Tiny Pint - Issue 8 - Sept/Oct/Nov 2015 by Capital Media

TINY PINT

The Ma g a z i ne o f R u t l a nd CAMRA B ra n ch

TINY

PINT

T HE MA GA Z I N E O F RUTL A N D C A M R A B R A N C H

EeE FR pleas

ISSUE 8 SEPTEMBER - NOVEMBER 2015

copy take a

THE BLACK BULL, MARKET OVERTON - A CAMRA AWARD WINNING PUB How did they get the Bull on the roof?

W W W . R U TL A N D C A MRA . ORG . UK IN THIS ISSUE... FUN IN OAKHAM • PUBS, PUBS, PUBS • RUTLAND CAMRA AGM

• WHY NOT TRY MORRIS DANCING • PLUS MUCH MORE... WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

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Th e M ag az ine o f Rutl and CAMRA Br anc h

WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

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Essential Branch Information

CHAT FROM THE CHAIR

BRANCH CONTACTS Chairman

Jon Whowell chair@rutlandcamra.org.uk

Secretary

Jon Whowell chair@rutlandcamra.org.uk

Treasurer

Neil Broad

Pubs Campaign Co-ordinator

David Laughton pubsofficer@rutlandcamra.org.uk

General Enquiries

info@rutlandcamra.org.uk

Web: Twitter: Facebook:

www.rutlandcamra.org.uk @RutlandCAMRA ‘RutlandCamraBranch’

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this publication are those of their individual authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Editor, branch committee or the Campaign for Real Ale nationally. Rutland CAMRA accepts no liability in relation to the accuracy of advertisements; readers must rely on their own enquiries. It should also be noted that acceptance of an advertisement in this publication should not be deemed an endorsement of quality by Rutland CAMRA.

Trading Standards (Rutland) Rutland County Council, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6HP. t: 01572 722577 e: enquiries@rutland.gov.uk www.rutland.gov.uk Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. 230 Hatfield Road, St. Albans, Herts, AL1 4LW t: 01727 867 201 e: camra@camra.org.uk www.camra.org.uk

PUBLISHED BY Capital Media Group 1st Floor, Central Buildings, Middlegate, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1AG t: 01636 302 302 e: hello@choose.capital www.choose.capital

ello and welcome back to the Tiny Pint Hopefully you are reading this in a pub and enjoying the fruits of our Campaign to promote Real Ales, Ciders and Perries in real pubs full of real people. Please feel free to take this copy with you and please support our advertisers who enable us to produce your Tiny Pint. We had a great Beer Festival in June and I have written a report on it inside this issue. Other beer festivals are going on all around us and I would urge you to get out and about to enjoy them. Quite a few pubs in and around Rutland are holding their own festivals and they also deserve our patronage. By the time you read this we will have held our AGM and will have lost a couple of stalwart Committee Members: Dave Casewell has been our Membership Secretary for quite a few years being the driving force behind getting our membership to around the 160 mark. He also has assisted the Branch by taking care of the Secretary’s role as well. Des Burgess has been our Webmaster and IT guru since we set up our website. He has been the initial point of contact for the many request for information about who we are and what we do. Both Dave and Des deserve our thanks and we all hope that they will stay as active members, but we need more activists to keep the good work going. We are about to welcome the 2016 Good Beer Guide, our Bible as it were. I have received assurances from very senior CAMRA colleagues that we will definitely get a separate entry for Rutland in the “book”. A long campaign to get our county and its fine pubs recognised. Thank you for all of your support on this. Again thanks to Stephanie Smye for proof reading. Any errors are ours not hers. More than enough from me - enjoy the beer and other mellow fruits of the autumn and we will be back again soon. Jon Whowell Chairman Rutland CAMRA Branch

© 2015 Capital Media Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be transmitted, reproduced, recorded, photocopied or otherwise without the express written permission of the copyright holder.

WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

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FUN IN OAKHAM LOCAL BEER FESTIVALS

une was a busy month for all in the Branch but no more than for our esteemed Beer Sourcer, Russ Hibbitt who, along with John Wood, the Cider King, provided what was judged by the vast majority of our almost 1,000 visitors as the best selection we have ever produced. Beer festivals just don’t happen being organised, built and run by volunteers; planning starts in the New Year with the venue having already being booked well before then (yes, we are back at The Museum in 2016!) Budgets are approved by CAMRA HQ and then the fun starts. What happens in reality is we build the biggest pop up pub in Rutland, transforming a beautiful courtyard to an even more beautiful pub. Dave Lewin and his lads built the racking for our valuable Ciders and Beers; we used a highly sophisticated cooling system – hessian sacks and water (no need for high tech here). Straw bales were placed in precise positions providing seating and to enhance the rural feel, bands and other entertainment was booked, food arranged and we were ready to go. The High Sherriff, Andrew Brown opened proceedings and all we needed were people. Well we got a lot of people from all over the place and were supported well by neighbouring branches and by casual visitors to the County. The weather was kind and we opened for the Sunday which was a nice gentle wind down day. The comments we received were encouraging and planning has started for next year with a few tweaks.

High Sherriff of Rutland, Andrew Brown, pours the first pint with Jon Whowell, centre, Branch Chairman, and Des Burgess Bar Manager awaiting – greedily.

The Beer of the Festival, awarded to the brewery that sells out first, was won by Bakers Dozen a new Rutland Brewery in Ketton that had only been open a few weeks, ours was the first Festival they attended - a well-deserved win - well done Dean and Jill. Rutland CAMRA organised the second Oakham Ale Trail with eight pubs taking part. We again shared beer lists so there was not much duplication for our visitors. The Ale Trail works and demonstrates what the campaign here means promoting pubs as well as drinks. I hope that the third Ale Trail in 2016 will continue to grow. So, all in all, a good event. Hard work by a lot of people and enjoyed by even more - what more could you ask for? The dates for next year perhaps, we have set a date, to be confirmed, as Thursday 23rd June to Sunday 26th June, pencil it in your diaries now. Jon Whowell Branch Chairman

1 - The D’ukes of Rutland giving it their all in the sun soaked garden. They liked it so much they came back two days running 2 - It wouldn’t be a proper beer festival without the Rutland Morris Men. Led by our very own Dave Casewell, in the tails, they thrilled the crowds with their precision – lol.

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WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

The Ma g a z i ne o f R u t l a nd CAMRA B ra n ch

TINY PINT

A TRADITIONAL ENGLISH PUB WITH TRADITIONAL ENGLISH VALUES, GOOD BEER, GOOD FOOD & GOOD COMPANY. We have a wide range of draught & bottled beers, as well as regularly changing guest ales. Platform One at The Railway is Oakham's premier music venue, constantly introducing new acts to the area. A dedicated performance space complete with a full Peavey PA system, back line, mixing desk & lighting... Come & say hello, you'll want to come back & see us again. A wide range of food is available Tuesday - Sunday, 12 noon 8pm. Plus Freshly filled rolls & snacks to eat in or take away. Check our website www.therailwayoakham.co.uk for up to date details of guest ales & up-coming events! Station Rd | Oakham | Rutland | LE15 6QU | 01572 722015

WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

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SO WHAT’S THE POINT OF CAMRA? THE CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE

AMRA is the CAMPAIGN for REAL ALE. Without CAMRA we would not have • Proper Beer and Cider • Served using traditional methods • From a growing number of Breweries and increasingly Micro breweries • By Publicans who (mostly) understand and are passionate about the drinks they serve • In clean decent pubs So... if this is true... where does CAMRA now fit in? CAMRA’s main focus is now to ensure that there continues to be sufficient outlets for the service of real ale and cider. Currently over 20 pubs are closing EVERY WEEK. • There is no such thing as a bad pub, just a pub poorly run. - Poor Service - Poor housekeeping - Poorly kept beer and cider • There is strong evidence that an avoidance of the above can help overcome built in challenges of high taxation, population changes, rurality, fashion and fads, and economic downturns.

A Rutland branch trip to Newark; trips are organised which always include good pubs.

• The pub, if run well, can be the “hub”, the heart of a community. A community within a large conurbation, or a community encompassing a whole village, a community based on an occupation, a community based upon a hobby, etc. Use it or lose it! CAMRA is at the centre of the fight to maintain proper pubs as a community facility that is attractive to all due to the quality of its offer both in its real ale and cider, and the service that it provides. COME AND JOIN US! Email membership@rutland.co.uk OR simply go to the back of “Tiny Pint” and fill in the form. Dave Casewell Membership Secretary

RUTLAND CAMRA WHO WE ARE

e are a friendly bunch of good women and men who meets usually on the second Thursday of the month in a variety of locations in and around Rutland. We organise pub surveys as well as our successful Rutland CAMRA beer festival. Our Committee, are all volunteers who give a huge amount of their time to keep the Campaign going. We would love to see you at our meetings. The meeting time and places are listed on our website www.RutlandCAMRA.org.uk.

