Sir Hubert Ridley was the bullying, short-tempered chairman of the board of the Newton & Ridley brewery. When Annie Walker won a Perfect Landlady competition in 1969 with a trip to Majorca as the prize, Jack refused to go because of a fear of flying. Annie went, reluctantly, with Ena Sharples, and there met old brewery friend Douglas Cresswell who asked the Walkers to move permanently to the island and run a bar there.