Semington man swaps computers for pints

AFTER swapping life in front of a computer screen for life behind the bar of his local pub, new landlord, John Adams, has big plans for the Somerset Arms in Semington.

Live music and great food, including an extensive gluten-free menu, all with the same country pub values as before, are on the agenda for the landlord.

Six months ago, John took over as landlord at the country pub. “I’ve moved from one side of the bar to the other!” he joked. “I’ve lived in Semington for about 10 years now and was  always a regular at the pub.”

Before making the move to pulling pints, John had a successful career in IT. “It’s been a bit of a leap from IT to the pub, and a massive learning curve. There has been a lot of hard work, but it has been worth it, it’s been really good.

“This pub has everything; a great village community, trade from the canal and families visiting the crematorium, as well as accommodation. I’ve quickly learnt that the pub wouldn’t be able to survive without all of these elements.”

Talking about his plans for the pub, John said, “Now that six months have passed and I’ve settled in, I’m starting to look ahead and do more things with the place.

“There will be a music festival in the late Bank Holiday weekend of May with many bands playing live including the Will Blake band.

“We will continue to serve good food. We are listed with a couple of websites because of our gluten-free menu. About 85 per cent of what we have on offer is available as gluten-free. Most importantly, I want to continue to keep the village at the heart of the community.”