Controversial pub sign to be re-hung amid race fears
A CONTROVERSIAL pub sign taken down amid a race row is to be re-hung once again after undergoing a facelift.
Licensees at the Labour In Vain, Yarnfield, say the sign – which shows a black boy sitting in a tub being scrubbed by a white couple – is part of the pub's and England's heritage.
They have decided to return it to the rear of the 160-year-old building, where it has been displayed for several years following a row which made national headlines, now restoration work on the sign has been completed.
The main outdoor sign was replaced by a more politically correct version in 1993 after complaints to then-owner Bass from two 10-year-old girls.
An image of a farmer sowing seeds being mobbed by birds now hangs at the front of the Yarnfield Lane pub.
But in 2001, then-licensees Christine and John Glover found the original sign and hung it in the beer garden. That led to a letter from Stafford and District Racial Equality Council (REC) asking for it to be removed from view, but the board has remained in place since.
New licensees Vince Hannant and Debbie Donovan say the original sign remains a much-loved feature of the pub – and that it raises a smile with locals and visitors of all colours and backgrounds.
Vince, aged 41, said: "When we took over in April there was some suggestion that maybe the sign should come down, but the locals said, 'Don't even touch it, we've been through so much to keep it'.
"But it was in a bit of an unhappy state, so we decided to have it repainted."
Debbie, aged 40, said: "We would love to hang it out the front but I do not think we will be allowed to.
"But there are people from all walks of life who come in here and have a laugh. No-one is hating it or thinking it should be taken down."
Vince added: "Too many English traditions are dying and we wanted to do our bit to save this one. There is nothing malicious about it and it shows a part of English heritage. We want to show we care about the pub."
Contract manager Richard Charwood has been living in Yarnfield and drinking in the Labour In Vain for 44 years. After the row broke out over the sign last time, he arranged a referendum of villagers which found that people were overwhelmingly in support of keeping the original sign.
The 69-year-old said: "When Bass took the board down the strength of feeling in the village was such that they re-erected the sign on the wall immediately above the main entrance. It stayed there for some time and, when the pub was re-decorated, it disappeared. Then the landlady found it and put it up around the back, where it has been until now."
Mervyn Edwards, from Wolstanton, spokesman for the Potteries Pub Preservation Group, said: "The Labour In Vain sign caused a furore back then but the sign actually depicts futility rather than being offensive from a racist point of view.
"I think perhaps that some people got the wrong end of the stick and 16 years ago we were starting the PC age, as it were."
The original sign is to be re-hung outside the pub, which probably gained its name as a recruitment spot for casual Victorian workers, on Thursday.
Nobody from Enterprise Inns, which now owns the pub, was available for comment.
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61 Comments
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by leemoz1
Saturday, April 21 2012, 12:28PM
“You cannot 'whitewash' history because it offends a small minority of people. Otherwise we'd stop educating children about the more negative aspects of the British Empire, and of course slavery. If a pub sign can be removed from the place it has hung for generations then perhaps we can stop talking about slavery and pretend it never happened etc!”
by michael, burslem
Thursday, September 17 2009, 4:57PM
“i do agree with warren ,let the sign serve as what its ment to serve as . good point warren from meir”
by michael, burslem
Thursday, September 17 2009, 4:55PM
“well let me just quote the landlady "Too many English traditions are dying " and i agree there is more kebab houses ,curry houses,and chinese takeaways than ,our good old chip shops,not to mention other things. now i have been brought up from being a baby with a white foster family ,(i myself is of mixed race ) but iam horrified at this silly idea. just like iam when i hear of a black police officers association. ridiculious!!”
by Chloe Hill, Trentham
Thursday, September 17 2009, 3:09PM
“Which English tradition are the owners of the Labour in Vain trying to preserve? Certainly not one we should be hanging on to. It isn't about political correctness, it's about equality. Even hinting that it is useless to try and wash a black person clean is just awful,but if it was two black people 'labouring in vain' to wash a white person clean it would be every bit as racist as it is now. It was two children that complained, so clearly they saw it as racist. Is that what we want? For children to see this sign as a signal that it's acceptable to be racist in any way? I don't think so.”
by craig, hanley
Tuesday, September 15 2009, 10:16PM
“how many black people live in that area.and how many use the pub.”
by craig, hanley
Tuesday, September 15 2009, 10:14PM
“anthony.i see your point but everytime us black people say its racist.white people acuse of us playing the race card.and the reason no black people have complained about the sign is because of this.i am not going to a pub with my daughters. and then having some drunken white guy call my daughter names because of some racist sign.trust me it still happens.”
by ExPat, Canada
Tuesday, September 15 2009, 8:58PM
“One of the reasons I left North Staffordshire was because I was sick of the stupid, dumb and completely ignorant people who live there - I see it's not changed! To the Editor - a story that can only promote racial unrest - shame on you!”
by pat, Madeley
Tuesday, September 15 2009, 6:50PM
“I remember the story when it first came about. PCness, which I believe originated from the USA has just about ruined this country. The first PC law I remember was, 'Thou shalt not have a golly picture on your jar or jam. Nor shall you be able to purchase such item in brooch form.' The country has been sinking deeper into the mire ever since. Where art tho Lancelot?”
by lee, ches
Tuesday, September 15 2009, 5:09PM
“Could it be that the idea behind the sign was to provoke discussion as to its meaning? To test peoples perception of what they see or think they see?!Probably not but whatever the sign stands for hats off to the pub manager, you've got yourself a great piece of free publicity well done!”
by Sarah, North of Stoke
Tuesday, September 15 2009, 4:59PM
“So let's get this straight.
This sign hasn't been hanging up outside the pub for 13 years. But these new owners/managers have decided to get it repainted and rehang it, despite knowing there might be controversy.
Before anyone has actually complained, someone has contacted the Sentinel, and this has been a 'story' two days running on the internet.
So the pub gets lots of free publicity without actually improving their beer or service, and the usual suspects get to lambaste the 'PC brigade' - namely anyone who actually cares that the sign is offensive.
Can we have some real news one day?”