Folkestone Herald 2 November 1990.

Advertising Feature.

You don't have to walk a million miles to get a smile at Folkestone's newest pub – Al Jolson's. Craftsmen have renovated an old building at the bottom of Tontine Street to make Al Jolson's the handiest quality pub in the town.

When you are planning a long night out with friends at the weekend – maybe finishing it off at a nightclub – Al Jolson's id the perfect place to start. Everything Folkestone has to offer in night-time entertainment is just round the corner from Al Jolson's – but when you get inside you may not want to leave. Visitors can nestle on plush comfortable seats and big bar stools. For a quiet evening with a loved one you can slip into a snug corner and chat in an atmosphere smoothed by Al Jolson's quiet lighting. Tasty food is available – plump cakes and cold meals throughout the day and night, with piping hot dishes served up at lunchtime. Al Jolson's is also fashioning a bit of luxury behind the bar with a selection of sophisticated cocktails.

Pub-goers will will be entertained by live performers on some nights – check at Al Jolson's to see what's coming up. Every day clear bright music will percolate through the bar's chatty hum from Al Jolson's top class stereo equipment. And watch out – the staff warn they might slip in one of Al's old great classics among modern tunes.

You will be impressed by Al Jolson's friendly professional bar staff. They make the pub run smooth as clockwork. It's easy to get to Al Jolson's as well – at the bottom of Tontine Street there are car park spaces enough to cater for the pub – no matter how popular it gets. Al Jolson's is open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., except on Sundays, when it's 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. Cold food is on sale from 11.30 a.m. until 11 p.m., and hot meals can be bought from 11.30 a.m. in the morning until 2.30 p.m.

Folkestone Herald 11 September 1992.

Local News.

Pubs are shutting down tomorrow (Saturday) for fear of violence after an Anti-Nazi demo. Campaigners say they will demonstrate at Folkestone Central railway station against an expected rally there by Nazi skinheads. And some publicans, particularly in the Harbour area, are taking no chances with their property and staff.

The assistant manager of the Royal George in Beach Street, who did not want to be named, said “We could be in a prime area for trouble and we are shutting all day. It is not worth staying open, even if only a few hundred pounds worth of damage is caused”.

Landlady Sue Welch said her pub, the London and Paris in Harbour Street, would certainly close during the day and possibly in the evening. She said “The place could get wrecked. We can't risk that”. Her son, barman Alan, 19, said “There could be real danger. This is the area where there is most likely to be trouble because Fascists from Europe may travel here by Seacat”.

Some pubs and bars, such as Jolson's in Tontine Street, are definitely staying open. A member of staff, who did not want to be named, said “We didn't close when the bombs and shells came down during the war. Why should we close now for a bunch of skinhead idiots?”

Other pubs are taking advice from the police and may make their decisions tomorrow morning.

A spokesman at the Park Inn, next to Folkestone Central Station, said “A lot of people are frightened by this. I know of some people who say they won't go into work at the town centre tomorrow. But we don't know if we will shut because we are not certain the rally will go ahead”.

Last Saturday anti-fascist activists leafleted the town asking people to attend the demonstration. Anti-Nazi League member Kelvin Williams told the Herald 4,000 flyers were handed out and 500 names taken on a petition. He said “I've done a few of these in my time and I have never known such a favourable response. My guess is there will be 400 people turning up”.

Last week a spokesman for the far-right Blood and Honour organisation, which had hoped to stage a concert in Folkestone, said nothing was now planned.

But Mr. Williams countered this week; “Our information is that they will be mobilising in London to come down here”.

Jon Steel, a spokesman for Kent Police, said “People ought not to be panicking because if there is any disturbance it will be quashed very quickly. We will have whatever resources are necessary to deal with whatever happens”.

Folkestone Herald 8 June 1995.

Local News.

A furious bride-to-be has had to call back all her wedding invitations after a mix-up over the booking for the reception.

