"We were abused in here by loutish locals when we popped in for a drink mid-walk with our kids. The boozed-up local blokes sitting at the bar took exception to kids being allowed in their pub. They were swearing loudly and coarsely despite being next to children, and when my son literally tapped his seat with his foot, one of the louts used it as a pretext to turn to us and tell us to “SHUT YOUR KIDS UP!” He proceeded to loudly declaim the presence of children in the pub to his mates, swearing aggressively. The bar staff turned a blind eye, probably out of feckless boredom rather than ill-will. We had to get the kids away from the nasty situation so we got up to leave, not able to finish our drinks. I asked a barmaid to find the owner, who met us outside. She expressed apologies, saying that the guy was wrong and that this was a family pub, and we should come again soon. However, we were still effectively forced out of the pub by aggressive behaviour from a local drinker, and no attempt was made to re-accommodate us or refund us for the drinks we had to leave behind. The owner spoke to the regular, but he went back in to carry on boozing (and probably abusing) and we were left outside to be on our not-so-merry way. It was an extremely nasty experience for our children, let alone us. I know that some kids can be unruly, but our young children were sitting quietly at the table with us. It was evidently our mere presence was objectionable to the arrogant and territorial drunkards. I understand things are tough for local pubs across Britain, and regulars help supply a reliable income stream for them. But I think landlords should have a zero-tolerance approach to abusive behaviour, especially towards families. In my experience, I personally would not expect such a policy at The Bottom Ship, Porlock."
