A NATIONAL pub chain was planning to host a 12-day beer festival from today (Wednesday, March 25) featuring the likes of Monty Python’s Dead Parrot ale.

Some, like TV pundit Piers Morgan, didn’t see the funny side that Wetherspoon - which has pubs in Monmouth, Ross-on-Wye and Chepstow - was encouraging people to ignore Government advice about gathering in pubs.

But PM Boris Johson called time on their plans by shutting all licensed premises on Friday (March 20) anyway, just two days before Mother’s Day, a traditional moneymaker for the pubs.

Wetherspoon, founded and run by Tim Martin, had vowed to keep its pubs open, and even advertised the real ale festival promoting women brewers last week.

The Mail Rooms Wetherspoon pub in Ross-on-Wye even contacted the Review on Wednesday (March 18) to highlight its festival, featuring beers at £1.99 a pint brewed by female brewers from the UK and overseas.

While events, meetings and gatherings had been cancelled wholesale across the country, a press release which made no mention of the coronavirus outbreak, said: “The pub in Gloucester Road will be serving a selection of beers during the festival, which runs from Wednesday, March 25, until Sunday, April 5, inclusive.

“The overseas brewers are from Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Australia and USA. The festival line-up includes new, seasonal and speciality beers, vegan and gluten free beers and those brewed exclusively for the festival.

“There are beers flavoured with dark fruits, blackberries, roasted cocoa beans.

Pub manager, Thomas Litchfield, said: “The festival will be celebrating female brewers from the UK and overseas. It will allow us to showcase their excellent beers. We are promising our customers a range of beers from overseas together with some great beers from brewers across the UK.

“The festival will be the perfect way for real ale enthusiasts to enjoy a range of beers over 12 days.”

Wetherspoon claimed that all 870 of its UK-wide pubs would remain open at all normal times – unless the government ordered them otherwise, which it has now done amid tighter restrictions to try and slow the outbreak of the virus.

The company had said there would be new measures in place, with people having to pay by card, avoid standing at the bar and sit at alternate tables.

Staff were also instructed to down the surfaces twice an hour.

Company chairman and founder Tim Martin spoke out against blanket restrictions on pubs, saying the PM should stick to his plan to build “herd immunity”, which suited the UK’s “robust instincts”.

He said that closure would leave the whole hospitality industry in ‘serious trouble’, putting thousands of jobs at risk. But Friday was last orders at the bar for its pubs, alongside all other licensed premises, cafes and restaurants.

Some outlets continued to provide a takeaway service over the weekend before Monday night’s draconian retail shutdown, including pubs such as the Red Hart in Blaisdon which provided ‘contactless collection’ of Mother’s Day lunches and teas, with food delivered straight to the boot of the car without the driver having to get out of the car.