 While the outside was repainted , much of the interior décor went unchanged . Speaking of his time there George Melly reported that Royal Arthur had " a certain architectural frivolity inappropriate to a Royal Navy Shore Establishment . " Melly went on to mention how the main reception still had a sky scene with clouds painted on the ceiling and a large artificial ( though realistic ) tree in the centre of it . He also noted that their meals were served from an approximation of an Elizabethan inn named " Ye Olde Pigge and Whistle " . 
