Just a few weeks after winning our branch Pub of the Year award, the Wellington Arms, Wellington Street, Bedford, is now Bedfordshire CAMRA Pub of the Year 2023. Congratulations to licensee Liz Sutton and also to owner Burlison Inns and regular patrons of the pub for helping it win the county title, Winning these CAMRA awards means much more than just serving an excellent pint, important though that is. An award certificate was presented to the pub on 27 April.

The Wellington Arms then joined five other county winners to compete for the East Anglia regional Pub of the Year title, an award won by the Endeavour, Chelmsford. The Endeavour is now a candidate for one of four super-regional rounds and the final winner will become CAMRA’s national Pub of the Year, a superb achievement even for the very best pubs.

Congratulations too to the Engineers Arms in Henlow and owner Kevin Machin for winning Bedfordshire CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year 2023 once again. A certificate was presented to the pub on Friday 19 May. The Engineers became our county candidate for East Anglia regional Cider Pub of the Year, an award won by the White Lion, Oak Street, Norwich. The White Lion now competes for CAMRA's national Cider Pub of the Year title; the winner will be announced in October.

The Pilgrim’s Progress in Bedford kindly offered local CAMRA members a preview of the cask beers ordered for its spring real ale festival in March. About 25 branch members took part, sampling several of the ales brought in for the festival, with slices of pizza provided to help the beer go down. They also had a privileged visit to the ground-floor cellar, which has racking space for 20 firkins (9-gallon casks) to supply 12 handpumps out on the bar. The cellar was pretty full of casks and kegs for the festival, but was kept spotlessly clean! Many thanks to the Pilgrim’s Progress for offering the preview and allowing members to see how beer is kept behind the scenes.

An impressive brewpub located in a 16th century shop front close to Tamworth’s historic Norman castle is the national winner in CAMRA’s Pub of the Year 2022 competition. The Tamworth Tap in Tamworth, Staffs, is housed in an elegant building, with Tudor features in the cosy upstairs room and a historic courtyard beer terrace that offers striking views of the castle. It went from empty premises to an iconic brewpub in less than five years, and today boasts eight handpulls, including at least one Tamworth ale brewed on site. A CAMRA corner at the bottom of the stairs includes a rare, complete set of Good Beer Guides. Click Tamworth Tap in WhatPub for more details.

Pubs in the competition are selected by CAMRA volunteers and judged on their atmosphere, decor, welcome, service, community focus and the quality of the beer. This year's runners-up are the Station House in Durham, the Horse & Jockey in Stapleford and the King’s Head in Norwich.

Awards Director Laura Emson said: “The Tamworth Tap shows what passion and creativity can achieve in a short space of time with great beer backing up a wide range of activities in a friendly atmosphere."

A new Pub of the Year 2023 competition starts now with each CAMRA branch selecting its own local winner. North Beds branch members can help select our new branch POTY by scoring beers when you visit local pubs and logging scores at WhatPub.com by 8th February.

'Tis the season... for food & drink!
Season 6, Episode 1 of CAMRA's regular podcast Pubs.Pints.People was released in the run-up to Christmas, with a special emphasis on food and drink and matching beers to food. Sit down with Christian Gott, a full-time chef working for Liberation Brewery, Adam Dulye, Executive Chef of the Brewers Association in America, Alex Spencer, Head Brewer of DC Brau Brewing Co and Lotte Peplow, Brewers Association American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe, to hear their expert beer recommendations to pair with Christmas dinner.

This episode also features Bedford, including an interview with James Hunter, Head Brewer at Wells & Co's Brewpoint Brewery in Bedford, just as its new Christmas beer Party Party was launched. CAMRA North Beds branch officers Roger Stokes and Peter Argyle also take part, spotlighting local campaigns on the ground and challenges for pubs and beer at a difficult time for the hospitality business.

Listen to the podcast through your usual podcast app, follow it through our Facebook page @nbcamra or click PubsPintsPeople.

