One of the joys of visiting Tafarn Sinc and of working there according to the staff, especially at lunchtime, is that you never know who will venture through the door.

Take the other day when Doug Hansen from Pipe Creek and Fergi Mathias, who associates himself with Trefwrgi on the Pencaer peninsula, walked through the door and immediately made themselves at home.

And where is Pipe Creek you may ask? Well, in Texas of course. Hill country within commuting distance to San Antonio and Bandera. And why was Doug Hansen visiting the heart of the Preselau?

Well, because he and his fellow members of the worldwide social rugby club, Love Chickens RFC, have bought shares in the pub.

“When I heard the pub was in danger of closing I immediately instructed my fellow members to invest and as we were on tour in Wales I had to make the effort to see what I had invested in. I wouldn’t want to see a genuine country pub close.

“I was goddam impressed. It reminded me of Arkey-Blue’s back home, which is a real cowboy bar with cowboy music almost every night of the week. It’s the cowboy capital of the world and Arkey himself sings there on Saturday nights,” he said.

The Love Chicken members who arranged the investment on Doug’s behalf were Peter Devonald from Puncheston, Matty Miles from Trecwn and Fergi Mathias from Fishguard.

The Love Chickens was formed in 1999 for no other reason than that was the name they saw written on a piece of paper the morning after at a Paris hotel when they thought they should have a name. The membership has now grown to over 200, but they have no membership cards or constitution or set rules.

“That would defeat the object,” said Fergi, who is now based in Caerleon. “Rules would only be a hindrance and be broken and a constitution would only lead to squabbling. The whole point is to enjoy each other’s company whenever or wherever we meet,” he added.

The recent rendezvous was the occasion of the Wales v France rugby international. And do they organise fixtures themselves?

“We’ve only had one game, which we won, and we thought that it would be best if we retired unbeaten and concentrate on the social side,” said Doug.

He then admitted that he was not a true Texan as he was born in California, which is something that the Texans often goad him when he describes himself as a Texan.

“Well, I have a t-shirt which tells them that I got to Texas as quick as I could!” he quipped.

The Love Chickens certainly know how to enjoy themselves. To say that they always have a good craic or hwyl seems to be an understatement. They will certainly be always welcome at Tafarn Sinc - the whole 200 of them.

“I am glad I came the backend of March so that I could appreciate the place. I am sure it gets goddam busy from Easter onwards. And by the way, the food was really good - the black and blue steak I would eat any day,” was Doug’s parting shot.

And again: “It sure is as true as a rattlesnake is a rattlesnake that Tafarn Sinc must be the only tin pub in the whole world that’s owned by shareholders - and I’m one of those!”

By the way, there are still shares that can be bought - £200 apiece.

Doug is obviously the bearded gentleman.