A grandfather and former boxing champion from Stockport has battled pneumonia, open heart surgery and a broken leg in the last six months. And every time he left the hospital, he made sure his first stop was a trip to his local pub.
Gareth Hopcyn, 73, has been visiting the Grey Horse pub in Reddish for over 50 years - which he describes as his local community. Originally from Wales, the former featherweight boxing champion moved to Manchester at the age of 21.
Gareth, who lives in Heaton Moor, had to undergo open heart surgery last September to correct a leaking valve. As soon as he was discharged, the dad of two made his way back to the pub for his daily tipple of two pints of bitter.
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The former environmental health officer said he had to be driven to the pub by his wife, Stella, 66, because he was in recovery. But he added it would take more than that to keep him away from his pint.
“It might sound strange rushing to the pub for a pint of bitter immediately after coming out of hospital,” Gareth explained. “But to me there was no decision to make.”
Having recovered from his surgery, Gareth was dealt another blow when he contracted pneumonia and ended up spending a further week in hospital. As soon as he was discharged, he made a welcome return to the Grey Horse.
But not long after, Gareth, a graduate of Salford University, found himself in hospital once again. While walking his rescue dog, Tilly, in Didsbury, he fell over and ended up breaking his leg.
“I had Tilly on a long training lead while we were walking and realised that it was loosely caught around my leg,” Gareth recalled. “However just as I was unravelling myself, Tilly spotted a squirrel and shot off after it.
“It was very painful and frustrating – and I was in hospital for a week as I had to have an operation to put a bolt in to support the fracture. Especially after I'd finally recovered from the heart surgery and pneumonia.
“But once I was out, even though it meant hobbling in on crutches I was determined to get back to the Grey Horse. I'd missed my bitter too much.”
Helen Partington, landlady of the Grey Horse, said it was a delight to see Gareth bouncing back into the pub after each health scare. “We were so shocked each time Gareth came back so quickly after coming out of hospital,” she said.
“But he's such a lovely part of our pub which has a community feel. We did miss him and it didn't feel the same without him.”
Gareth says he hopes his health woes are now behind him and he can continue to visit his local pub without any further drama. He said that enjoying a pint of Joseph Holt bitter at lunchtime is part of his daily ritual.
“There was just something about the taste of the bitter that I absolutely loved,” he added. “It just agrees with my palate.
“I just have to have a couple of pints of it at lunch time every day. Now that I'm retired, I'll have it at my local pub. But if I happen not to be at home, I’ll find the nearest pub so that I don't miss it.
“I'm hoping now that's an end to my health problems. I love everything about my lunch time drink – just chatting with other friends or whomever happens to be at the bar.
“The Grey Horse is a lovely pub. But I just absolutely love the bitter. It'll take more than hospital stays to keep me away from it.”
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