FOLK perform an amused double-take when they spot the name of the landlord above the door of a cosy St Helens pub.

For Peter Marigold, who took over the Moss Bank Hotel just three months ago, has arguably the rarest surname in Britain. But it's something he has learned to live with.

"I've heard all the wisecracks in my time," says the cheerful, 32-year-old family man, pictured among the pub foliage."It all started at school, and I can't tell you how many playground battles I had when the kids taunted me with nicknames like Blossom, Petal and Flower Powe."

But these days he's more philosophical about it and has become increasingly interested in discovering the origins of his botanic surname,

"Apart from members of my own family, I've never met another Marigold in my life," explains Peter, "I even consulted a firm of genealogy experts who claimed they could research the origins of any name. But when they fed Marigold into their computer they were amazed when it repeatedly drew a blank." Peter runs the pub with partner Louise. He has two sons, Peter (10) and nine-month-old Jake, as well as toddler daughter Rhiannon, who have inherited the Marigold monicker.

But Peter's totally unconcerned about the legacy of nicknames he may have bestowed upon them. "They'll just have to get on with it," he says, "and, anyway, having to defend such an odd surname can be character-building."

Certainly, dark-bearded Peter comes in for no serious flak these days. But then, it helps when you happen to be an ex-rugby playing, 16-stone six-footer!

HAS anyone else got an intriguing surname? If so, please let me know about it. You can drop me a line at the Star, pointing out the benefits or burdens of being blessed with an unusual monicker.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.