this is all rather pathetic,
Deputy district judge Lynn Matthews said: "You can't simply be offensive to people and stand aside. Society does not accept this behaviour. "
the only people who thought it was offensive were apparently one of the previous landlords ( oops! landperson), Society did not comment, indeed society had very little to do with this rediculous piece of legislation,
what I cant understand is that the minorities are the first to jump up and force their views and their behaviour in your face but a little bit of cheeky humour and..oh dear dont we get so distressed

Being an economic migrant from the other side of the Severn, I am often asked about my attraction to sheep etc...it's humour!!!!
The court got it wrong.....these over sensitive former publicans should have been fined for wasting public money......were they looking for an out of court settlement by any chance??????....get on with your lives girls...

Daryl wrote:
Being an economic migrant from the other side of the Severn, I am often asked about my attraction to sheep etc...it's humour!!!! The court got it wrong.....these over sensitive former publicans should have been fined for wasting public money......were they looking for an out of court settlement by any chance??????....get on with your lives girls...

They are two fully grown men not girls!!

As one half of a 'GAY' couple quote un quote. I'm glad about this decision.Homophobia is nothing to be taken lightly or laughed about! It can destroy peoples lifes and familys and must be seen as unacceptable.

Yeah, it's a mildly humorous sign. So it's also ok to put up mildly humorous signs saying "no BLACK pudding on the menu" or "It's Monday, not JEWS-day" ?

Come on, it was a sign that blatantly aimed to offend a minority. the humorous part is that a gay man would probably have a lot more taste than to go for a drink in the Anchor & Hope.

You lot dont get it do you! This is easy money for the local solicitors and the police and the pc brigade and the Deputy district judges! Would they put the same effort into catching the yobs beating up our friends and neighbours in the park, NO obviously not, the proof is in the pudding (if I can still say that!)

Mr Taylor received the sentence he deserved. Despite his denials he either personally wrote this sign or else instructed a member of his staff to do so. To effectively blame it on a passer-by is just taking the p*ss. The point made by a previous correspondent about the sentence given to the man caught viewing child pornography is a perfectly valid one – but that just illustrates the lightness of that sentence and not the severity of this one. Perhaps the prosecution should appeal against the sentence in that case? It is not a question of ‘sense of humour’, this case relates more to the very public place on which the homophobic sign was displayed – right next to the busy A361. In a nightclub, watching the (now late) Bernard Manning, or Jim Davidson, humour like that can be acceptable. The audience know what they will be listening to and have a choice whether or not to go. No such choice in a public place though. I suggest that customers thinking about drinking in this pub should also exercise their freedom of choice; there are plenty of other pubs in Trowbridge.

Sounds to me like "The voice of reason" of Westbury might be on the Legal Aid trail him or herself. I find huge sectors of the legal profession "offensive", do I get chance to take them to the tower, no way. What about the firemen in Bristol who were fined for daring to shine their torches on the "cottaging" people in the park!

Walter McCabe wrote:
Sounds to me like "The voice of reason" of Westbury might be on the Legal Aid trail him or herself. I find huge sectors of the legal profession "offensive", do I get chance to take them to the tower, no way. What about the firemen in Bristol who were fined for daring to shine their torches on the "cottaging" people in the park!

Walter what has that got to do with putting up an offensive sign?

Artylad wrote:

Daryl wrote: Being an economic migrant from the other side of the Severn, I am often asked about my attraction to sheep etc...it's humour!!!! The court got it wrong.....these over sensitive former publicans should have been fined for wasting public money......were they looking for an out of court settlement by any chance??????....get on with your lives girls...

They are two fully grown men not girls!!

But they are definately not acting like grown men, they are being pathetic. Its dangerous having a sense of humour these days, you might get fined for it.

I advise any member of a minority group to get yourself to Roy "Chubby" Brown's next live performance. You would be rolling in it come the end of his show.

Artylad wrote:
As one half of a 'GAY' couple quote un quote. I'm glad about this decision.Homophobia is nothing to be taken lightly or laughed about! It can destroy peoples lifes and familys and must be seen as unacceptable.

Are you saying a food menu sign that says that mince and faggots are not on the menu can destroy peoples lives and families?

