The Oxfordshire Theatre Company is coming to Upton Village Hall again on Saturday March 27th at 7.30 pm

^{Ticket price £8 and £6 from Jessie on 851206}

Loving April

Adapted by Giles Croft from the novel by Melvin Burgess

A moving story of love and intolerance

The touring theatre has been coming to our village hall for many years. Audiences have enjoyed, and appreciated the level of expertise, colour and exuberance they have brought with them.

The cost to our venue is £314 and the only reason they have been able to sustain this price is because of the subsidy they have received. Unfortunately, a large percentage of that subsidy is to be withdrawn. Sadly, this may be their last tour.

GEORGE AND DRAGON

I hope you’re all well in spite of this inclement weather we are having of late. We are certainly ready for a bit of sun. Mind you, the days when the snow made the roads impassable to motorists resulting in the closing of schools and offices were the busiest days at the pub during this mostly wet and cold winter. Talk about extremes! A really nice sunny or a very snowy day will bring people into The George and Dragon but on any other day, we would be quiet, bordering on empty. The constant supply of inclement weather is certainly one of the reasons why busy days at the pub have become few and far in between.

But like most pubs in the country, the weather is not the only reason why we are struggling. The credit crunch has drawn people away from pubs and into the supermarket for cheap food and beer, not to mention the unending regulations the government seem to think up to burden pubs even more. In the meantime, unlike the number of people patronizing the pub, the cost of running a pub, are constantly on the rise. Sadly, we are now in the position where if we don’t get out, we will be in serious trouble. It is for this reason that we’ve decided to give up our tenancy.

Greene King has started looking for new tenants. Some have been in to look around. We will have to wait until Greene King finds a replacement before we can announce a leaving date. All we know at the moment is that it will not happen in the next couple of months. In the meantime, we are still here soldiering on. Our regulars and staff have been brilliant. Rest assured that we have not compromised our food, beer and services. Bill is still freshly cooking your favourite dishes!

The day we leave will be a very sad day for us. We are happy here. We have met a lot of people who have become very good friends. In the three years that we’ve been here, each of us has changed for the better, both as a person as well as a family. We will have fond memories of the pub, our staff and our patrons.

We will definitely keep you informed of things as they progress but until then we will enjoy the time we have left.

See you at the pub!

The project is still well ahead of schedule but it will not be complete until near to the end of February as time will be needed to dry out the building before some of the finishing work can be completed.

Meanwhile here are a couple of photos so that you can see the progress to date.

Sorry for the lack of update last month. Our Halloween Party which was last month’s highlight had to wait until this month to be reported because it happened too late to make it to the newsletter’s November deadline. A local band, Mew and Wooster, provided the music. Once again, thank you to all who came to celebrate with us. The pictures will be up on our website soon.

Next and last big event for this year will be the New Year’s Eve party. This year, we’re going to have live music by The Triple A band performing covers from the 60’s onwards. They’re popular in the local pub scene and they’ve done a couple of gigs for us. We are looking forward to seeing them again. It’s free admission so we hope to see you revelling with us on the 31^st of December, from 9pm!

For the Sunday lunch on the 20^th of December, we will be serving a traditional Christmas Turkey Dinner! Bill does an excellent Christmas Dinner and he could do that any day, not just a Sunday! If you’re thinking about having a family do why not leave the cooking to Bill. What an excellent idea! For a minimum of ten people, we will do all the cooking, serving, cleaning and washing up for you. We’ll even throw in the Christmas decorations and crackers for free. All you have to do is sit and enjoy the family chin-wag! It’s not even going to cost you more than a regular Sunday roast, £7.75 adult and £4.50 child.

Also, if you haven’t noticed yet, we have started closing on a Monday. Trade has been very slow since the summer season finished and so we have opted to have a much deserved day off that day. The only exception would be Christmas Bank Holiday Monday.

Finally, please take note of our opening hours and activities for the Christmas Season.

24 Dec Christmas Eve

Open from 12noon until midnight

Regular menu available at lunchtime only

25 Dec Christmas Day

12noon-2.30pm Open for drinks only

26 Dec Boxing Day

Open from 12noon for drinks only

28 Dec Bank Holiday

Open from 12noon for drinks only

31 Dec New Year’s Eve

Open from 4pm drinks only Party from 9pm

1 Jan New Year’s Day

12noon-3pm Open for drinks only

This past year has been difficult for many, not least the pub. Here’s hoping that 2010 will bring us all good tidings. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

See you at the pub

The managing architect has just reported that “works are proceeding well and currently on programme. Workmanship is good.”

Now we have to start paying the bills. In the last few weeks over 40 local residents have responded to requests for the money they promised last year. Over £6,600 has been contributed so far. A few more donations are expected.

