Last month, our front page carried the following item which we now reproduce in full so that readers may better appreciate the response to it, also printed in full, following, from Jayne Dixon:

BEETIES At No 7, Victoria Road, Beeties, the licensed restaurant run by Maureen and Mervyn Dixon, has closed after sixteen years. The interior fittings were stripped out on the day after closure on November 17th , leaving no clues as to the future use of the building.
The Saltaire Sentinel, December, 2006.

I have just seen the article on Beeties and what’s been put. Just to let you know it’s certainly not been stripped of all interior and the guy that bought it, well it’s up to him what he does with it but I quite assure you it will probably still be a bar/restaurant in the future. The way it has been put in your article I feel that we just left and everything has been stripped. For the past six months prior to us selling we told all customers what we were doing and also we had a big leaving party and all were welcome to come and it was a happy occasion. We as a family have been in the Village for twenty-two years and have finally retired as it has been a busy business to run seven days a week with accommodation. Prior to that we also ran the bakery and tearoom which was a seven day operation. So for twenty-two years we as a family have worked non-stop. My mum and dad have read the article and are quite upset over it all. All they have done is sell the building as we want to see pastures new abroad and to live there for good. At the moment I am looking at a pool bar in Gran Canaria with a view to living there forever. We just feel as a family that if you wanted to write about us why didn’t you just come and ask us what we were doing? It makes out we just went and left everything. As you obviously have not seen Beeties, all the furniture is still there because you leave it all as the person that bought it bought it as a going concern and you have to leave all tables and chairs, etc. when you sell. We just feel that the article makes out that we just left very quickly, which is not true. After twenty-two years as a business, I think we have done our duty to Saltaire and our boots could well and truly and proudly be hung up – don’t you? I have been in touch with Roger and am going to meet him to talk about the shops and get his facts right so he can write his book. So I just thought I should mention this issue regarding Beeties. Beeties was a very successful business. We gained two rosettes for food; nobody else in Bradford has got two. We also provided bed and breakfast; for which our rooms were awarded four diamonds. Well, I hope that you can write about Beeties and make it a happier ending than what was put in your December issue.
Jayne Dixon

[Roger Clarke was not responsible for the wording nor the brevity of the piece as it appeared. – Editor]