Dead Pubs of Bedfordshire by local journalist Lloyd Lugsden will appear shortly. A labour of love born during lockdown in 2020, vol 1 lists and describes the many lost pubs in Bedford and North Bedfordshire. A second volume covering Luton, Mid- and South Beds is expected in a few months time. Vol 1 will be launched on Sunday 20 November from 4 to 7pm at the Fox in Carlton , with copies on sale for £6. Later purchases can be made via the book's dead pubs Facebook page.
For further details visit the Bedford Independent website at Beds lost pubs.
For a short review from our social media co-ordinator Katherine Lilley, click Lost pubs.

CAMRA awards are given only to the best pubs and clubs, and to the hard-working people who make them a success. This year North Beds Branch has made just three awards for excellence: our top award, Branch Pub of the Year, a Town Pub of the Year and a Community Pub of the Year, which is a fairly new award given for an outstanding contribution to the local community. Framed certificates have been presented to the award winners. You can find more details about them via our website Pub Guide link or by visiting the pub websites or WhatPub.com.

The Fox, High Street, Carlton. Branch Pub of the Year 2022; Country Pub of the Year 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021.
Congratulations to owner-licensee Alison Thompson for a remarkable achievement by winning our top Branch Pub of the Year award after four previous local awards as Country Pub of the Year. A charming, thatched community pub on the old High Street off the Turvey road south-west of the modern village centre, the Fox has been a fine pub offering real ales for many years. However, Alison has made it even more special with a warm welcome for both regulars and casual visitors. An old, under-used restaurant was opened through into the bar, providing a larger and more flexible space for drinkers, diners and games players. The attractive garden is always popular with families in good weather.
The Fox serves proper pub food at very reasonable prices, and welcomes walking groups for lunch with open arms. Competing for customers with several good rural pubs nearby, Alison and her team at the Fox have maintained their initial success and fully deserve our fifth branch award in six years. The regular real ales are Eagle IPA and Fuller’s London Pride, with two frequently changed guest beers, often from local independent microbreweries. Cellar management is excellent, guaranteeing you a well-kept pint. Good value, home-cooked lunches are served from Tuesday to Sunday and evening meals from Wednesday to Saturday. There is a regular quiz on Thursday, occasional themed food evenings, a gin festival in June and beer festivals at the late spring and summer bank holiday weekends, for which an outhouse in the garden provides an additional bar and cask stillage. There is regular live music at both festivals. For more information, call 01234 720235 or visit the Fox website or Fox Facebook page.

The Devonshire Arms, Dudley Street, Bedford.Town Pub of the Year 2019 and 2022; Branch Pub of the Year 2020 and 2021; Cider Pub of the Year 2018.
Congratulations also to licensees Ronnie and Rebecca Toms at the Devonshire Arms for winning one of our branch awards for five successive years, this time the Town Pub of the Year award for a worthy runner-up. A traditional community pub at the heart of the Russell Park residential area and a Wells house for its whole 120 years, the “Devvy” is well supported by local people. There is a warm, friendly atmosphere, an open fire in winter and even candlelight. The front bar has bare floorboards and an open fire, while there is a separate snug at the rear. The garden is popular for sitting out in good weather and includes both a gazebo for smokers and a no-smoking paved area. Traditional pub games like crib and dominoes are played regularly.
The Devvy offers two regular real ales from Bedford’s Eagle Brewery and four guest ales either from the new Brewpoint or sourced more widely. Real ciders are also available from chilled boxes in the cellar and a range of wines is sold by the glass or bottle. Beer and cider festivals are usually held twice a year. Although full meals are not served regularly, tasty pies are usually on sale at the bar, with snacks also available during festivals. For more information, call 01234 301170 or visit the Devvy pub website or Devvy Facebook page.