Bernice Scanlon went to the Harbour pub, Folkestone, at the end of April to ask about a wedding reception for 70 people in August. She claims the manager booked the date in the diary and told her to return a month later to discuss a price and pay a deposit. But when she went back at the end of May Miss Scanlon said she was told no booking had been made and there was no way the pub's restaurant could seat 70. Miss Scanlon, 22, of Cheriton Road, Folkestone, who works as a barmaid at Jolson's nightclub in Tontine Street, said “When I went the first time I asked if they could do a sit-down meal for 70 people on August 19. The manager put my name and phone number in the diary and said they would definitely be able to do it. He told me to come back for a quote, but said it would be fine and there would be no problem. He said it was going to be refurbished and the place would be beautiful for me. But when I went back I was told there was no way they could seat that many people in the restaurant and they couldn't do the reception. I thought they were joking, it was such a shock. I have sent out all the invitations and paid for everything. It's only nine weeks until I get married and I've got to start all over again. Surely they could have rung me to let me know. I have complained to the brewery's head office about it but I haven't heard anything yet”.

But Helen Waters, manageress of The Harbour, said that although the reception had been entered in the diary no definite booking was made. She said “It was a provisional booking and she was asked to come back in a month to confirm it and sort out a price. I don't know why she sent out her invitations before it had been confirmed. Andy, the manager, made a note of the date and numbers in the diary. He told her vwe were waiting for a refurbishment and she would need to come back and see us at the end of May. We haven't got 70 seats in the restaurant, and still won't have that many after the refurbishment has been done. She got very angry when I told her it hadn't been booked, but she hadn't agreed a price and had nothing in writing. I didn't know we had her phone number, but if I had I would have phoned and told her we couldn't do it. I did apologise to her when she came in”.

Bernice, whose fiancé Philip Yates, also 22, is serving in the Army at Aldershot, has now booked a reception at The Carpenters, in The Stade, Folkestone, and is sending out new invitations. She said “I've got to get all the old invitations back and have them all redone. They cost me £50, but now I'll buy cheap ones because I can't afford to spend so much again. I'm very angry indeed”.

Folkestone Herald 20 June 1996.

Maidstone Crown Court.

A young mother wept as a judge told her that prison was the only sentence for her crime. Suzette Parmenter, 30, of Earls Avenue, Folkestone, glassed another girl in the face during a spate of drunken violence, Maidstone Crown Court was told. Judge David Griffiths told her there could be no alternative to a prison sentence, and he told her “Everything that could be said on your behalf has been said”.

Parmenter, who admitted wounding Claire Barnes at Jolsons fun pub, in Tontine Street, Folkestone, was jailed for 18 months.

Martin Joy, prosecuting, said Ms. Barnes needed seven stitches in a wound near her left eye after Parmenter lunged towards her with a glass. The incident happened on New Year's Eve last year, when Ms. Barnes and her sister, Michelle, with their boyfriend, were among a number of people spending the evening at the pub. Parmenter suddenly appeared at Claire Barnes' side and accused her of spilling a drink over her. The defendant became violent and there was a struggle between the two girls. When it ended Parmenter went out and sat on a stool, while Miss barnes went to fetch either her boyfriend or a doorman. Mr. Joy said “The defendant stood up and lunged towards her with a glass, which she rammed into the victim's left eye. The glass broke on impact”. Afterwards Parmenter was discovered sitting on a wall outside and was arrested.

Mark Heywood, defending, said he conceded it was serious, but suggested there could be an alternative to prison. His client, who had never denied she was responsible for causing the injury, had shown genuine remorse, he said. The incident had happened when she was out with her family, including her father, her brother and his wife, and her fiancé. “This was a family occasion. Others became involved and sought to take retribution, not only this defendant, but members of her group”. A working mother, she had responsibility for her 12-year-old daughter. The only other person available to care for her if she were jailed was the fiancé, and he was also working.

Folkestone Herald 3 October 1996.

Maidstone Crown Court.

