Landlord of The Old Star in Winsford releases song

Ernie Welch, owner of The Old Star in Winsford, was diagnosed with cancer at the start of 2021 and decided to publish a weekly blog to help him through and share his experiences.

This then inspired close friend Rob Lane to write a song entitled 'You’re Not Gonna Win', with the idea of Ernie singing it, reflecting his attitude towards cancer and his treatment.

The single has now been released and surpassed 10,000 hits online in just a few days.

Both the song and Ernie's blog are helping to highlight the importance of going to a doctor with any concerns as soon as possible.

Reflecting on his own journey, Ernie explained how he became aware of changes when he went to the bathroom.

Ernie Welch

"I rang the doctors and went to see them and then went to Leighton Hospital for a colonoscopy," he said.

"I went alone for that.

"After, the doctor came through and as we were walking she said 'I've phoned your wife' and I said 'what have you done that for?'

"Then the penny dropped."

After his initial shock and upset, Ernie said: "I got a grip of myself and said 'you've been diagnosed with cancer but they're going to operate so let's look at it positively'.

"I started a blog and got Rob to put it on Facebook and the website every week."

Ernie was due to have keyhole surgery – where gas is pumped through a small tube to inflate the abdomen, allowing the surgeon to see the organs more clearly.

The Old Star.

However when the gas was pumped in, it affected Ernie's heart and a nine-hour open surgery had to be performed instead.

He also had a stoma bag fitted.

After being on high dependency for eight days, Ernie was moved but suddenly deteriorated.

"My wound had opened up inside and they needed to do an operation to get the poison out," he said.

"I was getting weaker so they couldn't do the operation so they had to drain it off."

Ernie spent six weeks in hospital before coming home, but was sent back after three days with kidney failure.

Throughout his recovery, Ernie has been visiting the Surgical Ambulatory Care Unit (SACU) in Leighton Hospital, which he says is 'absolutely brilliant'.

Six months after his operation, Ernie was able to have his surgery reversed so he would no longer need a stoma bag.

"I've got to be careful what I eat but in general, I'm really good," he said.

"A couple of weeks ago, I started to go back to the pub and Rob said he was writing me a song.

"He wrote it and it's brilliant – the words, you couldn't want for anything more.

"We practised it and then I went up to his studio and recorded it."

Ernie is also planning to do some fundraising for bowel cancer and the SACU unit to give something back.

To listen to 'You’re Not Gonna Win', click here.

To watch the video, click here.

You can find Ernie's blog on the pub's website here.