The heart-patterned balloons are tied to the staircase banister inside The Widow Frost in readiness for Valentine's Day. But whether the pub will be decorated in tinsel and sparkly baubles in ten months' time is anyone's guess.
The Wetherspoon pub in Mansfield is up for sale - the only one in Nottinghamshire facing the axe by Tim Martin's UK cheap and cheerful chain. It's not very often 'Spoons ditches any of its drinking holes but after the pandemic 32 pubs across the UK were put on the market in September 2022, followed by a further seven in November.
Ten boozers have since been sold but The Widow Frost, which has a guide price of £300,000, wasn't one of them and the for sale board remains outside. There have been talks with potential buyers, though, so before, or if, it does close its doors, we decided to have one last hurrah at the pub in Leeming Street.
Read more: Nottingham bar to close after being ranked in the UK's Top 50
Wetherspoon used to have three pubs in the town, all within close walking distance of each other. The Court House, in Market Place, was sold in 2016 to Hawthorne Leisure and last year was acquired by Admiral Taverns. It leaves The Widow Frost and The Stag & Pheasant, which comes under the Lloyds No. 1 banner, in Clumber Street.
There's fewer than 100 paces between the two. But they couldn't be more different inside. The Stag & Pheasant, which isn't affected by the sell-off, has two bars, an open kitchen and a terrace at the front. Colourful fairy lights above the bar, bronze pendant lights and a glitter ball hanging from the ceiling add a sprinkle of glitz.
The pub has DJs on a Friday and Saturday night but even during the day there's a buzz from the groups, pensioners, and mums and babies in there. Mum Emma Tilley, 36, said: "It is the most popular of the two. It gets more people. I think it’s a nicer atmosphere and the decor's better. I'd say that's the general feeling around here. This gets busier at the weekend. It's weird there's another just round the corner.
"The food is lush in here. I went in there [The Widow Frost] the other week for a jacket potato and I had to leave it because it was cold. I said to my mate never again."
Moving on to the more morbidly-named The Widow Frost, it's an attractive building from the outside with colourful hanging baskets and planters. It's historic too. Framed pictures on the wall by the entrance tell anyone interested that it was named after the 18th century landlady of the Mason's Arms that previously stood on the site. How Mr Frost met his death, whether it was untimely, natural causes, or tragic we do not know.
But the history books tell us that the Mason's Arms was a place where the Friendly Society met in 1794, a early sort of social security group. Members' contributions were paid out in the form of sickness, unemployment and death benefits.
In 1871 campaigners belonging to the Nine Hours movement met there. They fought for a legal limit on the length of the working day and three years later Parliament passed a law on a ten-hour limit.
But back to today, the pub has the usual distinctive patterned carpet, in this particular case purple, red and white swirly leaves, mismatched tartan and striped chairs and menus promoting the steak club and curry club on the tables. No one would argue that parts of the pub are jaded and in need of some TLC.
The woodwork around the coffee machines is tired and there's a general drabness to the place but it is clean and tidy. I've barely had time to make my tea and I'm just adding milk, when the same lady who served me at the bar comes out of the kitchen with my breakfast, so there's no denying service is quick. It's the same member of staff clearing the dirty plates and glasses from tables, who in passing asks me: "Everything alright darlin'?"
Breakfast is just like that at any other 'Spoons pub, served on the familiar blue and white patterned plate, priced £4.95, and the tea refillable. But for how much longer?
With no background music, like every Wetherspoon's pub, it's quiet and with fewer customers there isn't the same atmosphere as down the road. A TV in the background showing the BBC news is on silent so there's just the chit chat from the few around me - that and someone with a hacking cough over the other side.
The Widow Frost feels like the poor relation but the regulars still love it. Lynn and Dennis Ogden said they visit every morning for a cuppa and prefer it to The Stag & Pheasant. Lynn, 70, of Forest Town, said: "It's brighter and easier to get a seat whereas in there you've got to fight for your seat. We've not been in there for a long time. It could do with a tidy up though and another carpet."
Dennis, 74, said he wasn't happy about the thought of it changing hands and not necessarily remaining a pub. "We don't like it but there's not much we can do about it. People are saying it will probably be flats at some point. They've had that many people interested. We don't really know what's going to happen. We've been coming here quite a long time. I'd rather come to this one."
Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: "The Widow Frost is still up for sale and will continue to operate as a Wetherspoon pub until/unless it is sold. If it is sold then there will be no redundancies – staff will be relocated to other Wetherspoon pubs."
READ NEXT:
See inside stunning £3.7 million mansion with its own swimming pool for sale in Nottingham
McDonald's Happy Meal trick shared by Mrs Hinch 'blows parents minds'
New farm shop opens at Nottinghamshire pub that's hoping to beef up custom
Free family activities on offer across Nottinghamshire during February half-term
Dismay over disappearance of Nottingham pub's iconic feature