The Gordon Arms, Castle Road, Bedford. Community Pub of the Year 2022, Most Improved Pub 2021.
Congratulations to owner Wells & Co and the pub team for winning our new Community Pub award only a year after earning our Most Improved Pub award after the refurbished pub re-opened in August 2021. Our Community Pub award recognises the pub’s exceptional community focus in the heart of the Castle Road urban village. This year in particular, the pub has opened its Ent Shed entertainment venue as a donation centre for raising funds for Ukrainian refugees. Although the Ent Shed is smaller than it used to be, it is now fully integrated with the pub, creating an excellent entertainment space and function room.
Four, well-kept Eagle or Brewpoint ales are available on handpump, with excellent pub lunches and evening meals also available. For more information call 01234 348668, or visit the Gordon Arms website or Gordon Arms Facebook page.

Cider Pub of the Year and Club of the Year. The branch decided not to make these awards in 2022, with few pubs offering real cider and our regular contacts with local clubs still recovering from the disruption of 2020-21.

Regional and national awards. CAMRA’s regional and national competitions for Pub of the Year, Cider Pub of the Year and Club of the Year were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but regional and national awards will be made this year. The Fox at Carlton, our local candidate for Bedfordshire Pub of the Year, was narrowly beaten to the title by the March Hare at Dunton, near Biggleswade. The March Hare then became our county candidate for the East Anglia Pub of the Year title, which was eventually won by the King's Head, Norwich. A national CAMRA Pub of the Year winner will be announced early in 2023.

Coming out of covid, it proved difficult to get going with our bus trips for rural pub tours. However, as we could get out on foot, we had a Summer Walk around central Bedford in August as usual.

Foresters Arms A group of us met to start our walk at the Foresters Arms in Union Street. This pub was newly reopened after a refurbishment from Wells, with a new manager. DNA from Brewpoint was the only cask ale available (understandable in post-covid times), and an acceptable start as we gathered.

On to the Ship, on Bromham Road, a nice community pub. It has fine (if a little damaged) green tiling to the façade, and the front of the bar is a pleasant, wood-panelled eating area. Again, DNA was on the bar and in acceptable condition.

Flower Pot We moved on to the Flower Pot in Tavistock Street, which has had a facelift. It was busy with a music evening, so we sat in the walled garden at the rear. Doom Bar and London Pride were on. We had Pride, which was good!

Onward to the Bear in the High Street. Its narrow frontage belies the reasonably spacious panelled bar at the rear with stained-glass windows. It has been ‘gothed’ a bit with a fair amount of black! But you can find a fair pint. It had on Courage Directors, Brakspears Gravity and Marstons 61 Deep, all products of Carlsberg Marstons; 61 Deep was ok.

Crossing the High Street, we popped into the Brewhouse & Kitchen. This chain in-house brewpub was very quiet. Banker’s Draft, Intrepid and Invarsity were on handpump and in good condition.

We pushed on down the High Street to the Rose. Make sure you have your CAMRA membership card here for a discount! It also takes CAMRA tokens for 50p off a pint. Taylor’s Landlord and Sharp’s Atlantic were on the bar, but the Landlord was ‘end of barrel’, so we had Atlantic, which was good.

We toiled on down the High Street and turned left on to the Embankment and… the Embankment Hotel. This mock-Tudor Wells establishment is a popular food venue, overlooking the river. Brewpoint Legacy was the only cask beer on, and it was in an acceptable condition.

Three Cups We disappeared up the snicket to finish our evening at the Three Cups in Newnham Street. This Greene King ‘Local Heroes’ pub is run by Kelchner Brewery of Ampthill, and has a fine, changing line up of ales.The pub itself is welcoming, and also gives CAMRA members a discount on production of your membership card, but a face-lift is overdue. However, these are difficult times. You can be guaranteed a good pint at the Cups. On the pumps this evening were: Kelchner’s Half Nelson; Greene King Yardbird; Brentwood IPA; Leighton Buzzard Best Buzzard; and Nethergate Stour Valley Gold. I had the Buzzard, and was pleased to find that this local brewery produces excellent beer! The Nethergate was also good.

