GWENT is about to be diminished by the loss - to Cyprus - of its most charming hotelier and raconteur.

George Savva, the man behind Savva's nightclub, in Usk, and the former manager of the Maes Manor, in Blackwood, the Gate in Ponthir, and for the last four years The Cwrt Bleddyn in Llangybi, is retiring.

I met him at the latter establishment at 7.45 last Saturday morning as the summer sun rose over the former medieval manor house.

The 63-year-old had already done two hours of prep for a wedding later that day, and when we finished talking he returned to the kitchen for a couple of hours more.

Laughing at his schedule, he said: "There are 31 days in August and we've got 28 weddings booked in. My last one is tomorrow.

"Country places like this, run by a family with a passion for the business, can be very successful. It's when the big corporates get hold of them that they go wrong."

George is a Greek Cypriot and has owned a holiday home on the island since 1976. "At the time (two years after the Turkish/Greek division of the island) it was like buying a place in post-war Berlin.

"But it's one of the best investments we ever made."

His family originates in the north, but fled south when the trouble started. He's optimistic that the island will be re-unified one day.

"The division is being perpetuated by old politicians, for whom the issue is still an open wound.

"But they're gradually fading away and the younger generations don't have the same animosity."

He's retiring with wife Pam to a small village in the foothills of a mountain range near Limassol.

"The city life is not for me anymore. In the Cyprus countryside time has stood still.

In my village we've only just got a postman.

"Previously we collected our mail from a tray by the bread bin in the local supermarket."

After a long rest this winter, George plans a bit of gardening and a lot of socialising with his extended family around the island.

He and Pam will also be regular visitors to the UK.

"We became great grandparents the other day, and we want to keep up with (son-in-law and daughter) David and Jayne, who've been so kind to us."

George first arrived in Usk after a career which began as a waiter in London's West End and progressed to the management of two of the most successful cabaret and dining clubs in Britain, Caesar Palace, in Luton, and Blazers, in Windsor.

He managed these venues at the peak of the cabaret boom (when there were 107 clubs across the UK) and booked acts such as Tommy Cooper, Shirley Bassey, Iris Williams, Danny la Rue, Bob Monkhouse, Les Dawson, Matt Munroe and Tommy Cooper.

The latter artist was the first artist George booked to open Caesar Palace for him. "He was a unique giant of a man who would tip-toe around like a fairy. I was a fan all my life.

"But he didn't look after himself, and I said to Pam that one day he would die on stage, and sadly, that would be the case."

Another man who made a big impression on George was Cliff Richard. "He's very genuine, and I remember when he came down to play Savva's he was interviewed for local television.

"The interviewer said, 'I believe this is the only club in Britain you're prepared to play?' Cliff replied: 'This is the only club in the world I'm prepared to play.'"

George has spent about 18 years in Gwent. "When I arrived it rained for 49 days and nights.

"I stood at the door to the club and said to Pam, 'do you think we've made a big mistake?'

"We had heard all those stories about it always raining in Wales and it seemed to be true."

Fortunately it did stop and the welcome the people gave him made a big impression.

"South Wales people are my kind of people.

"What I enjoyed about the club was that you could have a millionaire at one table, a miner at the next and a steelworker at the next, and everybody would be comfortable and rubbing shoulders at the bar."

George was gratified that his passion for good service was appreciated. "My philosophy has always been to inject a bit of style and class, whether you're serving a £5 snack or a £50 restaurant meal.

"I've wanted to give people the feeling that they could be in Paris, New York, Los Angeles or Llangybi.

"Why should standards fall when you leave the big centres?"

George looks back at the entertainment industry as a series of cycles. "The old music halls had a run of about 30 years, so did the working men's clubs, and these led to the cabaret venues."

Changing tastes and a vicious recession at the start of the 1990s did for the cabaret scene. In fact, by 1990 there were only two left, one of them being Savva's.

The acts from the cabaret era are now plying their trade on cruise liners. "Cabaret will never come back in its old form. It's too expensive in isolation, you need to run capacity houses six or seven nights a week.

"The next big thing will be resort hotels. They will follow the Las Vegas example with huge hotels, several thousand bedrooms, plus casino, cabaret, restaurants and so on.

"And they'll be inexpensive to stay in because the real margins will come from the gaming operations.

"I can see Blackpool, Torquay and - closer to home - somewhere like Porthcawl developing operations like this.

"In 20 years' time, when you're watching the biggest stars of the day playing Porthcawl, remember, 'George told me about this years ago!'"