A country pub in Yorkshire has left punters bumping their gums after introducing a draconian list of eight new house rules.
The ‘family-friendly’ Boot & Shoe Inn in Tockwith - branded the 'UK's strictest' - has gone viral on social media after its strict list of house rules was shared online by eagle-eyed Twitter user Leon Foster.
Helpfully plastered in its front window for all to see (spread across five printed-out pieces of A4 paper), the list of no-nos is so extensive that it has left people with a lot to say about the Sam Smith brewery-owned pub’s policies.
Dogs and children are both banned from entering the boozer, as are muddy boots, mobile phones, laptops, iPads and swearing – leaving punters online asking if there is any fun to be had inside at all.
Signs stipulate that children are to be kept outside ‘for the time being’ and are currently only allowed in the pub’s beer garden.
They are also not allowed to run around or play whilst in the garden, but must instead remain seated with their parents or another responsible adult throughout the visit.
Image: @Leonlen via Twitter
A notice in the window reveals that children are only banned temporarily, but still, it has left a lot of accusing owners of implementing ‘archaic’ policies.
The sign reads: “For the time being children will only be allowed in the beer gardens. They must stay at your table and not running around.
“They cannot come inside the pub and must be accompanied by an adult when they go to the toilet. All children have to be off the premises by 8pm. We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused.”
Others have taken objection to the banning of electronic devices, although it is worth noting that this is a blanket policy that applies to all of Sam Smith’s brewery-owned pubs.
A spokesman from Boot & Shoe Inn, who did not want to give a full statement, told Yorkshire Live: “It’s a brewery decision to ban them.”
Comments have flooded in thick and fast online, with one person writing: “Fella behind the bar was perfectly friendly but you’d cross the road to Spotted Ox wouldn’t you? Saw child ban at another one in Rochdale last week and thought it specific to that place but seems not…”
Another took issue with the muddy boots rule, commenting: “Unless they’re clean,” What? I’m unsure if I’m more offended by the wrong word being used, a random comma at the end of the sentence, the fact they want people’s feet on display or the fact they evidently don’t want any custom.”
Read more: TV License fee ‘needs to go’, says Jacob Rees-Mogg after BBC’s Gary Lineker row
A third added: “Trying really hard to put themselves out of business aren’t they. And I like their pubs!”
A fourth said: “The website says they are a family friendly pub! It would appear that unless you have children it is family friendly.”
Feature image – Wikimedia Commons
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Leeds pizza shop hailed ‘exceptional’ and ‘best in the UK’ by major reviewer
A Leeds pizza takeaway has received a glowing review from popular review duo.
Edges Pizza opened up their first permanent spot in Leeds back in June this year, after making a name for themselves slinging out pizzas at multiple pop-ups across the city.
Owners Grace and Edge from Harrogate opened Edges Pizza two years ago, taking inspiration from trips to New York over the years.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Their pizzas are a love letter to the class New York slice, think thin and crispy rather than chewy and floppy. But above all else, think absolutely delicious.
And now, they've caught the attention of a major review page, with Bite Twice Food Reviews (a page with almost 300k followers) paying Edges a visit.
The food review duo of Gerry del Guercio and Paul Delany popped up in Holbeck beneath the arches to get their hands on a pizza, and the outcome is brilliant.
In the video, Bite Twice said that the pizza is 'f**cking exceptional' and up there with 'one of the best pizzas in the UK'.
Before even taking a bite, they said: "On aesthetic, I don't think anywhere in the UK is doing pizza like this".
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Then after the first bite, they go on to say: "There are very few pizzas in the UK that create this, I’m a little bit blown away".
As Londoners themselves, they go on to say that Edges is 'easily hitting with the best that we’ve got down south'.
And if that's not high praise enough, they sign off the video saying: "Leeds has got an absolute gem. I give this a stamp so hard my foot went through the pizza. Edges. Don Level."
Yorkshire-set Christmas film by Leeds director starring Richard E. Grant set to hit UK cinemas next month
Clementine Hall
A brand-new Christmas film is hitting cinemas nationwide next month - and it’s a proper Leeds success story.
Jack Spring directed his first feature film at just 19 years old and has spent the last decade carving out a career in independent film, as well as co-founding Leeds-based production company Shush Films.
His first movie, Destination: Dewsbury, was shot just down the road in - you guessed it - Dewsbury. And after moving to Leeds from Grimsby, Jack became determined to build his business from the city, putting down roots and growing his production company here.
Image: Supplied
Now, after years of working on independent projects, Jack has taken his biggest leap yet with a brand-new Christmas film, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint.
Set in Yorkshire, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint follows Aubrey Flint, a reclusive model soldier painter with a lifelong hatred of Christmas, who is sentenced to community service at Willow Lodge - a retirement home on the brink of closure.
Roped into helping with a chaotic production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Aubrey clashes with its interesting set of residents...
And the cast is about as star-studded as it gets, featuring Richard E. Grant, John Bradley, Celia Imrie, Adjoa Andoh, Sophia Di Martino, Adrian Rawlins and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
Image: Supplied
The heartwarming festive comedy will hit cinemas nationwide on Friday 6 November - a huge milestone for a Leeds-based director and production company, taking a homegrown Yorkshire story to audiences across the country.
You just can't beat a proper wholesome British Christmas film, so you can best believe we'll be watching in the cinema, popcorn in hand.
Georgina Pellant -
14th March 2023 