Gary Mudd

CAMRA awards are given only to the best pubs and clubs, and to the hard-working people who make them a success. North Beds Branch has made seven awards for excellence in 2021 to five traditional pubs, a popular urban micropub and a social club. Branch chairman Dan Veal commented: "I am delighted that we can again honour some of our best pubs and clubs. They are all different, but each seeks to serve, and is part of, its local community. Together they demonstrate the variety of the best real ale and cider outlets and I look forward to presenting their awards." Framed certificates have been presented to the award winners. You can find more information about them all in CAMRA’s online pub guide at www.whatpub.com.

Devonshire Arms, Dudley Street, Bedford. Branch Pub of the Year 2020 and 2021. Town Pub of the Year 2019. Cider Pub of the Year 2018. Hearty congratulations to licensees Ronnie and Rebecca Toms at the Devonshire Arms for winning our top pub award for a second successive year, following other branch awards in the previous two years. A traditional community pub at the heart of the Russell Park residential area and a Wells house for its whole 120 years, the “Devvy” is well supported by local people. There is a warm, friendly atmosphere, an open fire in winter and even candlelight. The front bar has bare floorboards and an open fire, while there is a separate snug at the rear. The garden is popular for sitting out in good weather and includes both a gazebo for smokers and a no-smoking paved area. Traditional pub games like crib and dominoes are played regularly. The Devvy offers two regular real ales from Bedford’s Eagle Brewery and four guest ales either from the new Brewpoint or sourced more widely. Real ciders are also available from chilled boxes in the cellar. A range of wines is also sold by the glass or bottle. Beer and cider festivals are usually held twice a year. Although the pub does not offer full meals on a regular basis, tasty pies are usually available from the bar and snacks may be provided during festivals. For more information, call 01234 301170, visit the Devvy pub website or follow the pub on Devvy Facebook.

Fox, High Street, Carlton. Country Pub of the Year 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021. Congratulations to owner-licensee Alison Thompson for a remarkable achievement by winning this award four times since buying the Fox a few years ago. A charming, thatched community pub on the old High Street off the Turvey road south-west of the modern village centre, the Fox has been a fine pub offering real ales for many years. However, Alison has made it even more special with a warm welcome for both regulars and casual visitors. An old, under-used restaurant was opened through into the bar, providing a larger and more flexible space for drinkers, diners and games players. The attractive garden is always popular with families in good weather. Competing for customers with several good rural pubs nearby, Alison and her team at the Fox have maintained their initial success and fully deserve our award for the fourth time. The regular real ales are Eagle IPA and Fuller’s London Pride, with two frequently changed guest beers, often from local microbreweries. Cellar management is excellent, guaranteeing you a well-kept pint. Good value, home-cooked lunches are served from Tuesday to Sunday and evening meals from Wednesday to Saturday. There is a regular quiz on Thursday, occasional themed food evenings, a gin festival in June and usually beer festivals on the spring and summer bank holiday weekends, for which an outhouse in the garden provides an additional bar and cask stillage. There is regular live music at both festivals. For more information, call 01234 720235, visit the pub website [www.foxatcarlton.pub] or follow the pub on Facebook [www.facebook.com/TheFoxAtCarlton].   Beerfly, St Cuthbert’s Street, Bedford Young Members Pub of the Year 2020 and 2021 Lockdown Hero Award 2020 Congratulations to owner Tim Edwards and manager Wes Neville for winning our Young Members Pub of the Year award for the second successive year. A cross between an off-licence and a micropub, Beerfly has become popular with beer lovers of all ages. A wide range of bottled or canned real ales is available, with a number of unusual and distinctive craft beers on KeyKeg dispense, including some from overseas and some that meet CAMRA’s definition of real ale. Draught beer is sold in third-pints, half-pints and two-third pints, but not full pints. There is a good selection of bottled or canned beers that can be consumed on the premises for an extra charge, while draught beer from the taps can be taken out in flagons. The selection of beers changes frequently. A draught real cider is also available, but like all the beers the brand varies. Beerfly is closed on Monday and does not open late for the rest of the week: check the website for daily opening times. For more information, call 01234 303211, visit the website [www.beerflyshop.co.uk] or join its popular following on Facebook [www.facebook.com/beerflyshop]

