Dean MurrayI have so much respect for what this woman is doing.
Mags Thomson, from Livingston, has made it her mission to visit every Wetherspoons pub in the UK.
Mags Thomson/BBCShe started this epic quest way back in 1994 with her husband Ian, a rail enthusiast. Mags used to go with Ian around the country as he chased his hobby.
She told The Independent:
To begin with, it was quite interesting. But it soon got very cold and boring, so I thought I’d have a look around Reading. I came across this pub. I phoned my husband and said: ‘Why don’t we meet here?’
That’s were her love affair with the discount chain pub began. Together with her husband she visited 708 branches all across the country, up until Ian’s death in 2010.
Ian - Credit: Mags Thomson/BBCMags told the BBC she ‘lost all confidence’ and their Wetherpoons documentation book stayed at home gathering dust, until one day she decided to start the mission again, saying: “But after a while I thought – I can’t just sit at home all day. He wouldn’t want that.”
The 66-year-old now travels the country again, visiting branches old and new. Her total is 972 – even though there are only 936 Wetherspoons pubs open today, as Mags has visited 80 branches which are now closed.
The Book - Credit: Mags Thomson/BBCMags is determined to finish her and her husband’s list, and says it’s a way of remembering Ian, adding: “I go to new pubs, but I also visit ones where Ian and I went as a couple. It can get emotional.”
Good luck Mags, and hopefully see you at a Wetherspoons soon!
