Newspaper Articles - CAMRA - May 1997
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CAMRA NEWS release:
Gloucestershire Pub of the Year
The Old.Spot Inn in Dursley is the winner of this year's CAMRA Pub of the Year award for Gloucestershire. On the evening of Thursday 28 August the County Branch Chairman, Tony Aburrow, will present the award to owners Ric and Ellie Sainty. It's an occasion that is sure to attract many Campaign for Real Ale members from across the County as well as all the pub's regulars.
The Old Spot began life as a farm cottage in 1776 and later became a school.
It finally became a pub just a century ago. When in 1993 Ric and Ellie bought the Fox and Hounds, as it was then known, from a major brewer it was in a fairly run-down state. They changed its name and gradually with much love and attention to detail transformed it into the thriving public house it is today. It is not only smart and pleasantly intimate inside but has an attractive garden where regulars play petanque in summer.
Whereas these days most owners of town pubs (Wetherspoons excepted, of course) go for fashionable themes Ric proudly announces on the exterior that his is "a traditional pub". In other words you will find no juke box, no gaming machine, no extensive menu, not even a keg bitter - just lively chat, a lot of laughter and a bar billiards table that dates from 1927 and was rescued from France. The only concession to entertainment is on Wednesday evenings when local musicians team up for an impromptu folk/blues session.
The superbly kept real ales comprise two from nearby Uley - Old Spot and. appropriately since it was named after the landlord, Old Ric - together with Draught Bass and two guests. Lunchtime snacks include Old Ric sausages (made with the beer, of course) and a new idea - a platter of fine British cheeses.
The Old Spot is a social venue for everybody - from the Battle of Britain pilot who chases the Hun again through an alcoholic haze and the Uley brewer who receives prompt customer assessments of his latest product to the young convert to real ale who heads the bar billiards championship table. Indeed, all ages (over 18, of course) are represented among the regulars at this fine pub.
CAMRA Gloucestershire
Chairman: Tony Aburrow
Secretary: Adrian Eastman
Media Contact: AZan Stephens
Reproduced courtesy of CAMRA - May 1997.
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