Polhill Arms, Wilden Road, Renhold Cider Pub of the Year 2021 Congratulations to manager Barbara Deviney and Kelchner Brewery for winning our Cider POTY award just a few months after taking over this popular Greene King pub just outside Bedford. A family-friendly village local with a welcoming atmosphere and a large garden with play area, the Polhill Arms has a proud history of CAMRA awards under the previous landlord. There are regular quiz nights, regular live music and busy skittles. Two changing real ciders are available, together with Hardys & Hansons Bitter and up to four changing real ales from Greene King, Kelchner and guest brewers. Food is currently limited to a ploughman’s or sandwich lunches, but more substantial evening meals may be offered in future. The Polhill Arms is closed Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday lunchtime. For more information call 01234 771398, or visit the pub website [http://www.polhillarms.co.uk] or Facebook [www.facebook.com/polhillarmsrenhold].

White Horse, Newnham Avenue, Bedford Community Pub of the Year 2021 Congratulations to licensees Lucie & Stephen Fuller for winning our first local Community Pub award, which recognises their commitment to providing services to the local community. Three seating areas, each with its own style, are served from a single bar. The quizzes on Sunday (smartphone) and Tuesday are popular, as is the Monday evening jazz. Other musical events are advertised on Facebook. Food is freshly cooked to order. A choice of roasts is available on Sundays. Pre-booking is advised on Sundays and Tuesday evenings. The beer and wine selection is complemented by a wide choice of gins. Beers include Courage Directors, Eagle IPA, Marston’s 61 Deep and three changing beers from Brewpoint and guest breweries. Afternoon tea can be ordered for groups. The pub is closed all day Monday and Tuesday lunchtime. Good value pub food is served at lunchtime and evenings until 9pm. For more information call (01234) 409306, or visit the pub website [https://www.thewhitehorsebedford.co.uk/] or Facebook [www.facebook.com/whitehorsebedford].

Gordon Arms, Castle Road, Bedford Most Improved Pub 2021 Congratulations to owner Wells & Co and to manager Alex Lawrence and his team for winning our Most Improved Pub award soon after the pub was re-opened in August 2021. Although our awards are rarely made this quickly, we regard the Gordon Arms as an exceptional case. What had become a rather tired and dowdy suburban pub has been extensively remodelled to create a distinctive and attractive lounge bar with discreet individual areas. There is also plenty of outdoor seating. The old Ent Shed entertainment venue has been reduced in size but is now fully integrated with the pub, creating an excellent, adjoining entertainment space and function room – the only music and comedy performance facility in Bedford’s Castle Quarter. The pub is open daily with excellent pub lunches and evening meals available. Four, well-kept Eagle or Brewpoint ales are available on handpump, although so far no guest ales from elsewhere. For more information call 01234 348668, or visit the pub website [https://gordonarmsbedford.co.uk] or Facebook [www.facebook.com/gordonarmspub.bedford].

