PUNTERS in South Oxhey said goodbye to their landlady of 34 years this month.

Mrs Maureen Mangan came to The Dick Whittington public house, Prestwick Road, with her husband Seamus in 1968.

The pub might have changed hands several times since then, with refurbishments and modernisation, but Mrs Mangan, who now lives in Hillcroft Crescent, has remained a fixture.

Mrs Mangan was 28 when she moved into the pub with her husband and her two-year-old son James. Her son Thomas was born on the premises a short while later.

It was Mrs Mangan's first job in the industry although her husband had worked in pubs before.

When Mr Mangan died of a heart attack 11 years later, the mother-of-two decided to continue running the business herself.

She said: "I carried on after my husband died. I wasn't going to because I didn't think I would be able to do it but the customers were my friends and were so supportive, I thought I'd give it a go."

Her partner of 22 years, Mr Vic Bowsher, has also been "very supportive".

Mrs Mangan will miss her customers, most of who are her friends after more than three decades in the business. However, the pub is in good hands as her close friends Mr Brian Flanagan and his wife Carol have decided to take the lease over.

Mrs Mangan said: "I have seen youngsters grow up, get married and now their children are coming in. I have seen three or four generations of families."

She will retire to spend more time in the garden, enjoying the new garden furniture given to her by customers and friends at the pub, who saw her off with two goodbye parties.

June 7, 2002 12:00