Published: Thursday, 8th March, 2007 12:00
Cancer victim falls foul of city pub’s hats stance
By News Desk
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Pic by: Dunfermline Press
A WOMAN battling cancer had to leave a Dunfermline pub because she wasn’t allowed to sit for a meal while wearing a woolly hat.
Mrs Angela Edwards (41), of Letham Gate, Dalgety Bay, was diagnosed with breast cancer last March and wears the black hat to support her wig.
But that cut no ice with staff at the Seven Kings, in Bridge Street, who asked her to take her hat off before sitting down.
“It is extremely discriminating,” she said. “It’s made me feel like I’ve got a complex and that I don’t feel comfortable going into places because I’m worried I will have to remove my hat.
“I’m definitely not after sympathy, but just a little bit more understanding wouldn’t go amiss.”
She added, “I walked in with my husband and asked for a table for two. The girl told us to sit anywhere but asked me to take my hat off before I sat down.”
“I tried to ask her why, but she had already disappeared. I was so disgusted I just walked out.”
She said she understands that pubs have certain policies for headgear and football colours, but insists her hat neither covered her face nor was aligned with any sports team.
“I’m not one for wearing hats but if it’s windy then I have to wear one, or else my wig falls off,” she said. “Apart from anything else, it was absolutely freezing outside.”
“Plus, it wasn’t like I marched in with a balaclava. I’m a 41-year-old woman going into a pub for lunch. I don’t think I could be intimidating in any way. It’s ludicrous that they’d be so dismissive.”
Angela phoned the pub days later to ask about the situation but said she received a blunt “no comment” from the management – as did the Press when we asked for a response from the pub.
However, Kenny Mackenzie, operations director of Belhaven, the firm which owns the pub, commented, “There is a policy where we don’t allow hats. We’re not looking to review that policy but we accept there are obvious exceptions.
“We need to ensure staff realise there are reasons for wearing hats other than fashion and it’s how we approach the situation that we need to review.
“We have a relaxed dress code by and large and we’re far from unique in having a no-hat policy in order to attract the right clientele, but we’re happy to accept there are circumstances and exceptions where hats should be allowed.
“We blame no-one for the incident but ourselves. All we can do is offer an unreserved apology, and say that we hope to see her back some time.”
It’s not the first time the Seven Kings has ran into problems with its hats policy.
In January, the Press reported that Dunfermline pensioner George B Anderson, of Elliothill Street, was asked to remove his woolly hat while he was in watching a televised football match in the pub. The retired teacher complained to Belhaven and vowed to take his money elsewhere while the pub continued to adopt such an “absurd policy”.
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