North End Social Club, Roff Avenue, Bedford Club of the Year 2021 Congratulations to the North End Social Club for winning our annual Club of the Year award. Founded in 1910 in former brewery offices, this is a club for families and friends of all ages with a friendly atmosphere and plenty of activities. New members, members' guests and visiting CIU members are always welcome. There is regular live entertainment on Saturday evening, a quiz on the last Tuesday of the month and bingo, pool, darts and skittles always available. The large function room upstairs is available to hire for weddings and private parties. The club is open lunchtime and evening on weekdays, and all day from Friday to Sunday. Well-kept Fuller’s London Pride and a guest real ale are usually available on the pumps, but food is served only for special or private events. For information, call 01234 210359 or visit Facebook [www.facebook.com/northendclub19]

Regional and national awards Although CAMRA normally runs regional and national competitions for Pub of the Year, Cider Pub of the Year and Club of the Year, these were cancelled in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and will not run this year either.

If you are reading this article then you probably enjoy beer, and if you are like me then you also enjoy your food. Most people can tell you which wine to pair with which food, but we rarely see beer pairings. As a general rule of thumb treat lighter beers as white wine and darker beers as red.

Golden and Lighter Ales

These beers tend to have a light body so go well with light foods:- Meats: Chicken and Fish Dishes: Pasta (without too much sauce), soups, salads, Chinese food. Miscellaneous: lighter cheeses such as Feta, Monterey Jack, citrus dishes (including salad dressings).

IPAs, Bitters and Brown Ales.

These beers have more of a medium body so can be quite versatile:- Meats: Beef and Pork Dishes: Richer pasta dishes (such as Spaghetti Bolognaise), burgers, pizza, sausages, fried foods and spicer foods such as jerk, Indian or Mexican. Miscellaneous: Other cheeses such as Cheddar, Swiss, Parmesan.

Stouts and Porters

With the heaviest bodies and stronger flavours these beers work better with heavy foods (those typically associated with winter):- Meats: Beef, Pork, Lamb, Venison and Game. Dishes: Stews, cottage pie, barbecued foods, chilli con carne, roast dinner and salty dishes. Miscellaneous: Stouts (especially the sweeter ones) work well with chocolate and desserts.

Always remember to drink and eat what you like as if you love drinking porters then you will probably enjoy them with anything you eat. Go forth and experiment, you may find some better pairings than those suggested.

Dan Veal

CAMRA is campaigning to give struggling pubs some much needed money through the tills by allowing them to sell beer and cider in sealed containers for people to take away and enjoy at home. While current lockdown rules allow shops to sell alcohol to take away, pubs can only do so via home delivery and not through a collection service as in previous lockdowns.

The campaign was raised in the House of Commons during an emergency debate on the new lockdown restrictions in England, with MP for Stroud Siobhan Baillie asking the Government to look at the rules on the sale of takeaway alcohol as “it is not fair to stop this activity when supermarkets and off-licences can sell regardless”.

CAMRA’s National Chairman Nik Antona said: “It is absolutely unfair that while big supermarkets can continue to sell alcohol, our struggling local pubs in England can’t act as off licences too.

“This was a real lifeline for many pubs during previous lockdowns and is desperately needed again now, with landlords up and down the country struggling to make ends meet after months of closures, curfews and restrictions. Pubs are also the only place where people can get cask beer, which is under threat after months of forced pub closures and with some breweries stopping production.

“The least the Government can do is take a sensible approach, think again and allow community pubs to sell takeaway products. No-one wants to see drinking in the streets during a lockdown, but allowing pubs to sell alcohol in sealed containers for people to take home – just like shops do – would be completely reasonable.

“Without a change in these lockdown laws we risk seeing more locals going to the wall, traditional British cask ale under threat and people being forced into supermarkets instead of supporting local businesses by buying beer from the pub to take home.”

Over six thousand pub-goers have emailed MPs to seek fair treatment for pubs and to protect cask beer during the third lockdown in England.

Lockdown certificate During the summer, CAMRA North Beds gave four Lockdown Hero awards to recognise exceptional service to customers and to real ale during the three lockdown months from April to June. As about a dozen North Beds pubs supplied takeaway food and drink during lockdown, selecting the winners was not easy, but we finally made awards to three pubs and a local brewery for outstanding service. Although their primary motive may have been to keep the business afloat, each of them went well beyond basic provision in supporting their customers.

