[ad_1]
To pass the time, guests play board games and cards with each other. They sing karaoke and hold trivia contests. The band, who apologized to fans that they won’t be able to make it to their next show in Essex, instead sang a few more songs. Some meals are provided for free, but others are sold at half price. The alcohol keeps flowing – it’s a pub, after all.
“We all drank for three days,” Longthorp said. “I think I got the money.”
As the pubgoers’ situation spread, pub owner Nicola Townsend started doing media interviews. He appeared on British morning TV shows, on Sky News, the BBC, and on the radio. He was interviewed by the New York Times. The story made headlines in Italy, Germany, and Sweden. All the while, he was still trapped.
“It’s like having a huge group of friends over for dinner,” Townsend told the Telegraph newspaper. “They have made friendships – it’s like a big family is the best way I can describe it. One woman actually said: ‘I don’t want to leave.'”
Guests praised the hard-working staff, who kept them safe and provided them with warm toast. Patrons passed collection trays, raising hundreds of dollars to thank seven employees for their unexpected three-day turnaround.
By Monday morning, snow plows had cleared the neighborhood’s streets and guests could finally leave. Longthorp said he was very happy when he got home and changed into the clothes he had been wearing since Friday. Rigby said he was relieved to be back in his own bed.
“We’re probably ready to take a shower, but I think we’ll be OK from the wine for a night or two,” he said.
On the pub’s Facebook page, staff shared photos of guests crammed into the music hall, stranded but smiling. “We will always remember an amazing group of people who came together, and hopefully, under difficult circumstances, enjoyed what we thought was a life-changing experience,” the bar staff wrote.
[ad_2]
Source link