Father told off by his wife for wanting to watch every Euros game at the pub builds his own boozer

By Megan Howe 11:40 03 Jul 2024, updated 11:41 03 Jul 2024

A football-mad father-of-one who was told off by his wife for wanting to watch every Euros game at the pub has built his own boozer in his back garden.

Ben Cullen, from Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, has kitted out the space with beer pumps, slot machines and a TV to reflect the 'warm atmosphere' of an 'old-man' pub. 

He started the project a couple of months before the tournament began to avoid getting into trouble with his wife for wanting to spend every match at the pub.

The couple share a three-year-old daughter, Willow, so Ben wanted to build something closer to home so he could still look after her — and has named the pub 'The Willow Tree'.  

The 34-year-old has since shared his completed project on TikTok and is now hosting family parties for every match.

He said: 'At the start of the Euros, after England first played, the next day my wife didn't really understand [that I wanted to watch all the games].

'She was like 'You're going to be watching all the games? You're only supporting England?'

'It was hilarious. Putting up all the flags and decorations is more of a clue to her that I'm invested in this. We can see Willow playing outside too so it's just perfect.'

Ben works as a cake artist and is no newbie to DIY and 'wacky projects'. He has even installed a jukebox, a fruit-machine and a toilet in his homemade pub. 

He grew up going to boozers in Birmingham with his father who was a DJ and fell in love with them. 

But he admitted it's more to spend time with his daughter as he says he can't just say on a weeknight 'good luck with Willow, I'm going to the pub'. 

'Once you have a kid, you have this shared responsibility of a human so I can't just say [to my wife] on a weeknight 'good luck with Willow, I'm going to the pub'.

'It's been ideal for that, it means I'm just at the end of the garden.

'[Erin] does like it but there's loads of jobs that need doing in the house and I'm building a pub in the garden.

'She's asking me to fix the skirting boards and I'm doing all these wacky projects She subtly prompts me now, she says 'now that that pub is finished*'

'But she does love it, she came and sat in the other day and thinks it's amazing.'

Sharing his handwork on TikTok, Ben's caption joked: 'Mrs: You're not going down the pub again. Me: Builds pub in garden.' 

Known online as the 'Bake King' for his 'illusion cakes', Ben even tricked unsuspecting friends by making a dartboard from cake when they first came to visit.

He said: 'I've really tried to capture that pub essence so I do feel like I'm at a real pub but with the benefits of no queues and my daughter can wander in or out.

'She's three so she's like 'can we go to the pub?' but it's just to the garden really. She's like 'can we have dinner in the pub?' which is hilarious because she doesn't realise.

'You can roll straight into bed after, I only have to walk the length of the garden. No queues and it's cheaper.

'Friends absolutely love it. The dartboard was cake at one point. It's always the joke with me that people say they don't feel safe around me because they never know if something is cake or not.

'It's fun to just play with it to see if they can find the hidden cake.'

The self-proclaimed pub-lover now hopes to encourage others to build their dream pub at the end of the garden as it has been the perfect addition for the summer.

Ben said: 'I love the pub. My dad was an old school DJ with his best mate. Pretty much every week they'd be in pubs and I'd love to go help him carry the equipment in.

'Proper old man style pubs have always been something that I've loved. I love seeing a really obscure looking pub and stopping and going in.

'That warmth, in winter with the light coming in, I just think they're magical.

'I wanted it ready for this summer with everything going on.

'We've had a few family parties so far and I think we'll have one on Saturday with the game being on.

'[After posting it online], I'm seeing a lot of wives getting tagged saying 'we could do this in our garden'.

'I think if people are thinking about doing it, they should just go for it.'