Clearing out: New landlord Robin MacDonald with a number of items from his 'collection'
When Robin Macdonald, the new landlord at Ye Old Red Lion at Chieveley near Newbury in Berkshire took over the pub at the end of last month, he thought he’d stumbled on ‘Ye Old Curiosity Shoppe’ when he walked through the door.
“There were so many objects of interest, antiques and bric-a-brac scattered around the pub that I thought I’d taken over an antiques emporium,” he said.
Every shelf, surface and even every ceiling beam was covered not only in pub memorabilia such as tankards and drinking horns, but umbrellas with ivory handles, old golf clubs, a 1950’s briefcase, copper saucepans, old telephones, books, bells and a two foot-high statue of Charlie Chaplin, many of which were liberally covered in cobwebs.
“The previous landlords were here for more than a decade,” said Robin. “So I suppose that they’d just collected everything that came their way, never thinking to get rid of anything.”
Whilst Robin plans to keep some of the more interesting items, he’s determined to find good homes for many of the others. “Some of the items are certainly of interest to collectors, so I think it would be sensible to invite people in and ask them to make me an offer,” he said.
James Arkell, managing director of Arkell’s Brewery, which owns the pub, said: “We’ve heard about a new broom sweeping clean, but Robin seems to be taking this literally – although if this means making a few spiders homeless, we’re all for that! It’s quite surprising how big parts of the bar are now looking now Robin’s taken away some of the items and left the more interesting and unusual pieces.”
Robin is keen to maintain the pub’s traditional atmosphere, but points out that few customers want to eat and drink in a dark pub with strange items lurking in the shadows.
“I want to keep the best, get rid of the rest and throw open the pub’s doors to the locals, offering good beer and good food that they can see,” he said.
More about Ye Olde Red Lion
Brewery party raises nearly £5,000 for Crimebeat
Raising funds: Kate Hunter of Crimebeat with James Arkell, managing director of Arkell's Brewery and High Sheriff of Wiltshire
More than 150 people including a judge, the new Chief Constable, the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, TEN mayors and guests from across Swindon and Wiltshire visited Arkell’s Brewery to help raise money for the High Sheriff’s charity Witshire and Swindon Crimebeat.
Managing director of Arkell’s Brewery, James Arkell, who is also The High Sheriff of Wiltshire, invited guests to tour the brewery in the company of Head Brewer Don Bracher and his team.
James said: “Wiltshire & Swindon Crimebeat is an exciting scheme launched in 1995. It aims to give young people aged up to 25 an opportunity to help combat crime, challenging them to put some of their own ideas for their local community into practice.”
Crimebeat encourages groups of young people to work with friends to set up a project either on their own initiative or by drawing on the advice and support which can be received through their school, college, community group or youth organisation.”
Recent Crimebeat projects have included:
Youth Supreme Team at Swindon Youth Offending Team
Big Night Out- A Question of Booze at Devizes School
Drama Express- Wiltshire Youth Arts Partnership at Rudloe Youth Development Centre
Mentoring Through Music at Wyvern College, Salisbury
“Getting young people involved in their communities is central to the responsibilities of every High Sheriff across England and Wales,” said James.
“The role of High Sheriffs has been in existence for more than 1000 years but in many ways it’s as relevant today as it was in the year 1000. Today High Sheriffs work closely with police, the probation service, the local authorities, the education service and others to show how young people care for their communities.
“The Arkell’s party was an excellent way of showing our guests what Crimebeat has achieved in Swindon and Wiltshire and to bring this highly worthwhile charity to the attention of a wider audience.”
More about Crimebeat
Swiss Chalet Marathon Fundraiser for Tsunami victims
Doing their bit: Landlord John Honeyman (right) at an earlier fundraising day at the Swiss Chalet
On 27th-29th January The Swiss Chalet pub on Chapel Street in Swindon is dedicating a whole weekend to raising money for the Tsunami appeal - and the whole local community has jumped on the bandwagon to help.
See story update below
From building a Big Brother House inside the pub housing 12 volunteer 'housemates' for the weekend to an adult crèche serving jelly and jam sandwiches at the other end of the pub, a marathon 24 hour darts match and camping in the car park to highlight the homelessness of the Tsunami victims.
Landlord John Honeyman, no stranger to marathon charity fundraisers, said: "Thanks the generosity of locals, we've already raised £1600 at the bar, and everyone wants to take part in this weekend, which is growing by the hour. I make suggestions and the next thing I know, half a dozen locals are piling up to organise things. The 'Big Brother' house project has already grown. We're putting tarpaulin across one end of the pub, rigging up cameras to see what they're getting up to and painting the area to resemble the inside of the famous 'house'."
Those wanting to enter the Swiss Chalet 'Big Brother' house have to raise £100 sponsorship to start with, and voting to kick someone out of the house starts 24 hours into the weekend. Tasks similar to those in the Channel 4 series, will be allocated to the 'housemates'.
