The Old Spot Inn, Dursley - Newsletter April 08 (Tel: 01453 542870)

The Awards keep Rolling In
Well that's a hat-trick; for the third consecutive year we have been voted Gloucestershire CAMRA Pub of the Year - just another excuse to have a few beers really!

Writing this newsletter on the nicest day we have had this year really feels like that summer maybe just around the corner! And when I say summer obviously I mean floods, hailstorms and the government imposing more hose pipe bans.

Those of you regular to the Old Spot may have noticed it rather a busy during March, slightly mad even. I suppose when you're featured in more or less every national newspaper you expect a few visitors! As we move into April things will settle down, and with the builders finishing off the little bits and pieces, normality will finally be upon us, what ever that is!

Social Awareness or Just Another Step towards a Nanny State?
Congratulations to Rob Parkinson, Donna King, Lawrance Dungworth and Ben Kingscote for passing their Responsible Alcohol Retailing exam. (http://www.biiab.org/). With the government putting more pressure on the individual to take responsibility for the dispensing of alcohol (and there are some pretty hefty fines involved as a way of keeping them on their toes), all those considered drunk, unable to provide evidence of being over 18 or are considered to be putting themselves or others in danger will be refused service.

Simon Long from Traditional Forestry applies finishing touches to the new fence.

As we move out of winter and into spring the wicker man arrived at the Old Spot. With willing watchers, wands of hazel were woven into a wicker fence by the wily Green man of the forest Si, in readiness for Beltain.

Lets hope it does not meet the Wicker Man's end on May's Eve.

Question: What colour is Hazel? Its not. To say it's a colour, is like saying �rainbow� is a colour, Hazels rainbow is the colour spectrum from light brown to green to yellow and blue with various shades in between. So why don't we say people have rainbow eyes?
By Simon Ackroyd

Dyson Dryers
Finally, everybody knows who's washing their hands - and who's not! That was not the plan, but they are very efficient. However, some ear defenders hanging on the wall nearby might be an advantage! Also, they tend to cut the conversation down in the loos too - easing the congestion on busy nights!.

Wye Valley Brewery Trip

For those interested, there are still a few places left for the Wye Valley Brewery trip on the Saturday 26th of April. Costing �15, this includes transport, the trip around brewery with tasting, and a light supper on the way home. If you'd like to go, please see a member of staff.

St. Georges' Day 'Royal' Beerfest
We are celebrating St. George's Day with a beer festival again, running from the Wed 23rd April through to the Sun 27th. This will culminate with a party to celebrate the building work being completed and a special guest to launch the new loos. Look out on the boards inside and the website for updates on this. More info is available here.

Butcombe Brewery Trip

Also coming up is a Butcombe Brewery trip on Tuesday 13th May. Price is �10 per person, to include tour, tasting, fodder and transport.

Paintballing


Where	Portishead, Bristol
When	Sunday 1st June
Time	Meet at the Old Spot 9pm
Return	Back at the Old Spot by 5pm for sarnies, beer and debriefing!
Cost	£25 pp including: kit (jump suit, body amour, goggles, gun), lunch, and 300 paintballs
	(Different packages are available for trigger happy punks.)
Transport is not supplied but there should be enough lifts going.

We're looking at taking 40 people along, although this is flexible. Teams are Old Spot Staff versus Old Spot Punters (our time has come!) For more information, click here.

Forthcoming Events

April
:: Thur 24 - Sun 27	St George's Beer Festival - A Right Royal Affair
:: Saturday 26th May	Wye Valley Brewery Trip

May
:: Thur 1st May	Paintballing - Old Spot Staff versus The Punters.
:: Sun 11th May	April Wordsearch Closing Date
:: Tue 13th May	Butcombe Brewery Trip �10 pp

LATE NEWS FLASH:
Due to so much going on during the first few months of this year, it has been necessary to move the Charity Ball to next year. Tables will go quickly so get in early. Sponsors are still needed, so if you'd like to see your 'name in lights', please get in touch. More on this on the website shortly.

Word Search for Beer
The winner of March's Wordsearch competition was "John the Post" - again! Congratulations, you have won a gallon of beer of your choice. For those of you who were a bit stuck, the solution is on the website and a poster somewhere in the pub!

Below is our third Wordsearch competition. This month's theme is Nicknames of Old Spot Regulars. We haven't included everybody here - its impossible, we have an awful lot of locals! If you've been missed out, sorry! Many of the locals' names here will be visitors to the Old Spot at times you don't come in - nothing we can do about that - come in earlier, stay longer and get to know a few more people! This is your chance to see just how many people you really know in the Old Spot. Closing Date: Sun, 11th May 2008.

As before, we're not telling you the names you have to look for or even how many there are to find, but the person who returns the correct completed puzzle will receive a gallon of beer as a prize. The winner will be published on the board. If there is more than one correct entry, the winner will be picked out of a hat.

See how many you can find. . . the words may be horizontal, vertical or diagonal, forwards or backwards! Enjoy the Wordsearch! This is a hard one - there's a lot of them!

Closing Date: Sun, 11th May 2008.

This is a hard one - there's a lot of them!

Good Luck,

Nicknames of Old Spot Regulars

Cheers!
Steve Herbert
April 2008THE OLD SPOT INN
E: T: 01453 542870

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