SINCE childhood, I have become used to Woolton being negotiated by old stories. Until my grandma died in the early eighties, there had been someone from her side of the family living there for generations, so Woolton Street has become the street where Great Aunt May owned a sweet shop and Church Road the one where my Grandad carved his initials on the wall.
It is difficult for me to walk through the village without being caught up in family history. Instead of a row of exclusive apartments converted from an old building, I see the stables where my dad used to help out as a boy, when he still had aspirations of following in the footsteps of our horse-rearing ancestors in Ireland.
When I attended a wedding in St Peter’s Church last autumn, I could imagine my parents walking back down the aisle after their own marriage ceremony decades before, and I cast a glance at the graveyard where some of my family are buried.
So when I heard that Korova Corporation had extended their empire into Woolton, transforming not one but three existing venues in their usual flamboyant style, I was launched into the middle of a family story once again.
I had set foot in The Elephant, as it was called before Korova painted it a shade of bright blue, just twice before. Once was after a trip to Woolton Picturehouse, long before it was under threat of closure, and again with my Dad about a year ago, but neither occasion was particularly memorable.
Apart from some framed adverts for old local businesses long defunct, the pub was indistinguishable from any other, with fruit machines and average decor.
With the Korova treatment, it has been transformed into an airy space with dark panelling, white tablecloths, and scarlet velvet curtains with gold fringes.
As with the other bar/-restaurants in the group, the renovation has remained true to the original building and if it were ever to be sold it could be returned to its previous state quite easily. However, its famous giant elephant’s head has been removed from outside, to the dismay of some local residents.
With a menu based on food from the Deep South, there were plenty of delicious sounding dishes to choose from, many with French and Spanish influences.
As a starter, my boyfriend chose the Smoked Sausage Patties (£5.95), while I – after a few moments deliberation between the Soft Shell Crab Terrine and the Ginger Lime Scallops – finally went for the Manchego Rum Souffle (£5.50) on the basis that it was made up of three of my favourite things, cheese, booze and avocado (oil drizzled on the edge).
