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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Emily Hall & Laura Sharman

Wetherspoons worker gets pub's name tattooed on his arm and says it won't be his last

A Wetherspoon 's employee felt so strongly about the pub where he worked that he had it tattooed on his arm.

Riccardo Barile, 30, believes the pub chain saved his life when he hit hard times before working there.

He began his career at the Moon and Spoon in Slough where he met colleague Sean O'Farrell, who helped him.

When Sean moved to the Falcon in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, as manager, Riccardo moved too and now works in the pub as a team leader.

He recently had the Moon and Spoon's logo etched onto his arm and joked that it is not the last.

"That job literally saved my life. Sean was so kind to me and we became friends," Riccardo said.

"When he moved to High Wycombe, I moved with him."

Riccardo started his pub career at the Moon and Spoon in Slough and now has it tattooed on his arm (Wetherspoons/Triangle News)

Riccardo has even joked that his next tattoo will be Sean's signature.

Colleague Adam Coles said Riccardo, who is originally from Italy, is like "a walking canvas."

His other tattoos include images from film and TV, including the Walking Dead, Batman and Pulp Fiction.

Wetherspoon is known for offering the cheapest drinks on the high street and nothing unites Brits like their love of a cheap pint.

Many of its pubs are restored from unique and historic buildings, including old banks, theatres and even royal baths.

The Moon and Spoon where Riccardo began his Wetherspoon career (BerkshireLive - Grahame Larter)

One pensioner said he loves the chain so much he has visited 900 venues across the UK, traveling thousands of miles in just seven years.

John Hunt, 83, has his own printed list of the pub chain's venues and ticks them off as he goes.

The retired dock worker travels by bus, taxi or train to reach each boozer and orders a meal and a pint of real ale when he arrives.

His longest journey to date is 700 miles from his home in Southampton Hampshire, to a Wetherspoon in Wick, Scotland.

Two weeks ago, John visited his 900th Wetherspoon in Kingswinford, near Birmingham.

He now works as a team leader at the Falcon in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire (Google)

Some of the pubs he has visited have since closed down or changed hands, with 2021 data showing just 861 pubs currently open in the UK.

John, known as Chester among his friends, said he goes on the mega crawls to stay active.

"I don’t want to stay indoors all the time," he said.

"I live on my own you see, and that was it. I ain’t gonna sit indoors watching telly, it’s no good for me."

John is yet to tick off four Wetherspoons in Wales, six in Scotland, and four in Cornwall.

His favourite venues so far are the old opera house in Tunbridge Wells and The Palladium in Llandudno, Wales.

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