Herm’s Mermaid makeover leaves it without a licence

Saturday 6th February 2010, 2:29PM GMT.

Mermaid Tavern, HermA blunder has forced the Mermaid Tavern to cancel all its Valentine’s bookings.

The establishment, which has 15 bedrooms, was fully booked within 24 hours of its email marketing campaign, but it had to cancel the bookings because it had knocked down two interior walls.

The stud walls were to the left and right of the Tavern’s doorway.

Herm Island head of hospitality Jonathan Watson said the Mermaid was in breach of its liquor licence, as an application should have been made to the Royal Court before structural alterations were carried out.

‘Because we are in breach of our licence, we can’t open until the matter is resolved. Clearly we are in the wrong and we accept that,’ he said.

Mr Watson said a man whom he thought might have been a planning official told them of the mistake after seeing an article in the Guernsey Press that referred to the refurbishment.

‘That person was very helpful. If the issue had come to light in the middle of June, we would have had to shut then.

‘In the way it’s worked out, it’s much better we found out now,’ he said.

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  1. 1
    gsydonkee

    How pathetic.
    GD.

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  2. 2
    goose

    whats pathetic ?

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  3. 3
    GOOSE

    What pathetic I think Herm were hard done by

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  4. 4
    eric

    The law is the law;
    That said, one might expect a little understanding by the law makers, oh no, they must have their lb of flesh,

    Far worse items of law breaking is passed over.
    however looking at the motley crew that controls their little domain of dictator ship, it now becomes our hope that at next election,we get real
    Guernsey people to govern.

    Hopefully one day we’ll get rid of that stigma of being a dependency, it’s only in name we derive
    no benefits at all, think it over, who benefits?
    not the Guernsey people that’s for sure.

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  5. 5
    Martino

    I agree with you Eric that this is a ridiculous situation but have you ever stopped to think that it’s all been caused by our determination to hang on to an archaic old legal system based on feudal Norman law that is way out of touch with our 21st century society.
    I say get rid of the lot including that daft old Clameur de Haro nonsense that is now getting on for 1,000 years past it’s sell by. What we should have in place here is 21st century legislation enabling the Royal Court to grant an emergency, temporary licence in cases like these.
    At the same time we should do away completely with our laughable Sunday trading legislation that again is a remnant of society during the dark ages. Sweep the whole lot away to where it belongs – in the distant, dismal past!

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  6. 6
    Eric

    Martino;
    Sorry but I cannot agree with you about doing away with our traditions.
    In the 1st place we’re not English, but of Norman decent.
    The English have for centuries denounced the the Normans with such propaganda’s as Robin Hood etc,

    You squirm at the fact you got pasting at Hastings, you hated the French (incidentally we were from Normandie) France had nothing to do with us.

    Whatever you made it quite plain how the English thought of us, and punished us with sly acts of parliament; We’re Donkeys, with the traits of the elephant, We never forget.

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  7. 7
    Paul Le Page

    Slightly off topic but I agree with you about Sunday trading Martino…I wrote in a previous thread that the current law is ludicrously unfit for purpose. Either allow free trading on Sundays or none at all – but please get rid of the present laughable state of affairs where a shop can open and sell some goods but not others.

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  8. 8
    Martino

    What I am saying, Eric, is that a law is either fit for purpose in our 21st century society or it isn’t.
    What you seem to be saying is that any law that dates back to our Norman past (when society was feudal and we serfs jumped to our masters’ every whim) is good; any legislation brought over from modern day England is bad, even if it does a great job in meeting our own modern day needs.
    To be honest Eric, I don’t care if our local laws are borrowed or imported or copied from England or France or Germany or Sweden or Azerbaijan, so long as they work for us.
    To Paul, we don’t agree on everything but nice to see we are in accord over Sunday trading. Regards

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  9. 9
    Eric

    I suppose that is the difference in our way of thinking Martino;
    Of course you are entitled to your thoughts for goodness sake,
    However- having seen this so called modernising of Guernsey;L I hold my hands up in Horror.

    ‘As for England’s ways; well it’¨s German isn’t it? Saxony to be exact; and >I detest that nation above all else.
    I don’t expect all to agree with me; but they are my thoughts, Give Brittain back to the Brits, if you want to have change. and cancell out the UK so that those other lands can be and feel as I do, free from the yoke of others.

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  10. 10
    Martino

    Fair enough Eric. We’ll have to agree to disagree!

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  11. 11
    Eric

    fair enough Martino:
    That is if you are satisfied with 30 pieces of silver:

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