Kelchner Brewery Kelchner Brewery, Ampthill. Like many other small breweries trying to keep the business going, this local microbrewery offered a retail takeaway service to customers but also very positive support for closed pubs struggling to survive. Owners Chris and Marisa were determined to keep the beer flowing in challenging circumstances. In addition to a retail click and collect service, they also supplied cask and bottled beers to pubs keen to offer takeaways but unable to get supplies from their usual sources. As the brewery is just across our border with South Beds branch and as it operates over much of the county, we decided to make this award on behalf of all three Bedfordshire branches.

Kelchner currently supplies bottled beers to local shops and – when rules allow – operates a retail shop open most Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. Call 07508 305754 or visit www.kelchnerbrewery.co.uk. When pubs re-open again, Kelchner beers will be available regularly at the Three Cups in Bedford, where the brewery now holds the lease.

Beerfly Beerfly, Bedford. This small off-licence and micropub in Bedford town centre was open for off-sales during lockdown, but distinguished itself by introducing a local delivery service for customers ordering online. Owner Tim Edwards supplied flagons of draught beer as well as a selection of canned beers, with the choices changing from week to week so there were always new beers to try. Although Tim’s business is mainly “craft beer”, most of which is not real ale, this award was for his service to customers, not for the beer. Beerfly is also our local Young Members Pub of the Year 2020.

Beerfly is currently open for takeaways including flagon fills on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday afternoons. A local delivery is available on Friday. Weekly offers are published on Thursday at 5pm. Call 01234 303211 or visit www.facebook.com/beerflyshop.

Sun Sun, Felmersham. This delightful village pub was saved from closure a few years ago after a vigorous campaign persuaded a local resident to buy the property and reopen it as a free house. The pub was later sold on but new owners Peter and Conny have continued to run it as a community asset with a strong emphasis on customer service. After lockdown began, they opened Café Felmo’s, a pop-up shop for food and drink in the bar and an adjacent shed – a valuable service where there is no permanent village shop. They also offered popular takeaway meals from the pub kitchen and later added a local delivery service. Although they did not supply draught beers, their shop offered bottled beers and ciders from several sources, including Kelchner Brewery, another of our Lockdown Heroes. The Sun is also our branch Cider Pub of the Year 2020 and has a well-deserved place in Good Beer Guide 2021.

With the return of lockdown measures, the Sun has reopened Café Felmo’s and offers takeaway meals in the evening. Pre-order takeaways at www.mk437.net, call 01234 781355 or visit www.facebook.com/thesunfelmersham.

Bell Bell, Odell. Another delightful village pub, in this case a Greene King tied house where the tenants went out of their way to provide local takeaway and delivery services for freshly prepared meals from the pub kitchen and drinks, including flagons of cask beer. Greene King kindly gave permission for Kelchner Brewery to supply cask beers, which customers were able to enjoy, albeit off the premises. Licensees James and Sally have openly recorded thanks to Kelchner and their support for the similar award that we have given to the brewery. The Bell is a former branch Most Improved Pub and has had a regular entry in the Good Beer Guide since 2017.

The Bell currently offers takeaway meals, although there are restrictions on supplying takeaway alcohol. Call 01234 910850 or visit www.facebook.com/TheBellinOdell.

Our social media feeds attracted much support for these awards from both customers and local CAMRA members. Framed certificates were presented to the four winners, who clearly value the awards and the recognition given on behalf of customers. We hope the new friends they made by providing exceptional service during lockdown will attract new business and reward the owners accordingly.

Although we selected just four local businesses for these awards, we are full of admiration for all local pubs and breweries that are working hard with deliveries and takeaways during what everyone knows is a very tough time for the hospitality trade. When the Covid crisis is finally over we look forward to seeing them all flourish again. Meanwhile, let’s give them all the support we can.

Peter Argyle