SNOOKER CLUB’S SEVENTH NORTH EAST SUCCESS.
Members of the North East Branches of CAMRA have judged Darlington Snooker Club as their CAMRA North East Club of The Year for 2011.
The club situated on the corner of Corporation Road and Northgate won the accolade
for the seventh time in eight years by beating off competition from three other clubs
in the north east, the Ashbrooke Sports Club in Sunderland, Chester-
Proprietor Peter Everett was “chuffed” to win the award once more despite thinking “his time was up” in winning the competition again. A presentation was made to Peter, right in above picture, by CAMRA’s North East Regional Director David Brazier on Friday 4th November during one of the club’s now well established Booze ‘n’ Cues Beer Festivals.
Meanwhile the snooker club goes through into the next round of CAMRA’s National Club
of the Year award and our best wishes go to Darlington Snooker Club in this competition
and also our congratulations to Peter and all his staff in winning the award once
again -
CROWN INN’S GLORY.
The Crown at Manfield recently received Darlington CAMRA’s Country Pub of the Year award during one of the pub’s now well established twice yearly bank holiday beer festivals.
Branch chairman Peter Everett, right in picture, presented the certificate for country pub of the year to licensees Peter and Karen Hynes. Peter Hynes thanked the customers of the Crown and our branch for the award citing the fact CAMRA was an important ally in campaigning particularly against pub closures, the majority of which are in the countryside where communities are losing their local.
The Crown’s win makes it the ninth time Peter and Karen have won the Country Pub of the Year award since taking over the Manfield establishment back in 2002 and it now goes forward to this year’s CAMRA Yorkshire Pub of the Year Competition having previously won the award back in 2005.
Our best wishes go the Crown in the Yorkshire Pub of the Year competition.
QUAKER HOUSE GETS THE PUB OF THE YEAR PLAQUE.
Members of Darlington CAMRA along with regulars of the Quaker House assembled at the Mechanics Yard establishment on the afternoon of Sunday 10th April for the presentation of the branch’s Pub of the Year 2011 award.
Branch chairman Peter Everett presented the certificate for pub of the year to owners Brian Dourish and Garry Hewitt, pictured left. Garry thanked all the customers and staff for making their contribution in giving the Quaker House the title of Darlington CAMRA’s
Branch Pub of the Year for 2011, the seventh time in eleven years it has won this prestigious award and the second time Brian and Garry have won the award since taking over the Quaker House.
Following the presentation, the traditional photo was taken outside of the regulars sporting the brand new polo shirt which was produced especially for the award
(ps. love the hat John !).
By winning the pub of the year, the Quaker House now enters the CAMRA North East Pub of the Year Competition and our best wishes go to the Quaker House in this competition.
VAL MOSS -
Members of Darlington CAMRA were recently saddened to hear the death of longtime branch member Val Moss following a long illness.
Val, pictured left, was a familiar figure at the branch’s twice yearly beer festivals held at the Arts Centre working on the glasses stall and he also held the position of social secretary for a couple of years.
Ian Jackson, former beer festival organiser said, “Val was always willing to volunteer to work at the festivals on the glasses stall and as festival organiser, he was very often the first to contact me so his name would be one of the first I put down on the work
rota. Even though he worked for a couple of hours or so at the sessions, the commitment was always there because he enjoyed doing it”. Val also kindly stored equipment for the beer festivals in his garage and when it came to setting up at each festival it was a case of ‘hire the van, collect the scaffolding and then onto Val’s garage’.
The funeral for Val was held at Darlington Crematorium on Tuesday 30th August and was attended by members of Darlington CAMRA both past and present which showed the popularity of the man. The branch has also made a contribution towards a seat in Val’s memory at Darlington Cricket Club where he spent many a day.
A longstanding member of Darlington CAMRA who will be sadly missed as every branch member would agree.
BLONDES AND BLUES MAKE RHYTHM ‘N’ BREWS !.
Another success !. That was the message at the 32nd Darlington Rhythm ‘n’ Brews Beer Festival recently held at the Arts Centre. Visitors to the festival again had an excellent choice of real ales along with ciders and perries plus foreign bottled beers, with many beers coming from brand new breweries alongside much more established ones, especially breweries from the North East.