A Folkestone bar manager whose obsession with his former fiancée led to him viciously attacking her has been jailed for 18 months. A judge said Steven Lloyd would have been given “very large credit” if he had admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent instead of being convicted by a jury. “The victim was crucified by having to give evidence”, said Judge John Colyer, QC. “This offence was committed twice – once on the night and once in the Court room. To see this inflicted on the victim was distressing. People who commit these sort of offences must appreciate this”.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that the 35-year-old manager of Jolsons strangled Karen Lancefield in a fit of jealousy. She had moved out of the flat they shared in Cheriton when he attacked her in the early hours of December 4 last year. Unable to cope with the break-up of the relationship, the father-of-two returned after an evening of drinking with friends and tried to throttle her.

“He said nobody else would ever have me, and that was when he grabbed hold of me and I couldn't breathe”, said the sales administrator, from New Romney. I was getting fainter and fainter. Everything was going fuzzy. I gave up the struggle. I didn't have any strength left”. Lloyd eventually loosened his grip and said he could not believe what he had done. Miss Lancefield was left in severe pain, unable to move her head or neck.

Peter Forbes, defending, said it was “a desperately sad case from all perspectives”. The strangulation, he said, was extremely alarming, distressing and frightening, and Lloyd was full of remorse. Mr. Forbes said Lloyd, now of Darby Road, Folkestone, became obsessed with the relationship and the fact the relationship was fading. He was deeply emotionally troubled and upset in the weeks preceding the attack. “It is extremely difficult now for him to comprehend because the obsession is over”, said Mr. Forbes. “It was wholly out of character. He had become very upset and emotionally turbulent”.

Hairdresser Kevin Walker, of Sandgate Road, Folkestone, said he had known Lloyd since February and was a very close friend. “He was horrified that he had anything to do with such an offence”, he told the Judge. He added that Lloyd was “a very industrious and valued employee” at Jolsons, owned by Harry Hill, and very settled in a new relationship.

Mr. Forbes asked that a probation order be considered instead of prison. “Protection of the public is not a major consideration in this case”, he submitted. “It is a deceptively sad case”.

Judge Colyer told Lloyd “This is a very serious offence and only justified by a custodial sentence. Were I not to impose one the entirely wrong message would be sent out to the community at large. It is just as serious a matter to assault a girlfriend as it is to assault anyone else. There is no blanket defence of forgiveness to be applied just because someone is emotionally involved. Grown men control their emotions and this lady could easily have died. You must be thankful that the matter did not end up with a fatality. As it is, you nearly strangled her, and it could have been very much more serious than it was”. He added “I bear in mind the emotional stress you were in and stress suffered since the offence – a suffering which you have in great part brought upon yourself”.

Folkestone Herald 5 March 1998.

Maidstone Crown Court.

Two doormen at a Folkestone pub and disco have been cleared of assaulting a customer after the case against them collapsed. Roger Patterson and Andrew Crow had been accused of attacking Kevin Breen outside Jolson's in Tontine Street and breaking his nose. But a judge decided there had been an abuse of process because it was revealed at the trial that security film from inside the pub and from a CCTV camera in the street had been destroyed.

John Landau, prosecuting, said Mr. Breen had been drinking in the bar during a karaoke evening on August Bank Holiday in 1996, and was ejected after an incident with a girl. Outside, Patterson, 30, and Crow, 34, kicked Mr. Breen's legs from under him and hit him around the head, Mr. Landau told Maidstone Crown Court.

Patterson, of Sandgate Road, and Crow, of St. Michael's Street, Folkestone, denied assaulting Mr. Breen, causing actual bodily harm, and the issue arose as to how he suffered his injuries.

“These two men are hardly slim-built or thin men”, Mr. Landau told the jury. “They are quite fit and strong. They were two onto one. Bouncers have a duty to make sure people behave themselves properly in clubs, but they have to do it reasonably. They cannot use excessive force”

Jolson's owner, Harry Hall, said he knew Mr. Breen, as he was a tenant in one of the pubs he owned. He said he was stopped three times by the “security officers” from going back into the bar. Mr. Hall described Mr. Breen as being “a bit messed up”, but said of photographs of his battered face “He didn't look as bad as that”. He added “I didn't see any sign of a scuffle or fight. I can't remember punches either way. I asked Kevin if he wanted the police called, and he said “No””. Mr. Hall agreed he had said in a statement that he saw Mr. Breen headbutt Crow. “I was trying to calm the situation down”, he said. “I have been there 30 years and it is my responsibility to keep everyone happy”.

