John trained as a Transport Planner, his first job designing the £8 million project to electrify a railway line. After privatisation, he worked in local government "getting fed up working for other idiots" before deciding he might as well work for a different one - himself! With all three local real ale pubs taken over by big groups and ruined, he and his wife Tanja saw an untapped market and bought the boarded Crown Inn in Oakengates. 31 years and around 22,000 beers later, they are still there and still developing the market for tasty drinks.