After raising quite a substantial amount of money for a local charity, the Blue Ball Inn at Worrall was nominated as Community Pub of the Year and progressed through to the final 50. They were invited to attend the ceremony in London where the finalists would be assessed and a shortlisted to five. The Blue Ball made it through to the final but were pipped at the post by the Dog & Parrot, Eastwood, Notts. Carl and Emma who run the Blue Ball said they thoroughly enjoyed the experience and whilst disappointed not to win thought the Dog & Parrot were worthy winners.
Whilst in London Carl and Emma took the opportunity to meet with their local MP, Olivia Blake, at the Houses of Parliament. They petitioned Olivia about the level of support publicans currently receive in the light of the hike in energy prices and how this had affected the pub trade. Whilst accepting the points Olivia made about support to the brewery trade made a strong argument for this to be cascaded down to pubs or a more targeted support to pubs rather than just breweries.
Since taking over the tenancy of Blue Ball, just prior to Covid and lockdown, they have very much concentrated on improving their cellar, their beers and developing a community focussed pub. The pub we see today is very different to on the one Emma and Carl took over, with regular local community group activities, such as local business club meetings, held in the pub, supporting and sponsoring local activities and soon hoping to host a local produce market in their car park on Saturday mornings.
All of this coupled with award winning Timothy Taylor’s ales on cask makes for a great offering for anyone wanting to enjoy a warm friendly atmosphere, some great food on Friday evenings and a great pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord or Knowle Spring.
Neil Adgie