WE were very keen to get to ye olde and very famous-ey Scotch Piper Inn. So keen that we got there before it opened. Our cab reached the promised land at 5pm, but we didn't realise that, on weekdays, the promised land is closed between 3pm and 5.30pm. Fortunately, friendly mine host Fred Rigby knows a couple of thirsty souls when he sees them and very kindly opened up early.
 Big Frank and I liked him already. There's a sign outside which says this is the oldest inn in Lancashire. Boundary changes and the word 'Merseyside' get short shrift here: "I've lived in Lydiate for a million years and I'm a Lancastrian," declares Fred, in true, no-nonsense, Lancastrian-style. Although owned by Chester-based company Pyramid, the Scotch Piper has been kept 'in the family' for the last 50 years. It was taken over by Albert Orrin in 1951. In 1961, Albert's daughter, Ada, and her husband, Charlie Rigby, took over the reins. They ran the pub until 1996, when Charlie sadly passed away. Charlie's brother, Fred, and his wife, Anne-Marie, then took over. On this pub column outing with the boy Frank, I could act as the voice of experience. Well, the voice of not-very-much-experience, as I'd only made one previous visit to this thatched beauty - and that was a decade ago. Still, it was one more visit than Big Frank had managed. Priding myself on my memory for detail, I had told him it was a one-room pub: "Don't worry," said Big Frank. "You were only two rooms out." To call this three-room pub a gem would be a criminal understatement. And the fact that I've only been there twice in a long and otherwise distinguished drinking career is, well, criminal. And it's only one more time than Tony Blair, who popped in for a pint of Burtonwood bitter (just the one) in December 1999, in between official engagements in Merseyside (or is that Lancashire?). Fred recalls: "We didn't have any warning. Three cars pulled up and men in suits came over to check the place out. I thought the Mafia had arrived." Mr Blair was the perfect customer - he posed for a picture and promised to sign and return a print if it was sent onto him in London when the film was developed. He was as good as his word. But the PM did miss a chance to compete in the Halsall and District Darts League: "We were about to set off for a darts match and were one short," recalls Fred. "But Mr Blair said he didn't play darts and, after seeing him chuck a few at our board, we realised we'd be better off without him!" | 
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