On September 1st, several members of the PPPG and CAMRA gathered at the Greyhound in Penkhull, for the official presentation of the Group's Community Pub of the Year Award 1999-2000. The Sentinel photographer covered the event, and licensee Pam Rowlands provided a buffet, writes Mervyn Edwards.

There were 12 pubs in the frame for this year's award, but the members finally voted for a 1-2-3 of the Greyhound, the Blue Bell (Kidsgrove) and the Golden Cup in Hanley (last year's winner).

A rollicking good night was had at Pam's historic pub, and it seemed the perfect setting in which to discuss informally the role of the community pub. John Hopkins, of the Brewery History Society, expressed:

"I live in Audley, so this is only my second visit to the Greyhound in six months. My impressions are that Chris Purdy is very friendly, the landlady is very attractive and pleasant, and the beer is excellent. I was a bit worried when I came in, because I noticed a few people eating kangaroo meat _ and then I saw a live rabbit on someone's shoulder, and I thought it was the second course! I feel that you can find a good community pub in any geographical area, whether it be an urban area, or in the middle of a city. A community pub to me is one that is unspoilt by change, it's what the people who use it make of it, as well as the owners".

Jon Perkin, Co-ordinator of PPPG explored the historical significance of the public house in giving his own view of what present pub-owning companies are doing right - and wrong - in the 1990s:

"The pub used to be the heart of the community. They once organised and played host to community events, but those days are sadly departing. So PPPG sets out to reward public houses that are still involved with the community. The Bass-instigated 'Potteries Pub Company' pubs are for the most part a pretence - an "attempt" to support the traditional, community pub. It's a response to a market need. There is public support for the sort of thing that PPPG is doing, and the Bass Group wants to be a part of that. They've taken advantage, really, of the desire for this in the community, but I feel they are misleading people, and that the efforts of PPC are a veneer. I have not yet seen any 'corporate community pub' that has been convincing".

PPPG has, however, been convinced Greyhound's claims to be a community pub of the first order. Pam Rowlands runs a class operation, and is very sensitive to the needs as well as the eccentricities of her clientele. Which brings me back to the pink-eyed blur of white perched on the shoulder of one of her patrons.

Says Pam:

"The lady with the rabbit on her shoulder is Angie. She's one of our regulars, and a member of the Penkhull Charity Group, and it's she who organises the cricket matches between us and the Marquis of Granby. Anybody's welcome in here. Angie keeps rabbits, and if she wants to come in here with one, that's fine. 'Boomerang', the white rabbit, is well-known in Penkhull's pubs".

by Mervyn Edwards

It's a fact of life that theme pubs and nonsensical names sometimes fail. Remember the Antelope in Hanley? For well over a century, it was known by this name, but from 1992, it has changed direction more times than a weather-vane.

It took on the name of "Rusty's" then "Brannigans", then finally "Down Under", before closure. As Oscar Wilde wrote about fashion, "From the artistic point of view, it is usually a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months".

Refreshingly, some pubs never seem to alter, and are the better for it. Take the White Swan in Middleport. It is off the beaten track, in Newport Lane, standing cheek by jowl with a newsagents and within stumbling distance of the local WMC. There is no demand in Middleport for a cosmopolitan-style cafe-bar or an exciting new concept pub with indigo walls and furnishings. Tony Moss's tavern is a no-frills "local", where patrons read newspapers or otherwise chat over a drink. He is, after all, from "Bozlum":

"I was born at the Dolphin in Burslem in 1945, but there were two Dolphins at the time. One was by Woolworths, opposite Washington and Riley's, but I was born at the other one, in Greenhead Street, in which street the Foaming Quart stands now. After my dad, Edward Moss, left the Dolphin, he went on to keep Wolstanton WMC, in the late 1940s, but my parents ran the two establishments simultaneously for a brief time, the pub being about to close. I didn't regret growing up in the licensing trade, as life was more laid-back then than it is now. Jennifer and I originally came to the Swan ten years ago, as tenants, but Bass had decided to put the pub up for sale, so we are in the process of buying it".

Nearby is the dusty pile known as Furlong Mills, which is often visited by lumbering lorries carrying raw materials from Cornwall and other parts. Drivers visiting the White Swan in need of a refresher are warmly welcomed, although there is a sign behind the bar asking patrons not to swear:

"We're not excessively strict, but we don't like 'effing'. We have occasionally had to ask people to leave, but no real problems. I have had truck drivers come to the area and they've slept in the wagons overnight, used the pub, and I've gently warned them not to use industrial language in the pub. Their gaffers have backed me up - 'Come on, lads, you've got a good drink, so behave well, or else I'll tell you to leave myself'. Maureen Flowers from the Sneyd Arms in Tunstall thought our no-swearing sign was a good idea, and there's one in her bar, now".

Tony clearly enjoys what he does. "this is rewarding work, especially if someone's enjoyed their pint, but I do have hobbies. I've shown interest in the Canal Restoration project in Burslem, especially as I've done some canal touring from Goldstone Wharf -a leisurely way of travelling, and its good to pull up at canalside pubs. I like golf and we have a golf society with 30 plus members here at the pub".

Expect traditional pub games here, for as Tony says, "This is a typical old boozer, of the type that is fast disappearing". Glad to hear it. To hell with the town centre refurbs and idiotic name-changes. Tony's pub reminds us that fads are one thing, but that

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