A pub owner says she burst into tears after receiving a “cruel” letter in the post criticizing her for putting up her Halloween decorations. Heather Skipper, 58, has owned and run The Royal Oak restaurant in Pencloddy for almost a decade and has always enjoyed decking out the pub with spooky decorations in the two weeks leading up to October 31.

But although no one told her they didn’t approve of her Halloween decorations and she never received a formal complaint, this year an anonymous person questioned her decorations and wrote her a scathing letter of complaint.

Addressed simply “Landlord/Landlord of the Royal Oak Public House”, the letter was sent by second class post and arrived through the pub’s letterbox on Thursday 26 October. It said: “With all the cruelty and atrocities happening in the world, why would you want to display such horrible things outside your pub? The people of Penclod don’t want that, we are better than that.” For the latest Swansea news, sign up to our newsletter here

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Heather said she was very upset by the letter and disappointed that the person didn’t speak to her personally about her concerns. She added that she was thinking about taking off all her jewelry. But after speaking to the team, who reminded him that many locals had praised the effort they had put into decorating the pub for Halloween, he finally decided to pick up the pace.



The letter of complaint was sent by second class post and arrived in the pub’s letterbox on Thursday.



Letter of complaint sent to pub owner Heather Skipper

“I received the letter in the mail on Thursday and, honestly, I cried. I’ve been decorating for a long time and people tend to be very positive about it; The kids love it and every year we also host a free children’s party and a Halloween party for adults. I was very angry when I received the letter,” Heather told WalesOnline. “I’ve worked at the pub for nine years and we do decorations every year and we’ve never had any complaints or problems before.

“I said to the team, ‘Oh, maybe I should take them off?’ I was very upset, but Laura [a member of staff] It reminded me of how much positive feedback we received from the landscape, so I decided to continue. I shared the letter on Facebook, I wanted to see if anyone would agree to write a letter or say why they don’t like jewelry, but people don’t believe it! The support has been overwhelming, they say this person can’t speak for the people of Penclawd because they all like jewelry!

In response to the photo of the letter, several pub goers told Heather they disagreed with the letter writer and praised her for taking the time to put up so many decorations. “The people of Penclawd really want this, and it’s good to see someone making an effort in the town these days!” wrote a local. “Keep it up Heather, if they were that worried they would relate!”

“Crazy Pencloud – Maybe they didn’t get the ‘it’s Halloween’ memo!” added another. “Don’t pay attention, if people don’t like it, don’t watch it, simple. I like what you do in cases like this!

This year, Heather and her team went all out, with bunting and cobwebs hanging from the pub’s windows, and an array of witch, ghost and skeleton decorations inside. You can see a video of the landscape inside the pub at the top of this article.



Street view of the Royal Oak pub: the usual Halloween decorations expected in pubs until October 31
Street view of the Royal Oak pub: the usual Halloween decorations expected in pubs until October 31



Bar owner Heather dressed up as the Joker for a Halloween party
Heather always likes to celebrate Halloween and this year she dressed up as the Joker for Saturday’s Halloween party at the pub.



Employee Laura in front of one of the pub's decorations.
Employee Laura in front of one of the pub’s decorations.

Geezer moved to Wales from his hometown of Sheffield many years ago and lived in Mumbles for a few years before moving to Penclawde. Although she had always had her own business, the Royal Oak was the first pub she visited, but she loved being an owner.

“I’m single, I’m alone, but the pub is such a community pub that there are always people around. The city is fantastic, it’s a fantastic place, a community. I always want to do something for the community, like my Halloween decorations and parties. This year we already organized a party for adults, it was on Saturday, and now we are preparing a children’s party. It will be at the pub tomorrow (Tuesday 31st October) from 4pm to 6pm, we will have games such as musical puppets and there will be a fancy dress competition with a prize of £25. “All of this is free, something interesting for children and their parents.”

“I’m not going to take off the jewelry, but this letter bothered me a lot. “Whoever wrote this, I would like them to come talk to me and tell me what jewelry they don’t like,” she added.