Who are you trying to kid? If you find that offensive then i am outright accusing you of going out of your way to be offended.

I dont care if people make jokes about my race (white) my sexuality (straight) my profession (manual labour) my hobbies or just about anything else about me, as jokes are not meant to be taken seriously. So why do minorities bellyache over this?

moocherx wrote:
Yeah, it's a mildly humorous sign. So it's also ok to put up mildly humorous signs saying "no BLACK pudding on the menu" or "It's Monday, not JEWS-day" ? Come on, it was a sign that blatantly aimed to offend a minority. the humorous part is that a gay man would probably have a lot more taste than to go for a drink in the Anchor & Hope.

"It's Monday, not JEWS-day" ?
Oh I get it, Not very funny though.

I'm going bald, so any one takes the **** in future, I'm calling the police, comments could destroy my life. What I would like to see outside the pub is a sign "Courts decide faggots and mince is on the menu" cos the landlord clearly has balls, Oh should I have said that, I could be in for it now!!

if the landlord wanted to send out the message that it was no longer a gay pub then he could have just taken down the pink pub sign with the fairy sat on a anchor

I like ice cream

Homophobia wrecks lifes and families yes i stand by that. This isn't about getting a sense of humour,this is about a sign that was put up with words that are used everyday to undermine,insult ,belittle and cause upset to a certain sector of society. Sorry guys but it's just no acceptable anymore get used to it.I for one appreciate the positive message this ruling sends out.

Artylad wrote:
Homophobia wrecks lifes and families yes i stand by that. This isn't about getting a sense of humour,this is about a sign that was put up with words that are used everyday to undermine,insult ,belittle and cause upset to a certain sector of society. Sorry guys but it's just no acceptable anymore get used to it.I for one appreciate the positive message this ruling sends out.

i totally agree message boards like this are the only place fascists can have the illusion of mainstream support

Walter McCabe wrote:
You lot dont get it do you! This is easy money for the local solicitors and the police and the pc brigade and the Deputy district judges! Would they put the same effort into catching the yobs beating up our friends and neighbours in the park, NO obviously not, the proof is in the pudding (if I can still say that!)

Walter, please explain exactly how this was easy money for Police ?? Have you been watching too many dodgy films where Cops get bonuses for tickets and Court Cases ? Granted the Solicitors probably made some money along the line, but NOT the Police. As for catching Yobs etc, you don't have a clue about the staffing levels facing the Police. If you really new, you would be shocked. Next time you see a Police officer, why don't you ask them how busy they are and how many staff they are working with. When you find out how many are on duty - ask how many towns they are covering, then write to your MP and complain !!!

To my mind this mad got what he deserved and think he got off lightly with a poultry £250. The sign was clearly aimed to cause offence and I'm sure if it was aimed at other minority groups he would have got a much bigger fine. It's is time that the biggots on this website got a life and recognised that their views are no longer accepted by the law or society.

Artylad and Paris and probably Ultragas are all totally wrong, the offence only came about because someone complained to the police, the sign could have been a statement of fact and if it was outside a pub that had not been previously run by gays it would'nt have been worth a passing thought.
Its the paranoa of some minorities who think everyone is out to get them, when actually the majority dont care, and that seems to upset some minorities even more, so they go running off to the police.
the posters above are amongst the people have been complaining in other posts that there is not enough police in Trowbridge to stop people getting beaten up in the park, perhaps one of the reasons is they are too busy dealing with stuff like this.

jh west wilts wrote:
Artylad and Paris and probably Ultragas are all totally wrong, the offence only came about because someone complained to the police, the sign could have been a statement of fact and if it was outside a pub that had not been previously run by gays it would'nt have been worth a passing thought. Its the paranoa of some minorities who think everyone is out to get them, when actually the majority dont care, and that seems to upset some minorities even more, so they go running off to the police. the posters above are amongst the people have been complaining in other posts that there is not enough police in Trowbridge to stop people getting beaten up in the park, perhaps one of the reasons is they are too busy dealing with stuff like this.

why do people assume that because you speak out against something your also 'amongst the people complaining in other posts that there are not enough police etc. etc.' it's this kind of generalization and stereotyping that are the roots of discrimination

