Ten-minute favour leads to 50 years behind the bar

A pub regular who was asked to help serve a rush of customers 50 years ago, supposedly for 10 minutes, has ended up working as a barman there ever since.

In 1976, Glyn Jones suddenly found himself pulling pints at The Prince Albert in Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Half a century later, he is still behind the bar Thursday to Sunday - dressed in his shirt, novelty tie and braces - with no plans to retire anytime soon.

"It keeps me on my feet... I was rather shy to begin with, it gives me confidence," he said, adding that the time had "flown by".

Jones was 26 when he first started working behind the bar, and said a pint cost about 20p.

Always dressed in a tie and braces, the barman said a customer used to make up stories that when he blew the horn to call time, his trousers fell down.

He said: "He told it so many times, even I used to believe it."

For 48 years, he also worked as a lab technician at the Department for Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge.

A surprise party with about 90 people was thrown to celebrate his 50 years, where he was presented with an award from CAMRA and a plaque from Greene King.

Despite a new landlord soon to take over, he hopes to stay in the role and described his 50 years as the "longest 10 minutes in history".

Landlord of 14 years, Mike Connelly said: "He's [Glyn] served under six landlords and he's been an absolute legend throughout. He's definitely the most reliable person I have ever worked with.

"Glyn will not be retiring. He's going to carry on. I've told him he's got to make it 60 years."

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