John's staff are also dressing up as bar wenches and barmen, and have volunteered to be 'toilet attendants' for the weekend too - charging 50p for a squirt of perfume and aftershave.
Those camping in the pub car park, or taking part in 'Big Brother' won't be allowed beer or any alcoholic drinks, but will be provided with plenty of water.
James Arkell, Managing Director of Arkell's Brewery which owns The Swiss Chalet, said: "John is phenomenal when he starts planning to raise money, and this is a really fantastic way to highlight the disaster appeal. We also know that the pub locals are incredibly supportive and together the events are sure to raise a substantial amount of money for this truly worthwhile cause."
Story Update - Swiss Chalet Marathon nets more than £7,000 for Tsunami victims
A weekend of ‘Big Brother’, camping in the car park, marathon darts match and volunteer lavatory assistants, all at The Swiss Chalet pub on Chapel Street in Swindon raised a mammoth £7000 for the Tsunami appeal.
According to John Honeyman, landlord at this Arkell’s pub: “It was truly amazing at how everyone got involved – and we also had fantastic support from the local media, which really helped raise the profile and bump up the amount of money raised.”
Winner of The Swiss Chalet ‘Big Bruvva’ (a tarpaulined-off corner of the pub housing 12 ‘housemates’ and a camera monitoring the action), was Kevin Harrington, 29, from Bride Street in Gorse Hill.
Kevin said: “I was brought in as a last minute replacement and only had a short time in which to raise £100 sponsorship money required by ‘Big Bruvva’ to enter the ‘house’.”
John Honeyman said Kevin deserved his win as he kept everyone entertained throughout the night. “He’s a great guy – a real character and deserved the win.”
Another highlight from the weekend were the car park campers, who raised £1,800, but John says that everyone who took part deserves praise and thanks.
"It was a fantastic effort from everyone involved and I can’t thank the local community enough for their enthusiasm and commitment to raising such a stupendous amount of money."
More about The Swiss Chalet
Swindon’s Green Hut Charity Scoops £10,000
Cheque presentation: (l to r) Alan Fletcher, Peter Hayman and High Sheriff James Arkell.
Thanks to 50 words of wisdom, Swindon’s Green Hut Drop-in centre has received a windfall of £10,000.
Well-known Wiltshire fundraiser and owner of Swindon-based Flow Forms Wiltshire Ltd, Peter Hayman, entered a competition in a national newspaper, run in conjunction with the Charities Aid Foundation, to say why £10,000 would make a difference to The Green Hut.
Peter said: “I explained that a lot of bigger charities in Swindon were more than able to fend for themselves, whilst smaller, equally worthwhile charities such as The Green Hut received welcome, often very generous donations from people for specific projects or items, but seldom without ‘strings’ to spend freely.”
The Green Hut is a drop-in centre based at the rear of St Barnabas Church on Ferndale Road, Gorse Hill in Swindon. In a relaxed and friendly atmosphere it offers practical support to the homeless, the unemployed, disadvantaged, lonely and elderly people. It also provides snacks, lunches and washing and showering facilities.
Last night, at a celebration event at The Green Hut and in the presence of The High Sheriff of Wiltshire, James Arkell, Peter Hayman presented the cheque to Alan Fletcher, Chairman of The Green Hut.
Alan Fletcher said: “ This is a wonderful windfall which means such a lot to us at The Green Hut. Peter has been a supporter for many years and we are very grateful to him for nominating us and of course to the Daily Mail for their very generous donation which will give us a great opportunity to enhance our services.”
The Green Hut - details
New Landlords sneak unusual species into The Wild Deer
Creepy crawlies at the Wild Deer: Sharon Kearley and her pet tarantula, Pepper
Customers at The Wild Deer can now come meet a Chilean Beautiful or a Carolina Corn as new landlords Mark and Sharon Kearley take over behind the bar.
Mark and Sharon Kearley have moved into this Westcott Place pub with their three children, and they’ve brought their pets, a Tarantula Spider, called Pepper, and a pet Corn Snake called Sonic.
“I used to have a lot more, but it’s difficult looking after them properly when you’re running a pub,” explained Sharon. “So we’ve just kept two pets and hope to introduce them to some of the regulars when we’ve all settled in.”
Sharon actually plans to go one better than just introducing her pets to The Wild Deer’s customers – she’d also like to run reptile information sessions in a bid to educate people on these beautiful creatures.
The Chilean Beautiful or Rose Haired Tarantula is one of the most common pet tarantulas and makes a good first spider. Generally they are quite docile and easy to handle, but it’s advisable to watch out for the fangs. Spiders may also flick hairs that can irritate eyes.
Sharon points out that Tarantulas are not pets in the usual sense of the word – they are more like display fish. It appears that no-one has ever died of a Tarantula bite – a bite from one of the more calmer species, likeThe Chilian Beautiful, would be much like a bee sting.
