AS head Mitre D' on the QEII, Robert Cheadle had to deal with all sorts, including hurricanes and pop-star tantrums

After 21 years at sea he has settled by the calmer waters of the Teme to run the Peacock Inn just outside Tenbury. ARUN MARSH visited the pub to find out more about his sea-faring life and what his plans are for the future.

To sit in the bar at the Peacock, enjoying a pint of local ale in front of a roaring fire, as a British winter evening blusters outside, is one of the simple pleasures of Teme Valley life.

But there's not much that Mother Nature can throw at the historic pub's latest landlord that he hasn't seen before.

Robert Cheadle started working life as a TV and radio technician, where he showed the ambition and ability to climb the employment ladder, which would apply throughout his life. By his early 20s he was a technical liaison officer.

His career was going well when the parents of his best friend from college bought a small hotel in Wales, luring Robert into the catering trade.

He began at the bottom again - washing dishes and peeling spuds. Then it was back to college to do catering and management and it wasn't long before Robert was manager.

At 24 he and his best mate Mark bought the hotel from Mark's parents.

However, after three years Robert realised he wanted to see a bit more of the world and in 1983, became a waiter on the QEII.

By 1995 he was head Maitre D' of the restaurant which served the guests from the penthouse cabins - the most expensive on the ship.

The transatlantic crossings were not without incident, including the odd hurricane.

"The North Atlantic is one of the most deadly places to be at sea," he explained. "If we lost someone overboard then we went back to look for them for eight hours, but they wouldn't be able to survive for more than five minutes.

"The ship was very safe though. Most of the people lost during my 21 years were suicides.

"Normally we would avoid bad weather, but one Hurricane Gloria just seemed to track us and a decision was made that we should head right through it. Being in the centre was a once-in-a-lifetime experience; it was perfectly calm, but you knew you had to go through the other side.

"The ship was badly damaged but, fortunately, no one died."

The weather didn't provide the only stormy patches.

Robert recalled how he had turn away some famous guests from the restaurant.

"The pop band The Cure turned up dressed in their leathers and jeans but we had a very strict dress code in the restaurant and I couldn't allow them to dine with us," he said.

"I don't think they were very impressed as they went back to their rooms and trashed them!"

When he did decide to make a the move back to dry land, he found the QEII's owner Cunard didn't want him leave. His reputation was so good the company wanted him on its new flagship, the Queen Mary II.

Robert agreed to stay until everything had been handed over sucessfully and met the Queen when she launched the ship.

"It was a great honour," he said. "I've been lucky enough to meet all the current Royals. Even though they don't sail on the ship, they attended various functions when we docked in Southampton."

Now in the more sedate atmosphere of the Peacock, Robert reflects: "It was a great time and I wouldn't have changed it for the world."