Have you seen the 2017 Waitrose Christmas ad? Yes the black and white one where they are snowed in, in a pub. Why is it in black and white incidentally? Are they trying to be arty, or save money? What?
Anyway, as you can clearly see from the screen grab, the name of the pub can easily be seen, and it’s not just any pub, It’s the Tan Hill Inn. They call it the ‘World Famous Tan Hill Inn’ because it’s known for being the highest pub in the UK, situated 528 metres (1,732 feet) above sea level, in Swaledale in the North Yorkshire Dales.
So the Waitrose Christmas advert depicts a number of people inside the Tan Hill Inn, when they notice that the snow has become so deep that they are snowed in, and can’t leave. Nobody seems at all bothered by that. It’s everyone’s dream to be snowed in in a pub isn’t it? Probably the thinking behind this year’s Christmas offering. But then the power goes off, so they all head for the kitchen and cook up a Christmas dinner, with the food having come from Waitrose! Is that the obvious first thing you do when the power goes off? Stuff a turkey and peel some potatoes?
But I’m wondering how they managed to cook all that lovely Waitrose food with the power off? I’m guessing now, but I didn’t suppose somewhere as remote as the Tan Hill Inn, which was built in the 17th Century, has mains gas. So how did they power the oven(s)? Calor? Perhaps they have an Aga? Wood fired oven? Bags of coal? I don’t know. Anyway they seem to be coping alright. However two people then arrive, with snow shovels, to ‘rescue’ the poor people stranded in the pub. Nobody seems pleased to see their rescuers! Then just as they sit down for a turkey dinner, the power comes back on, and they all have a wonderful #ChristmasTogether!
Lovely, comforting, jolly nice, feel good Christmas advert, nothing wrong with that, well done Waitrose.
But it got me thinking. Where did all that food come from, obviously it must be from their local Waitrose I suppose. Did Waitrose deliver it for them? No. They did not.
Let’s head over to the Waitrose website and check on that. On the first page it says ‘Start grocery shopping now. Enter your postcode below to check service availability in your area’. So I entered the postcode for the Tan Hill Inn, which is DL11 6ED, and got the result: Sorry, we don’t currently deliver to DL11 6ED.
Okay well that’s a shame but never mind, let’s use the ‘Find a Branch’ checker, also on the front page of the website. Ahh, result! Their nearest Waitrose store is one I’ve been into many times myself actually, at Wentworth Park, Hexham. 57.9 Miles away from the Tan Hill Inn!!
So no wonder there is so much Waitrose food at the Tan Hill Inn, they obviously can’t pop in to their local Waitrose on a regular basis, so will need to bulk buy.
But, if they need a pint of milk at short notice, they could always go their nearest supermarket, and that’ll be Tesco at Catterick, a mere 22.9 miles away. I wonder if that’s where those two guys bought their snow shovels?