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This is not a committee meeting but folk we met on a Branch trip

We have embraced social media having a face book group Rutland CAMRA and also a twitter page @RutlandCAMRA WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

The Ma g a z i ne o f R u t l a nd CAMRA B ra n ch

WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

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AGM WELCOMES VIPS & CAKES RUTLAND CAMRA AGM 2015

he Branch held its AGM at the Admiral Hornblower in Oakham attracting 18 members. We were joined by Tim Page, Chief Executive of CAMRA and Carl Brett, Regional Director CAMRA East Midlands. Tim had earlier assisted in the presentation by Dave Laughton of a Pub of the Season award to The White Lion in Oakham. After the AGM Tim presented The Bakers Dozen Brewing Company, Ketton, with their Beer Of The Festival award for the 2015 Rutland CAMRA Beer festival, the first time their Beers had been at a festival. The other special guest was Emma Finden-Crofts of the Lotus Bakery Rutland www.lotusbakery.co.uk a new business based in Oakham. Emma is keen to develop recipes using real ales and ciders, they were delicious. For more information contact Emma on emma.lotusbakery@ gmail.com or 07904 816 985 AGM business was concluded properly but we are desperately short of two key roles, Membership Secretary and Webmaster. So if you would like to assist us in keeping Rutland CAMRA viable please come and join us. Tim gave us a presentation as what CAMRA was about and some of the plans for the future. He said: “Of all the festivals that I have visited since starting work with CAMRA in November last year, the Rutland CAMRA Beer

Left to right - Dean Baker, Jill Perkins of Baker’s Dozen Brewing with their Beer of the Festival award for Electric Landlady with Tim Page and Dave Laughton

Festival is the one that I would most like to take my family to.” Praise indeed The dates of the 2016 Rutland CAMRA Beer festival were confirmed, subject to budget approval, as 23rd to 26th June 2016 at Rutland County Museum.

1 - Members having a well earned beer break in the Admiral Hornblower’s garden during the AGM

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2 - Tim Pge, left, with Landlord and Landlady Les and Maria behind the bar and Dave Laughton who presented the White Lion with their Pub of the Season

WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

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Rutland CAMRA Pub of the Year 2014

THE

CROWN

The The Railway Railway Inn Inn A traditional, friendly village pub

- Uppingham Real Ale & Unique Rooms ms since 1739

TIGER, A TRADITIONAL PUB, SERVING IE CIDER ROS OLD S TON WES & S ALE 2 GUEST le ilab ava also - lagers s• • 3* AA - 7 letting bedroom Bands Live on info Check out our Facebook page for daily • Food served 10am - 7pm • Breakfast 10am - 12pm

4 Real Ales 19 High Street East • LE15 9PY • t: 01572 822302 www.thecrownuppingham.co.uk

Opening Times Weekdays 5pm - late Weekends 12pm - late

1 Church Road, Ketton, Nr Stamford, PE9 3RD 01780 721050

"REASSURINGLY SPLENDID" that's our mission !!! Abbot House Theakstons Black Bull & customer & s beers. Pale ale guest beers. est gu recommended OPENING TIMES: Mon & Tues, 5pm - close & Wed - Sun, 12pm - close

BOOK NOW

FOR CHRISTMA S

www.thewheatsheaf-langham.co.uk .uk

Check us out on

2 Burley Road, Langham, Rutland, LE15 7HY. t: 01572 869105 WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

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• Preparation of Tax Returns • Financial Accounts • VAT Returns • Payroll Bureau • Book-Keeping Services For a FREE, no obligation meeting to discuss your requirements and the level of fees charged for our services

IAN BAIN

01572 756328 www.laminandwhite.co.uk

email: ian@laminandwhite.co.uk

LAMIN & WHITE

65 Deans Street | Oakham | Rutland | LE15 6AF

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WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