The Corn Snake is considered to be one of the most frequently kept species of snake. The "Carolina" Corn Snake is noted for its vibrant red-orange colours and clear bright pattern. Corn Snakes are not venomous, and kill their prey by constriction.
“We understand that no everyone wants to come face to face with our rather unusual pets, and of course we’re not keeping them in the bars. But if our customers are curious, we’ll be only too pleased to talk to them about our hobby.”
James Arkell, managing director of Arkell’s which owns The Wild Deer, said: “We just hope that Sharon and Mark’s Snakebites are just the beer, lager & blackcurrent variety!”
More about The Wild Deer
The Moonies shines brighter in Stratton
Major refurbishment: The Moonrakers in Stratton St. Margaret
After a £500,000 refit, Arkell’s pub The Moonrakers has proudly unveiled its new bars to its loyal customers.
The Moonies, as it’s known affectionately know in Swindon, has now got plasma TV, leather sofas, air conditioning, new loos, including disabled as well as now being open all day every day.
“The Moonies is one of Swindon’s landmark pubs,” said brewery managing director, James Arkell.
“Everyone knows where it is, thousands of people pass it every day going in and out of Swindon from Blunsdon, but the last time we gave it such a radical facelift was fifty years ago – so we reckoned it was about time we rewarded loyal customers and gave thema traditional pub for the 21 century.”
Pulling the first pint: Arkell's chairman Peter Arkell does the honours at the new-look Moonrakers accompanied by landlord and landlady, Phil and Debbie Jeapes
Despite its age, The Moonies still has the largest function room in Swindon, which can hold up to 300 people, and the bar is now bigger, brighter and more comfortable, with a Sports bar at one end and an eating area at the other.
The Moonrakers was built between the wars in 1931 and named The Crossways Club. It didn’t receive a full license until 1955 – the first entirely new license granted in Swindon in nearly 50 years and it was opened by the previous Arkell’s Chairman Graham Arkell.
The name harks back to the famous Wiltshire legend of the Moonrakers, country folk who fooled excisemen into thinking that they were simple-minded enough to be trying to rake the moon's reflection from a pond when really they were recovering illegal liquor from its hiding place.
Bigger and brighter: the new Sports Bar at the Moonrakers
“Everyone who’s visited The Moonrakers before will be amazed at the transformation,” said James.
“These days our customers tell us that they want a different atmosphere when they visit their local. The old interior was a warren of passages, nooks and crannies that made it feel quite small in places. We’ve aimed to give customers somewhere new and fresh to visit – but in the same place!”
Landlord Phil and Debbie Jeapes are delighted with their new pub.
“It’s been an upheaval running the pub during the renovations,” said Phil. “But our customers are very loyal and the reward we all have is the new Moonies!”
More about The Moonrakers
The George stocks up for Christmas
As well as making sure the cellar’s stocked up with beer for Christmas, The George at Kempsford is also filling its shelves with bread, butter, eggs, milk and essential groceries after the landlord decided to open a village shop and off-licence at the side of the pub.
Steve Leppard, who took over behind the bar at this Arkell’s pub in July, said: “Villagers tell us that Kempsford shop shut a long time ago and the village post office shut down earlier this year, so we decided to do something about it.”
With help from Arkell’s Brewery, Booker Cash and Carry and other supportive suppliers, Kempsford village shop opened its doors yesterday (8th December) – much to the delight of the primary school children who urged their parents to stop off for snacks after school.
“We’re open mornings and afternoons – until 6.30pm, and on Saturdays and Sunday from 9-12pm,” said Steve. “We want to be as convenient as possible for villages, and can even order newspapers if requested.”
Kempsford has a population of around 1300, and Steve reckons that’s enough to sustain a village shop if enough residents get into the habit of using it.
“Like a pub, the village shop is a social centre and we want to make it as much a part of the village and the old shop and post office were. Obviously we are reliant on local support, but Kempsford Villagers are so far very enthusiastic – and if enough locals want to buy something – we’ll stock it!”
According to James Arkell at Arkell’s Brewery: “Village shops play a valuable role in rural villages, in the goods they offer and as a focus for community life, much like the local pub, but the change in village life, where more people leave the village to work, had made it difficult for the smaller shops to survive. Steve’s commitment to the project, and the support he’s received so far from the villagers and Bookers Cash and Carry is enormously encouraging and we’ll do what we can to continue supporting the project.”
Stephen Wright is the director of Gloucestershire Rural Community Council, which supports rural enterprise. He said: “Whilst many people dismiss village shops as old fashioned and anachronistic, they do in fact provide an essential informal social service to a village. The shopkeeper is more likely to hear about villages issues or notice if a member of the community hasn’t been out and about for a while. So well done Arkell’s and well done Steve Leppard and we urge all local residents to support this wonderful new local amenity.”
