and turnip pie'."

The recipe for this traditional dish was given to Maggie courtesy of a customer's 84 year old grandmother from Polperro, who prides herself on having the correct ingredients and recipe for this staple of St Piran's Day.

David and Maggie have been running the pub for just over three years - their first choice from a number of south coast pubs they had viewed. Says David: "It was just a whim to own a pub, really. We wanted to do something in a good community and since we've been here there's been plenty of things to occupy us. We began to organise boat trips up the Tamar in the Summertime and then the theme nights took off and the response from local people has been staggering."

Regular entertainment from bands has added to The Globe Inn's appeal and it also boasts a jukebox filled with just about something for everyone and a large television tuned to all the major satellite channels, of which the sports channels are a big draw.

There is a pool team and a darts team who meet each week and are both in pub leagues.

Friday and Saturday nights are the busiest time for David, Maggie and their staff but Monday is also becoming very popular, due in part to bar maid Janine Nicholson, who has built up something of a following on a Monday night.

David said: "She's a very good worker and great with customers. There's a very jovial atmosphere which Janine thrives on and the locals really like her."

David was keen to encourage young people to have somewhere to go and began a free pool table for the Winter season. He said: "It's good for them to have somewhere to go during the Winter months and they all mix well with our older regulars. Of course, by Summer they have other places to go but at least this is available for them."

Two youngsters were battling it out on the pool table during The Cornish Time's visit to the pub. Brothers Nick and Steven Merralls had both come from Kent for half-term holiday to stay with their grandfather, John Barriball, who has been a regular at the Globe Inn since 1953.

Nick said: "We're here to visit granddad until the end of the week and we've been glued to the pool table every time we come in."

In addition to pool, Nick and Steven have also been doing a spot of fishing, keen to totally relax before returning to school the following week.

Other visitors were Mr and Mrs Richards from the Midlands, although this is not their first time in the Globe Inn. Mr Richards said: "It's one of the pubs we always head for when we come down."

Locals Mr and Mrs Stevenson had very positive things to say about the pub: "We love pink, you see." began Mr Stevenson. "You can't get more pink than the outside of the Globe and the landlord and his wife are the secret. We really get on with them - they always allow me a soap box, or should that be a beer crate, to spout my theories."

The Stevensons' are good friends of Mr Barriball, who also complemented the Hill's on their work. "I am a great supporter of what they've done here. The boat trips are a big hit and the atmosphere is nice and easy."

Mrs Stevenson remarked that it is a pub where a woman could feel perfectly comfortable going in to on her own. She said: "You are never intimidated because it doesn't feel like a men's only club. It's good for my husband too because it's the only pub in Looe where he can have a loud conversation and get away with it!"

Happy

Joining the Stevenson's at the bar is Janine Nicholson who seems very happy as both a customer and a worker at the pub.

"I've been working here for about a year and a half now. I came down from Hertfordshire and wanted my wedding reception here. Then, before I knew it, I was working here too!"

Janine's ambition was to come to Cornwall to open a restaurant, "But," she adds with a wry smile, "I could always try and persuade David and Maggie to pass this on to me one day."

Maggie's love of cooking has led to a number exotic menus - just last week there was an Italian flavour at the Globe, although David insists that there will be no French features in the immediate future.

He said: "We were very angry when the beef crisis was at its height because there were a lot of farming families facing real problems and Cornwall is a farming county. So, we kicked out all the French wines and brandy and the pernod and replaced them all with other brands." One special night in support of British Beef was even attended by MP for South East Cornwall, Colin Breed.

Nicholas Harvage, aka 'the mad chef', was particularly positive about the pub: "It's excellent, simple as that. I wouldn't go anywhere else for good pub food and, as food's the business dear to my heart, you couldn't ask for a better compliment."

Mr Harvage continued by praising the work of David and Maggie, referring to the trips, theme nights and the decor: "The Globe has that woman's touch lacking in many pubs. The flowers, for example, make it that little more special."

On an afternoon split almost equally between locals and visitors, Mrs Reid and Mrs Burnige have come to see friends in St Cleer from their home in Barking.

For Mrs Reid this was her first time in Looe. "It's a beautiful part of the country and this looked like the perfect place to spend an hour with a drink and the crossword."

Mrs Burnige, who has been to Looe before said of the Globe Inn, "It's a very pleasant and inviting place - quite like Looe as a whole really."

But perhaps the last words should go to Mr Stevenson, who said: "Quite honestly, happiness is globed shaped."