Jacqui Dickson runs The Slipstream in Dumfries and Maureen McKerrow used to own The Globe in the town. The two women make a formidable team on the local LTA. Susan Young caught up with them to find out why the loved the trade.
I often lament the fact that there are not more women fronting and owning bars and pubs in Scotland – no one quite knows why – often citing the fact that when children come along they cannot put in the hours.
However, Jacqui Dickson who owns the Slipstream in Dumfries and her great friend Maureen McKerrow who ran The Globe in the town until five years ago, wax lyrical about the industry that they have spent their whole careers in, and both of them had families which in no way held them back. Says Jacqui, “The licensed trade is a great career, I have absolutely loved my time in it, and I can’t understand why more women are not in it.” Maureen nods vigorously in agreement.
I caught up with the two when I was asked by Teresa Brannan of Heineken to join her at the recent Dumfries Victuallers Licensed Trade Association’s Annual Ball at the Cairndale Hotel. Jacqui is the Associations Past-President and has held the position since 2010. She reckons that there are not many trade associations still hosting as many events as they do and certainly very few, if any, have an Annual Ball.
It is obvious the two women are firm friends as they laugh over the escapades they have had over the years – usually associated with trade events – from missing the train on the way back from the 49 Club to a visit to Prague. Says Jacqui, “I have been in the trade for more than 25 years. Originally, I joined Slipstream in 1999 to work with my brother Andy Dickson for a few months but I have been there ever since and have enjoyed every minute.”
When Andy died, after owning the business for 35 years, Jacqui took over the premises. In fact, the night before our interview Jacqui hadn’t got to bed until 2am. She explains, “We are open until 1am – I have always been a late-night operator. If we didn’t open late, I don’t think the business would be profitable.”
She adds, “We get a very varied age group and often the older customers are there just as late as younger drinkers – as long as it doesn’t become too busy. A lot of people are on their own or can’t sleep and head down for some company. I’ve served fathers and then their sons and daughters, and you get to know their day-to-day life.
“I don’t know how many weddings I have been to through the pub but there have been quite a few. Slipstream really is like an extended family. I care for my customers and I think they like the fact that they are looked after in my pub. If they are sitting in their house with no one to talk to why wouldn’t they come down to the pub for the social aspect?
“Some people want to put a negative spin on hospitality, but I believe the positives you gain from it far outweigh any negatives. I’m nearly at the end of my career and I look at everything I have been involved in and the paths it has taken me down – I can honestly say I have enjoyed every minute.
“It is difficult to put into words what you can learn from the trade and its everyday challenges, but it is so satisfying to do something you enjoy. Not every day is a good day, but hospitality can give you something that no other trade can socially, from building your confidence to an education, so many different things. I would say to anyone thinking about coming in – do it!”
Today Jacqui often does six days a week, although when she started out, she was just dong two. She cites a lack of staff as one of the reasons and says, “It is harder than it used to be, but I can do everything from changing a barrel to ordering, book keeping, the rota, wages, tax returns, all the form filling, and security – I have my SIA badge. I also love front of house and get involved with our customers daily lives.”
Over the years, Slipstream has been part of Best Bar None, winning Silver and Gold accolades. Jacqui says, “We strive to be the best we can, and it is rewarding. It is just your typical public house, and we do a variety of everything – from quiz nights to dominos and darts, karaoke, and live music. We no longer get people queuing down the road to get in, but we still have very regular customers. I don’t know what some people would do if we did not open. Sometimes we are the only people that a person might see in a day.”
One of the parts of her role that she enjoys the most is her involvement with the Dumfriesshire Licensed Victuallers Association, plus she is a past-President of Dumfriesshire and the South West LTA too. She believes that these roles have given her a very good knowledge of all the issues facing the trade and the ever-changing nature of the business – from rates to energy bills and legislation.
She explains, “It was Maureen that got me involved. I’ve known her for 25 years. The Victuallers is like a little family and we are one of the healthiest around. We are just this one wee division, but we all get on and socialise to. It’s like everything – if you do a job, do it well. We all put a lot of time into it and enjoy it. We have really got to know each other well.”
Originally Maureen and Jacqui were two of the movers and shakers behind the Dumfries ‘Make Our Bars Safer’ or MOBS initiative as it was known. The pubwatch-like MOBS was set up in 2001 and it saw local publicans work with the police to make Dumfries a great place to have a night out in a safe and well-regulated atmosphere – by endeavouring to rid pubs and clubs of troublemakers and drug dealers. MOB members shared information to ensure troublemakers couldn’t use their pubs.
The initiative was stopped by the police when GDPR came in, although both Maureen and Jacqui can’t understand why. Says Maureen, “MOBS got great support from both within and out with the trade. We had a great rapport with the police – they even came to our annual balls. It worked very well – we didn’t use What’s app – but we had a very efficient and secure system. We would like to see it re-instated.”
Although Maureen’s pub The Globe was sold five years ago, bringing Maureen’s 40-year role at the pub to an end, she has continued to be involved with the trade. She is a former past president of the 49-club and is the current Visitor for the Maltman – the first female to hold the role since the charity was established in 1605. Which is just five years before the original Globe opened!
The Globe was famous the world over for its hospitality and its association with Robert Burns, who once stayed there. Says Maureen “Hospitality is a wonderful life. Our kids also all started out in hospitality. It taught them how to deal with people and the confidence that it instilled has stayed with them and given them great people skills.
“I used to say when someone walks through the door of my bar that they were there to spend money. All I had to do was keep them there by socialising with them.
“I think the trade has almost come full circle. When we started out, we had to do everything in the pub. Now costs and staff shortages mean that we are at the stage where you have to go back to doing everything! It may be hard work, but it is rewarding.”
Jacqui agrees, although she has now put her own pub on the market. Says Maureen, “Jacqui is a caring, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable licensee, with life experience beyond any normal person in the trade. We will be friends for life.”
I just wish that younger people in the trade now, or people thinking about coming into it, could spend an hour in Maureen and Jacqui’s company. They both say that their lives have been enriched by their experience in hospitality, saying, “hospitality is a way of life and we have loved it.”