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PUBS, PUBS, PUBS LOCAL PUB NEWS

t has been a very active year with a few Rutland pubs being temporarily closed at the start of the year and then reopening during the year. Thankfully we have not lost any this year to permanent closure and have indeed gained one with the opening of the Old Buttercross in Oakham. There are five temporarily closed pubs, two of which have been closed for some time: the White Horse at Morcott and the Ram Jam at Stretton. The remaining three are the Fox & Hounds at Exton, the Noel Arms at Langham (opening imminently) and the Merry Monk in Oakham. Rumours still circulate about the Three Horseshoes in Whissendine but as far as I am aware it is still open. The Pub of the Season and Pub of the Year competitions have been very successful and while the beer scoring within the branch cannot be said to be excellent it has improved quite considerably over the year.

Winners of Pub Of The Year, The Green Dragon Ryhall

The seasonal winners were: the Green Dragon, Ryhall; the Three Crowns, Oakham; the Blue Bell, Belmesthorpe and the White Lion, Oakham. The Green Dragon took the honours for Pub of the Year and for the first time we had two runners-up. The coming year should see at least two pubs reopening bringing our tally to sixty-three with sixty-one serving real ale. Keep beer scoring. Dave Laughton Pubs Officer (Pubs Campaigns Coordinator) pubs@rutlandcamra.org.uk, 07887 797 557 The Three Crowns, Oakham (left) and the Blue Bell, Belmesthorpe (right)

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WHY NOT TRY MORRIS DANCING? A GREAT TRADITION

ou can probably produce a long list of reasons to answer this question, BUT generally they are all excuses for fear! Morris Dancing is one of the great traditions of this country, and simply is one of the best accompaniments to beer, bar cheese. By joining the Morris community you will join in to a varied programme of events including our summer Monday programme of visiting Rutland villages. We generally dance at a “dry” village, and are well received in response, and then on to a pub for more dancing and refreshments. If you are a supporter of CAMRA then you will relish the visits to pubs in all the far flung villages of our great county. We also organise trips abroad, and to various locations in the UK. We practice (Oh yes we do!) in the winter months on Monday evenings in Preston Village Hall 8.30 -10.00pm

The Rutland Morris dancing over the border in Melton Mowbray, come join them and see the world!

with a trip to the pub afterwards to rehydrate. It’s great fun, and gives you a good work out at the same time. Why not be brave and give it a try? You could also get together with a few mates and come mob handed! Either way you will receive a warm welcome. Dancing is not as difficult as it looks, and you will soon get the hang of it. Remember it’s a good excuse to get to pubs, and you will help keep two great traditions alive: village pubs and Morris dancing. Check us out at our website www.morrismen.org.uk or contact Dave on 01572 821566. Dave Casewell

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The Ma g a z i ne o f R u t l a nd CAMRA B ra n ch

WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

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CAMRA - THE CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE CAMPAIGNING FOR PUB GOERS & BEER DRINKERS

AMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is a powerful champion for pub-goers and beer drinkers. Formed in 1971 it now has more than 171,000 members. CAMRA is A Campaign of Two Halves. Firstly, the serious campaigning half which fights for the rights of pub goers and beer drinkers and secondly, the fun side that encourages our members to enjoy real ale, pubs and the membership benefits they receive when they join the organisation. CAMRA campaigns tirelessly to support and promote pubs, real ale and consumer rights. Current campaigns include: • The Beer Tie - The unfair operation of the “beer tie” by the large pub companies means higher prices for pub goers, under investment in pubs and pub closures. To deliver a fair deal to consumers CAMRA is demanding that large pub companies deal fairly with tied pub licensees and provide guest real ale rights and free of tie options. As a result of CAMRA’s ongoing work, MP’s have unanimously supported an independent review to ensure the large pub companies change.