It was a well established North East based brewery whose beer won beer of the festival. Mordue Brewery based in North Shields was the winner with their Northumbrian Blonde, at 4% and described as being a ‘blonde ale, fresh and zesty with hoppy lemon and grapefruit aromas’.
By Saturday evening, the beers and ciders had almost been drunk dry with only a few
remaining by close of business. Our chosen charity of the festival was the Great
North Air Ambulance and over £190 was raised for this good cause -
We look forward to seeing you there !.
Members of the North East Branches of CAMRA along with pub regulars assembled at the Boathouse in Wylam on the afternoon of Sunday 2nd October for the presentation of CAMRA’s North East Pub of the Year. The Boathouse, pictured left, and situated next to Wylam railway station on the Newcastle to Carlisle line beat off competition from other pubs nominated by the CAMRA North East branches to win the award for the second time in three years. The Boathouse has an excellent choice of beers and ciders available across fifteen handpumps situated on the bar with twelve handpumps dedicated to beer and three handpumps dedicated to ciders.
CAMRA’s North East Regional Director David Brazier, right in picture, presented manager John ‘Jay’ Bennett and proprietor Norman Weatherburn with the certificate for North East Pub of Year in front of a packed pub. Norman thanked all his staff for all their efforts in achieving the award and also thanked his customers and summed up by saying, “I’m pleased to be holding this award for being the best pub in the North East and hopefully I’ll holding the one for the best pub in Britain next year”.
A recent trip took place by festival workers to Mordue Brewery on North Tyneside to present an award to the brewery for winning the Beer of the Festival Award at the Rhythm ‘n’ Brews Beer Festival held back in September. Its beer, “Northumbrian Blonde”, described as a blonde ale, fresh and zesty with a hoppy lemon and grapefruit aroma beat off competition from over fifty beers to win the award.
On arriving at the brewery, Managing Director Garry Fawson welcome us and supplied refreshments in the form of Geordie Pride at 4.2% and IPA 5.1% and gave a brewery tour during which glasses were topped up !. Following the tour, Beer Festival Committee Member Ian Jackson presented Garry, right in picture, with the award for Northumbrian Blonde winning Beer of the Festival at the Rhythm ‘n’ Brews Festival.
PUBS OF THE YEAR ... WHO WON WHAT ?.
As per last year, members of Darlington CAMRA recently took the opportunity to take part in selecting their branch Pub of the Year, with the vote allowing branch members take the opportunity to vote for their favourite branch pub in the town and country along with their overall choice.
For the Country Pub of the Year category, the Crown at Manfield once again took the award but the competition was close for the runners up spot with the Langdon Beck Hotel at Langdon Beck and the Stanwick Inn at Aldbrough St John tying for second place. Fourth place was also a tie with the Red Lion at Cotherstone, the Blacksmith’s
Arms at Preston-
In the Town Pub of The Year award, last year's winner the Quaker House once again
triumphed over the Number Twenty-
In the Pub of the Year 2011 competition, this time round it was the Quaker House edging out the Crown at Manfield to win the overall award, the seventh time in the last eleven years and the second time in three years licensees Brian Dourish and Garry Hewitt have won the award.
Congratulations to Peter and Karen Hynes at the Crown in Manfield and to Brian and
Garry of the Quaker House and well done to all the other finalists in the Town and
Country competition -
SNOOKER CLUB’S EIGHTH SUCCESS.
Darlington Snooker Club has once again won the award for Branch Club of The Year.
The club situated on the corner of Corporation Road and Northgate won the accolade for the eighth time in a row and goes forward as the branch's nomination for CAMRA's North East Club of the Year competition, an award which it has won on six occasions and is the current holder of this title.
A presentation for the club of the year award was made to proprietor Peter Everett, left in picture, by branch committee member John Magson on Saturday 27th February. John is also the ambassador for the club on behalf of CAMRA.
Our best wishes go to Darlington Snooker Club in the North East Club of the Year
2011 competition where it will be competing against Ashbrooke Sports Club based in
Ashbrooke in Sunderland, Chester-