Other promises include:

£50,000 from the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment and the Waste Recycling Group through the Landfill Communities Fund. (This includes £5,500 contributed towards TOE’s expenses by the District Council).

£27,000 through Southern Oxfordshire LEADER, half from the European Union and half from DEFRA.

£8,750 from the County Council

.

£9,020 from the Parish Council.

B R Simpson.

50′S CLUB

Winners for August 2009

£10    Mr Yates        15

£7      Mr Hartley       21

£5      Mr Summers  31     

£4      Mr F Napper   34

Winners for September 2009

£15    Mrs G Churchman   150

£15    Mr G Collins             138

£10    Mr Beckles              143

£7      Mr Bunston                 2

£5      Mrs S Napper            69

£4      Mrs Bunston            39    

More good news! The South East England Development Agency has just awarded
the Parish Council £27,000 towards the cost of extending the hall. The Council’s application was successful largely because of the efforts made by so many people in the village, including those responsible for the preparation and execution of the Parish Plan, the provision of the wide range of organised social activities, and the many local fund raising events. The most recent event, the "Open Gardens" on 6th September, raised £298.
All of this means that the Village Hall Amenities Trust and the Parish Council will soon be able to let contracts for the work to commence. The Trust still needs to raise a few thousand pounds, but the end is in sight.
Brian Simpson

As expected, it’s slowing down a bit now with the kids back in school. We’re expecting things to start getting busy again near the end of November for the Christmas season. Aunt Sally party was a very good night. The pub trip to the Thai Festival was also a huge success. We’re all looking forward to the next one.

The next event at the pub will be the much-anticipated Halloween Party, 30th October, Friday, with Live Music featuring Mew and Wooster. Fancy dress optional. From 9pm. Also, children are welcome to knock at our door on Halloween, the 30th. We always have sweets for Trick or Treaters.

See you at the pub!

Not a lot going on apart from the usual happenings at the George and Dragon. We are very busy though. Summer is not quite over yet but I can easily report that so far, we are having an outstanding season. I expect it will start to slow down again when the children go back to school but I’m feeling confident that our pre-Christmas season will also be better than last year’s. All in all, trade is definitely improving.

Reminders for your diary : 11^th Sept 9pm, 80’s Live Music Night. I shall tell you all about that as well as our Thai Festival trip in next month’s issue.

In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the summer.

See you at the pub!

GEORGE and DRAGON

I do apologise for the lack of updates these past couple of months. We have been very busy with both pub and our family lately and organizing our tasks have become a real challenge. It seems that people are now getting fed up with the credit crunch as it feels as if the curtain of doom and gloom is finally lifting. I’m sure it’s also because we’ve been having lots of beautiful weather lately but not even the occasional rain showers are preventing people from coming to the pub because we’re still busy even when the weather is not at its best. Long may it last, I pray.

Please take note that we are now closed on a Monday lunchtime. It’s the quietest time in the pub and therefore the best time to give ourselves a day off. We’re still open Monday evenings for drinks. Also, it is always a good idea to book a table especially if you plan to dine after 8pm. Most of the time people can walk into the pub and I’d be able to fit them in but there have been occasions when I had to stop taking orders as early as 8.30pm because Bill is already fully booked until 9pm. To avoid disappointment, please call to book a table. Our phone number is 850723.

Good news and bad news regarding Bill’s ever popular Sunday Roast and our Sunday Menu. Good news is that we’ll be on the regular Lunch Menu on a Sunday. Bad news is, to be able to do that, we have to stop doing the Sunday Roast, at least for the summer. Our biggest problem is our tiny kitchen. The roast takes up all but very little space in our kitchen preventing us to do pretty much anything else. Hopefully, Sundays will continue to be warm and sunny so that the Sunday Roast will not be missed too much.

Dates for your calendar:

31^st August Bank Holiday Monday is our bi-annual pub trip to the Thai Festival in Surrey. If you’re interested in joining us, we still have a few seats left. £10 deposit for the coach. £7.50 entrance fee per person. One child free for every two adults. There will be lots of Thai food, Thai beer, cooking demonstrations, cultural dance exhibitions and shops. The pub will be closed for lunch and will open at 6.30pm for drinks only.

11^th of September Friday 9pm, 80’s Night with live music, fancy dress optional. We will be celebrating the end of the Aunt Sally season and the birthdays of two members of our team, Steph and Emily who will be turning 18 that month! Soon I’ll be able to leave them behind the bar and go on holiday!

Once again, thank you to all valued customers. Last year, with everything going against publicans, trade became so dire we thought we’d be very lucky if we’re still here by the summer but your continued support has seen us through, has kept us going and it looks like we’re here to stay. Here’s to more good times at the George and Dragon.

See you at the pub!