Wetherspoon's social
West London branch members enjoyed the social on Tuesday 30th August when we visited two Wetherspoon's pubs - the Shakespeare's Head and Penderel's Oak. Ten of us came along on the social. A good selection of beers was available and many of us had some food.
We were able to benefit from the 50p off Wetherspoon's vouchers: CAMRA members get £20 of vouchers each year. This is one of the many benefits of joining CAMRA - if you're not a member why not join now!
The branch has a social, survey crawl or other event on most weeks, have a look at our branch diary. Our socials are informal gatherings at a couple of pubs just to chat and try some beers. Everyone is welcome, even if you're not a member or are from another branch area.
Events coming up during September 2016 include:
- Wed 14th Sep: SW3 (Chelsea) survey crawl - a chance to help us survey a few of the local pubs, and try a few beers while doing so!
- Mon 19th Sep: branch meeting - one of the monthly business meetings of the branch where we discuss all sorts of matters about the branch and campaigning (e.g. pub preservation), we then tend to chat and have a few beers for a while after the meeting
- Tue 27th Sep: SW1 survey crawl - another survey crawl, this one is around the Whitehall area
For all the times and details see the branch diary.
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Paul Gray's 80th birthday
Congratulations go out to Paul Gray, our branch treasurer following his 80th birthday. Paul (on the right in the photo) has been involved in the branch for several years as treasurer, after he retired from a career in the army.
He celebrated with members of the committee at the Victoria in Paddington where they enjoyed a meal and some drinks.
25 years of the GBBF in West London
West London CAMRA branch members enjoyed the recent Great British Beer Festival held at the Olympia exhibition centre in West Kensington. This was the 25th consecutive time the event was held in the West London branch area, mostly at Olympia (for six years it was at Earls Court).
Several of the branch members had volunteered to work at the festival. Many of them have worked at the festival several times before including our branch chairman Les Maggs who continued with his usual role on the glasses counter, committee member Nick Cornish on the stewarding team, and Paul Young at the festival entrance. Our pubs liaison officer Peter Chutter enjoyed his first GBBF as a volunteer working behind the bar, sporting a rather distinctive hat!
Other members enjoyed drinking at the festival. With over 900 real ales, ciders, perries and international beers there was no shortage of choice. The bars at the festival were named after the winners of the CAMRA National Pub of the Year in recent years. This included a bar named after West London's The Harp - which was National Pub of the Year in 2010. The festival volunteers were also able to try several of the beers and had a special bar of their own, the Volunteer Arms.
Beers were available from across the UK, the rest of Europe and the USA. Breweries from our branch area were also featured - Fuller's (who had their own brewery bar with eight beers) and Moncada (Notting Hill Blond was available on cask, their bottled beers were also available).
Next year, the GBBF will be back again in West London Branch at Olympia, on 8 to 12 August 2017.
Branch announces 2016 Pub of the Year
Branch members gathered in Covent Garden on 1st June for the Pub of the Year award to the Harp in Chandos Place, a multiple CAMRA award winner over the years including national Pub of the Year. Photos show Manageress Sara Bird with our chairman Les Maggs; Sara and some of her staff behind the bar; and our vice-chairman Alex Langford enjoying his pint! Our thanks to Dominic Pinto for staying sober and taking the photos! Sara said: "When Fuller’s bought The Harp in 2014, there was a lot of concern that things would change – so winning this award is genuine recognition that we’ve kept to our word and maintained The Harp’s tradition of serving fantastic cask ale from a wide range of breweries."