Ultragas- read your own posts you said
"totally agree message boards like this are the only place fascists can have the illusion of mainstream support"
and then you said
it's this kind of generalization and stereotyping that are the roots of discrimination"
I was commenting on the real world, where the majority perception is there are not enough police to catch criminals( real crime) because perhaps they are too preoccupied with stuff like which is not real crime

jh west wilts wrote:
Ultragas- read your own posts you said "totally agree message boards like this are the only place fascists can have the illusion of mainstream support" and then you said it's this kind of generalization and stereotyping that are the roots of discrimination" I was commenting on the real world, where the majority perception is there are not enough police to catch criminals( real crime) because perhaps they are too preoccupied with stuff like which is not real crime

To call somebody with fascist views a fascist is not generalization or stereotyping but a simply point of fact. I've said all i'm going to say on this story so thank you and goodnight.

Oh dear. did you get that everyone? UltraGas reckons that anyone who thinks its acceptable for the landlord to state on the billboard of a pub that serves food, that faggots and mince will no longer be served to customers is an outright fascist.

I thought it was just us members of the NF who got that title, but now it seems to be given out very liberally indeed.

These people (lefties) are outright trying their best to crush freedom of speech, then have the nerve to call anyone opposing them a fascist. This has worked time after time for them.

I think the reason people wont stand up for their rights to speak their mind on anything at all is because there isnt many people left in Britain who have had to fight for these civil liberties. Perhaps that is the reason the leftist government have been able to trade them away so cheaply.

Well i am sorry to have seen the PeeCee brigade get their way in this manner and crush the basic liberties that my grandfathers generation fought for. I never thought that the rights to free speech and peaceful protest would even be negotiable. But they have both been sold. This current story and another good example was on September 11th this year a peaceful demonstration in London which intended to hold a minutes silence in memory of the victims of 9/11 was banned in because followers of the religion of peace might have reacted violently.

The lefties have seen us good British folk for what we are, and that is a soft touch. Political Correctness is like a drug that we cant seem to stop injecting even though we know it will eventually kill us and they are taking full advantage of that. Turning our sense of fairness against us and making us despise ourselves for one of our best qualities and any concession made will be seen as a sign of weakness to be exploited further. There is NO dialogue with the current PeeCee brigade here because they dont want to be agreed with, they want to be obeyed.

A lot of comments on this subject, and that's a good thing, cos it's good that we all have different views. i still find the sign amusing, how anyone can get upset over it is beyond me. I'm overwheight, some say FAT, I'm loosing my hair, some say BALD, some make jokes about fat bald guys, should I go to the police and complain because I'm offended? No of course not, the police have far better things to be doing. And at the end of the day i'm fat and bald so like Gays, gingers, big noses, big ears & jews, this is whats called fair game for a joke, it's not personal, and as the previous landlords were gay and the new one is not, it's stating a fact by way of a bit of humor...it's so harmless i would like to see the complainers charged with wasting police time..

Absolutely right Bob. You can`t expect the PC brigade to have any sense of humour.

Yali wrote:
Absolutely right Bob. You can`t expect the PC brigade to have any sense of humour.

Just another case of PC gone bananas!!!The government and judiciary would not know what justice was if it jumped up and bit them on the nose.

Another waste of money to appease the minority and the PC fascist brigade.

Sense of humour??? No way, some semse would be needed first!!!

There is no sense of proportionality in the minds of the mindless.

We are getting to a stage now where it is more serious to make a bad joke than to assault someone.

To be realistic and proportional, a Magistrates court should just have bound Mr Taylor over to keep the peace for a month. District Court judge indeed for such a trivial offence. Bananas!

I agree with Bob. The notice was a little wicked and it was a little offensive but it was still funny. Now if I was the previous landlord (and being in the same boat as Bob) the board stated that fat bald geezers are barred from serving in the pub, I would laugh with the new management.

To me, there are too many minorities in this World who are complacent enough to feel that because of what they are they are beyond the digs and the jokes of the mass majority. Sorry guys it don't work like that. I'm fat and bald and I take that joke. And if I saw that sign I'd be in there giving the same back, not bleating to the authorities. Pathetic, some people...