A BEER-SWILLING author who portrays a less-than-flattering view of Newbury, wants people to turn up to a book signing on Friday – despite saying their town isn't worth visiting more than once.
Chris Pascoe's travelogue Death, Destruction and a Packet of Peanuts, is described as a “rollicking pub crawl through four years of the English Civil War”, and describes two trips to Newbury carried out in 2006 to visit its battlefields.
But his depiction of the town is not entirely generous.
He describes how an old lady drove her car into him at Wash Common, and claims that one barmaid at The Hare and Hounds in Speen believed that there had been a World War Two battle fought in Berkshire.
He likens one local pub landlord to Basil Fawlty, and says of The Old Bell in Wash Common: “The one small mercy was that the overpowering stench emanating from its open toilet door managed to take your mind off the rest of the place.”
Trish Merritt, who has been the manager of The Old Bell for a year, said: “His remarks are really insulting. We're not running this pub for his benefit – we're running it for our regulars.”
She said that the pub had been redecorated and refitted since Mr Pascoe's visit, and that she regularly received compliments about the toilets.
She added: “I really take offence at what he's said. This is a welcoming, friendly pub, and trade has increased over the last 12 months.”
Yesterday, Mr Pascoe apologised for claiming that Newbury was not worth visiting twice. .
He said: “I don't know why I put that. I certainly didn't mean to be insulting. It was a flippant remark, that was probably made in the wrong place. It was really unfair, and I haven't got anything against the place.”
Life-long Newburian and former mayor Phil Barnett said: “He's just making a silly statement because that's the theme to follow nowadays. It's sad that we've got people like that. I'd like to see him and have a chat to him about what he's said.”

***Mr Pascoe today told Newburytoday.co.uk (June 25) that he had postponed his book-signing at The Castle At Donnington due to a bereavement.