Powys: Man spends 60 years pulling pints behind same bar

1963 was the year when the first album by The Beatles was released and JFK was assassinated.

It was also the year that 80-year-old John Williams started pulling pints.

Sixty years later and he's still behind the same bar in the village of Carno, Powys - but has since become the landlord.

"It's a way of life - I enjoy the stories from the customers, and just hearing what they're up to," John said.

"They're good company. I can't imagine doing anything else."

John has seen many changes over the decades, including the price of beer and the choice of drinks.

"There was no lager in 1963 - there was [beer from] Ind Coope, Ansells and mild - that was a dark ale - and Whitbread Tankard," John recalled.

"It was all on the pumps and there was a lot of maintenance at that time.

"I had to vent it and maybe some barrels wouldn't be ready for about two weeks.

"But now they come off the truck and they're straight on and they still call it real ale. But I don't think it's real ale like it used to be.

"A pint cost 11 pence when I started, and then it went up to a shilling.

John said the spirits "were quite a bit more expensive".

"You didn't want to be in a round with a guy who drank whisky," he said. "I think whisky was two shillings and sixpence."

His pub is called Tŷ Brith.

At least that's the name on the sign outside - but for locals it's known as Carno Club, and John is called JC or 'Johnny Club' by regulars.

Looking back at the village's history, John said he remembered the heyday of the Laura Ashley factory in Carno.

The company employed hundreds of people at its headquarters in the village which grew in the 1960s and 70s.

"Everyone benefitted from Laura Ashley, whether you worked there or not... everyone was making money, a lot of money.

"People were really enjoying themselves. I saw Bernard and Laura Ashley around, but they didn't come in here. They were good with everyone."

Club members would go every year on a trip to Blackpool to stay in the hotel owned by Welsh singing duo Tony and Aloma, who came to sing in Tŷ Brith in 1984.

The club used to have gaming machines, a pool table and a dart board but the big thing, John said, was dominos. The club had two teams that played in a league in the Newtown area.

The biggest change, John said, was that more families come to the bar now.

"When I started the majority were men, and women stayed at home with the children. But it has changed, especially in the last 10 years. Friday night is like a family night out.

"Carno primary school children come with their parents. Apparently, they ask each other in the schoolyard - 'are you going to the club tonight?'

"They call me 'Johnny Five' because they come here at 17:00."

Many pubs have closed in the decades since John started working behind his bar.

Analysis of UK government figures by Altus Group found that almost 400 pubs closed in England and Wales in 2022. Fifty of them were in Wales.

Despite rising costs, John has managed to carry on and still opens his bar every day of the week.

John said his bar's success was down to the strong local community.

"Good customers - that's the best thing, and we've been trying to keep the prices down as far as possible.

"The biggest problem [for other pubs] is that many have to pay rent and have to raise beer prices, more than I do.

"I'm a free house and therefore can choose what I want to sell."

Sixty years on, John said it was too late now for him to do anything else.

"It's not worth me starting another career now!"