Campaigning
Community Pubs Week 2008 – Keighley & Craven Style
Local branch members began a week of special events supporting community pubs with a Ring the Bull competition at the Old White Bear in Cross Hills. The afternoon featured the antics of many keen but untalented bull ringers overseen by bemused pub regulars. Everyone enjoyed a superb session in this cracking community pub and the winning team headed by Fred Baker defeated all-comers which earned them a gallon of real ale brewed by the Pinnacle Brewery.
During the week pub-crawls were held in Keighley and Haworth during which funds were raised for Manorlands Hospice. A big thank-you goes to the following pubs for their hospitality and their customers for such generous support: the Vine, the Friendly Inn and the Boltmakers Arms in Keighley, also the Haworth Old Hall and the Old Sun in Haworth.
A Belgian Beer evening attracted a good crowd to the Brown Cow in Keighley. Belgium has a long tradition of interesting beer styles and the open tasting and discussion session was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Thanks to those who attended and to Barry and Carol of the Brown Cow for their support of the event.
The week’s final event began at the Elm Tree in Embsay. Quiz sheets were handed out and a crawl of Skipton pubs followed. Answers to a variety of quiz questions were sought in the ten pubs visited in town centre, with quizzical stares from locals as participants roamed through the pubs seeking clues! Congratulations to the winner of the quiz, a resident of Skipton, who has been sent a copy of the 2008 CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
Nationally CAMRA branches held hundreds of events in support of Community Pubs Week and locally we were pleased with the support for our events. But we must do more and we need everyone’s help to support pubs in our branch area throughout the year. Following the recent announcement of yet more beer tax increases it becomes even more important that we do our utmost to ensure the survival of the essential facilities that are our community pubs.
See you in a pub soon!
Colleen Holiday
Branch Chairman
Community Pubs Week February 2007
Keighley & Craven CAMRA launched Community Pubs Week with a good old -fashioned social and a Ring the Bull competition. Five teams competed for the top prize of a gallon of real ale at the Old White Bear in Cross Hills. Competition was fierce with the Old White Bear regulars defeating the “Alesman” team in the final. All involved had very enjoyable time.
Mid-week saw a well-attended Historic Pub Crawl in Skipton town centre. Lead by a local historian and storyteller, the merry group learned a bit about the history of Skipton through its pubs with some interesting ghost stories thrown in. A number of hostelries were visited, including the Woolly Sheep, which reputedly has a resident ghost in the cellar and the Royal Oak, which enjoys the company of the visiting ghost of a woman who died in the pub after being pulled out of the canal, as well as the ghost of a cat!
The penultimate event of the week was a Tutored tasting held at the Brown Cow in Keighley. Hosted by the branch, those who attended enjoyed a video presentation and a tutored sampling of six real ales. Leading the presentation, which entailed brewing and beer tasting processes as well as practical tasting and a beer scoring system, were Dave Sanders, head brewer of Elland brewery and Denny Cornell and Graham Cundall who are both local members. It was very well-attended and enjoyable evening with interest and enthusiasm shown by all who participated.
Overall, the week was a great kick-start to our support of local pubs, which the branch hopes to carry on throughout the year.