After submissions by lawyers for Patterson and Crow, Judge David Griffiths decided on Friday that the case against them should be “stayed”. “There were clearly video tapes of something that night”, he said. “The problem that arises is that nothing has been done about either of them”. The Judge found that the defence had been wrongly deprived of material that should have been made available to them before the trial.

Patterson and Crow, who were awarded travel expenses, shook hand in the dock when the decision was announced.

Folkestone Herald 19 March 1998.

Local News.

A jobless man who went to a Folkestone bar because he was worried a heroin dealer was targeting teenagers got on the wrong side of the law himself. Police arrested the dealer in the toilets of Jolson's bar in the Old High Street (sic) on December 20 last year.

But Tony Morosioi, 28, from Indgoldsby Road, Folkestone, was also arrested outside the bar for causing a breach of the peace. And, ironically, when Morisoli was searched police found he had some cannabis and amphetamine sulphate. He admitted both offences at Folkestone Magistrates Court last week, and was fined £60 for each and ordered to pay £55 expenses. The Bench ordered that the drugs be destroyed.

Michael George, prosecuting, said Morosili had bought both items for his own use.

Julian Rixon, defending, said his client had no previous offences relating to drugs. “During a conversation with a teenager he became aware of a heroin dealer who had been offering to supply heroin to people of that age. There is a world of difference between a man who has cannabis and amphetamines in small amounts for his own personal use and another man who is attempting for commercial purposes to supply 14 and 15-year-old schoolboys with heroin”. Morosoli's arrest was caused by a genuine concern about the effects of hard drugs, added Mr. Rixon.

Folkestone Herald 26 March 1998.

Local News.

Landlord Harry Hall, of Jolson's on Tontine Street, says he is leading the fight against drug abuse in Shepway. Mr. Hall, who uses a security company owned by famous man of iron, Geoff Capes, says he takes a dim view of drug use. “It is the most wicked thing the present generation are involved in. No part of our business will tolerate such activities”, he added.

An incident on December 20 last year highlights the tough line taken by Mr. Hall against drug users. He says two men were detained outside Jolson's by his security guards after a scuffle in the toilets. The police were called and both men were arrested for possession of drugs and later charged. Geoff Capes's son, Lewis, works as a doorman at the bar on Friday nights.

Mr. Hall added “Had it not been for Geoff Capes security team the police would not have arrested these men”.

Folkestone Herald 4 February 1999.

Maidstone Crown Court.

Convicted killer Alan king walked free from Court after admitting struggling with a knife-wielding man in a Folkestone nightclub. King was said to have been acting like a responsible citizen when he disarmed the man. But he was arrested when he refused to hand the weapon over to a person in authority. On Friday he admitted having a bladed article in a public place when he appeared before Maidstone Crown Court.

Judge Michael Neligan, who accepted his explanation for having the knife at Jolson's nightclub in Folkestone, placed him on probation for 12 months. But he told King if this had been any other type of case involving a knife in public he would have been going to prison.

King, 22, of Bouverie Road West, Folkestone, also admitted the theft of five skirts from the New Look store in the town, and was given a concurrent probation order for that offence.

David Tomlinson, prosecuting, said police were called to Jolson's shortly after 10 p.m. on March 18, 1998. Cameras were trained on the defendant and a doorman standing outside. King was persuaded to submit to a search and the knife was found. He later said that he had disarmed a person in the club that night, and had had his hand cut during the struggle. “So his initial reaction was lawful, but it became unlawful when he said that he wouldn't hand it over to a person in a position of authority”, said Mr. Tomlinson.

The theft offence came to light after he was seen putting ladies' clothing under his jacket.

King had a number of previous offences, including a conviction for manslaughter at Reading Crown Court in December, 1990, when he was jailed for seven months.

Simon Medland, defending, said despite having a bad record, King “seemed to have turned the corner”, and a probation officer spoke of the “extraordinary change in his way of life”. Mr. Medland said King is suffering from a serious illness and his ill-health had had a profound effect on him.