Jim Brent, Licensee of the Ship in Dock & George and Dragon
A Chat with...Jim Brent, Licensee of the Ship in Dock & George and Dragon
Where did you grow up and what were your aspirations?
Well I was born in Notting Hill and grew up in Shepherds Bush and Fulham and it was a very interesting place to grow up. I went to a large school of some 1,500 boys and it was hard because it was a fairly poor area. I was desperate to become a footballer and had three trials with Queens Park Rangers but at 14 I was picked up by Fulham as an amateur and later offered an apprenticeship. So I achieved my goal but I must admit I was not that good and got transferred around and then after nine operations on one of my legs I couldn’t play any more. Thankfully whilst I was playing you were made to learn another trade just in case…. and I chose sound technology. This meant I was sent to work in studios and when I turned to it as a career they found me a job at Olympic Studios in Barnes from where I moved onto to Rampart Studio in Battersea where I worked with The Who for a while. Then I started going out on tours as a roadie and moved up to be a Stage Manager, then a Road Manager and finally making it as a Tour Manager. I was very lucky to work with some very famous artists and bands and a lot of Motown acts. I had the privilege to work with Diana Ross, The Four Tops, The Temptations, The Commodores, Isaac Hayes, The Jacksons, Jerry Lee Lewis, Glen Campbell, two tours with Bill Hayley before he died…..the list goes on.
You moved on from the music business I understand?
Yes, I felt it was changing direction and at the time I held a Private Pilots License and was quite accomplished and was working my way up to a commercial rating and I found out the best place to go was Hamble. I spoke to them and was told I needed a sponsor because of the cost and the biggest of those at the time was British Airways. So I applied to them, got interviewed, didn’t think I had got anywhere with them but to my surprise six months later got a letter from them asking me to a final interview after which I was invited to start training. After nearly three years with BA they were reducing the numbers of pilots and I was stood down so I moved on to Britannia Airways who were a growing company flying out of Luton at the time and then I moved on to McDonnell Douglas. Unfortunately after September 11th ‘all the wheels came off’ so to speak and at the end of that month I got called into a meeting at Holborn in London and I’ll never forget the opening line of the man sat in front of me – ‘Jim you’ve been a great servant to the company…..’
Was it then you became a publican?
It was. We decided to buy a pub on a beautiful river and the family moved from Devizes in Wiltshire to the Floating Bridge Inn. I had known Dartmouth for many years through my ex wife’s family. We ran that for four years and after selling it I tried to buy the Ship in Dock but was gazumped at the last minute so I became a partner at Mojo’s on the seafront at Torquay and lived in Preston for a couple of years. When the Ship in Dock didn’t go according to plan for the new owners, my partner, Linda and I had a second chance to get it and finally acquired it on 2 June 2008. We closed it immediately and had a workforce of up to 12 working 7 days a week for 10 weeks to refurbish it. We now pride ourselves on running a lovely little bar, our food offer is excellent thanks to our great chef Steve Pye and our guest accommodation is very special – I can guarantee the beds are the most comfortable you’re likely to sleep in! We also run a pizza delivery service from there. Since reopening the Ship in Dock, Linda and I have also taken on a free of tie lease with Heavitree at the George and Dragon. We have a refurbishment plan and have already started, though not finished, the garden area. That now provides good outdoor seating and our architect, Gordon Hindle is working on the redesign of the interior. It is our plan to have a log fire, lots of real ale and probably a carvery service. Whatever we do decide on, we will do it well! I am very lucky to have James Morrison who I have worked with before at the Floating Bridge as my chef and my daughter Daisy is brilliant running the bar at the Ship in Dock. We also believe we have some of the best staff in Dartmouth.
Do you have time for any outside interests?
I am one of the tractor drivers on the Dart lifeboat crew, I organise Regatta Rock, I am a Regatta marshal on the river and Vice Chairman of The Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta and I looking forward to stepping up to Chairman in time. I am a qualified football coach, a below average golfer and I like watching rugby.
First Published October 2009 By The Dart