Member Benef its • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Quarterly magazine called BEER Monthly newspaper ‘What’s Brewing’ Free or reduced entry to over 160 beer festivals Up to 52% off Days out – Merlin Entertainments Group 15% off National Express Coach Services 20% off Red Letter Days brewery excursions 10% off Hotels – toprooms.com £20 worth of JD Wetherspoon real ale vouchers (40x50p off a pint)* 10% off Outdoor clothing & equipment - Cotswold Outdoor 10% off holidays with cottages4you 10% off Lodges, Parks, Villas and more Discounts on books including the Good Beer Guide CAMRA Pub Discount Scheme offering CAMRA members discounts on real ales in hundreds of pubs across the UK

Membership benefits are regularly updated. For current offers and full terms and conditions please visit www.camra.org.uk/benefits 14

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• Campaigning against beer tax hikes - One of CAMRA’s key campaigns is to stop beer tax killing beer and pubs. The main aim is to ensure a long term freeze in beer duty. After a year-long campaign CAMRA achieved a huge campaign win at Budget 2013 as the Chancellor axed the beer duty escalator and announced a 1p cut in beer duty, the first time beer duty has been cut since 1959. • Ensuring political support for pubs - CAMRA has secured support from over 270 MPs for our call on Government to introduce pro pub policies. • Protecting the future of pubs - CAMRA campaigns for improved planning protection for pubs to help prevent the unnecessary loss of viable pubs. CAMRA is calling on Government to grant Local Authorities new powers to protect pubs and other local services. • It is important that CAMRA members enjoy real ale, pubs and great membership benefits - CAMRA membership is fun and offers a superb social side that is open to over 171,000 members to enjoy. Meeting people with the same hobby is an important part of being a CAMRA member. • Real Ale - Britain now boasts more than 1000 breweries that brew real ale. This is four times the number than when the Campaign for Real ale was founded in 1971. Our hard campaigning for over 40 years means pubgoers now have the choice of over 5,500 different real ales on today’s market • Real Cider and Perry - CAMRA also supports real Cider and Perry. For more information please visit www. camra.org.uk/cider • Well-run community Pubs - 31 pubs close every week in Britain. CAMRA is working tirelessly to stem this worrying trend through a number of campaigns which include: Organising Local Pubs Week across Britain, promoting prestigious pub awards and producing the best selling Good Beer Guide which features the top 4,500 real ale pubs according to the CAMRA membership. For more information please visit www.camra.org.uk WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

The Ma g a z i ne o f R u t l a nd CAMRA B ra n ch

Fa on ir de tax bee al now r !

A Campaign Save Britain's Pubs!

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Join CAMRA Today

Complete the Direct Debit form and you will receive 15 months membership for the price of 12 and a fantastic discount on your membership subscription. Alternatively you can send a cheque payable to CAMRA Ltd with your completed form, visit www.camra.org.uk/joinus or call 01727 867201. All forms should be addressed to the: Membership Department, CAMRA, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4LW.

Your Details Title

Direct Debit Surname

Single Membership £24 (UK & EU)

Forename(s)

Joint Membership £29.50 (Partner at the same address)

Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy) Address

£31.50

For Young Member and other concessionary rates please visit www.camra.org.uk or call 01727 867201.

Postcode Email address Tel No(s)

Partner’s Details (if Joint Membership) Title

Non DD £26

Surname

I wish to join the Campaign for Real Ale, and agree to abide by the Memorandum and Articles of Association I enclose a cheque for Signed

Forename(s)

Date

Applications will be processed within 21 days

Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy) Email address (if different from main member)

01/15

Campaigning for Pub Goers & Beer Drinkers

Enjoying Real Ale & Pubs

Join CAMRA today – www.camra.org.uk/joinus Instruction to your Bank or Building Society to pay by Direct Debit Please fill in the whole form using a ball point pen and send to: Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. 230 Hatfield Road, St. Albans, Herts AL1 4LW Name and full postal address of your Bank or Building Society Service User Number To the Manager

9 2 6 1 2 9

Bank or Building Society

Address

FOR CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE LTD OFFICIAL USE ONLY This is not part of the instruction to your Bank or Building Society Membership Number Postcode Name

Name(s) of Account Holder Bank or Building Society Account Number Branch Sort Code

Postcode

Instructions to your Bank or Building Society Please pay Campaign For Real Ale Limited Direct Debits from the account detailed on this instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with Campaign For Real Ale Limited and, if so will be passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society.

Signature(s)

Reference

Date

WWW.RUTLANDCAMRA.ORG.UK

Banks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions for some types of account.

This Guarantee should be detached and retained by the payer.

The DIrect Debit Guarantee

This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay by Direct Debits. If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. will notify you 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit by The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society. - If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when The Campaign For Real Ale Ltd. asks you to. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written ISSUE 8 confirmation may be required. Please also notify us.

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