Beckley & Area Community Benefit society Limited (BACBS)

The Abingdon Arms tenancy

We make no apology for repeating the exciting news which we broadcast yesterday – we have new tenants at The Abingdon Arms! Subject to final signatures, 3 Catering Limited will take on the tenancy of The Abingdon Arms with effect from tomorrow, Friday 1st November.

As we reported, our new tenants are Zuzana (aka Suzy) Minichova, Alex Dumitrache and Victoria (aka Vicky) Macpherson

Their plans for The Abingdon Arms are ambitious and exciting, and include many things which have been requested by you, our community:

• Zuzana, Vicky and Alex will open the pub from 12 noon tomorrow, Friday 1st November, serving drinks throughout the day and dinner in the evening, but the kitchen will not be ready to offer lunches on this first day. Lunch and dinner will be available from Saturday.

• The Abingdon Arms will be open 7 days each week.

• Alex will develop dishes and menus, and Suzy a drinks range, in conjunction with customer preferences.

• The pub will provide a broad range of dishes and prices, including bar snacks and a selection of vegetarian, vegan and fish dishes. An early weekday low-cost menu is also likely.

• A Christmas menu will be available shortly, and reservations can be made from Friday.

• Supplies will be sourced locally when possible, but affordable meals will always available, and a range of local craft ales is central to Suzy’s plan. We understand she’s an ale drinker herself, when off duty of course, so that’s a sure bet!

• Alex, Suzy and Vicky will deliver outside catering for local parties and functions.

• Most of the pub’s staff, who many of you know well, will continue to work at the pub.

• Suzy and Alex are committed to training front of house and kitchen staff, thereby providing jobs and developing the careers of local people.

It will take a while, but Vicky will be setting up a new website at the present web address – http://theabingdonarms.co.uk/ Opening times, menus, on-line table reservations and other details will be listed soon. The telephone number will be unchanged – 01865 655667.

Suzy, Alex and Vicky have been working flat out over the past week to prepare for the start of their new tenancy. Do come to The Abingdon Arms as soon as you can to find out what they have already achieved!

Suzy, Vicky and Alex have written as follows:

We are so pleased to announce that the Abingdon Arms is under new management! We are a wonderful package of three who are coming on board, and we would like to tell you a little bit about ourselves.

Alex has been a head chef for many fabulous years. He has gained two AA Rosettes and cooked for many incredible functions, the 2012 Olympics and Richard Branson to mention a couple!! Alex’s expertise in his fish dishes really blossomed when he worked in France, and it reflects in his passion for creating high quality menus in the traditional pub environment in the heart of the countryside. Alex wants to bring local, fresh produce to The Abingdon Arms - and not charge 'an arm and a leg' for a good meal!

Suzy has been working in hospitality for 20 years. Her most recent achievements were in the role of general manager at a nearby 5* rated inn, which some may know, the Bell in Hampton Poyle for 10 years! Suzy has engaged in numerous wine training sessions in 'the big smoke' and can match any dish with a superb accompanying wine.

Vicky works the magic behind the scenes! Her refreshing attitude for social media keeps all the marketing up to date. She will keep you in the loop with new menus, Christmas parties and all other events while assisting with any queries or administrative requests!

We will run The Abingdon Arms for the local community and for customers from further afield who value a country pub which offers good food, good drink, and good company. And we will be open to welcome you 7 days each week. Together, the three of us aim to bring some new flavours and atmosphere to Beckley and its surrounding community and we hope that you will join us very soon!

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November “More than a Pub” programme

Suzy, Vicky and Alex have agreed that, at least for the time being, we should continue our monthly MtaP programme as before. We have already spoken about possible additional activities, for example a monthly community lunch open to all who live in our extended community, men and women. This would be in addition to the popular Men of Beckley and Women of Beckley lunches.

The programme for November is available here. We start the month in fine style with an autumnal poetry evening on Sunday 3rd, entitled ‘Season of Mists’, arranged by Oxford’s Next Step Poetry Group with guests Jane Spiro and John Daniel. We are all invited to read a favourite poem, a poem of our own if we wish, or to ask a member of Next Step to read it – arrive early (at 6pm or soon after) and put your name down on the list. The poster for this event is available for download here.

In addition to our regular community morning coffee and afternoon tea get-togethers (Friday 8th and Wednesday 27th November respectively), and the Men and Women of Beckley lunches (Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th), we will have Jazz at The Abingdon Arms on Sunday 17th with ‘house’ musicians Frank Harrison on keyboard and Mark Hodgson on bass – guest soloist to be confirmed.

The community walk on Sunday 24th will be led by Beckley’s Parish Path Warden Chris White - who also spoke to us 18 months ago about Patrick Leigh Fermor’s World War 2 abduction on Crete of a German General. Expect a gentle walk and stimulating conversation!

The 2019 literary / public interest programme will end in fine style too on Sunday 24th November with a talk about the history of Littlemore mental hospital - ‘Littlemore Hospital: from Pauper Lunatic Asylum (1840s) to Mental Health Facility (1990s)’ by Prof John Stewart, Emeritus Professor of Health History, Glasgow Caledonian University. Not to be missed ……….

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RESUSCITATION TRAINING

The recent BACBS ‘defibrillator training’ session presented by paramedic Dick Tracy was well-attended and very well received. Dick conducts his training in an accessible, informative and humorous manner! The session included how to differentiate between a cardiac arrest and a heart attack, as well as how to respond to them.

Because this session was focussed on adults, we are thinking of asking Dick back to offer a session on first aid for children. This would include how to manage choking, as well as sudden collapse. We anticipate this would be of interest to parents, and grandparents, and could just save a life. We will keep you informed.

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BACBS Annual Members’ Meeting

The Annual Meeting of Members of the Beckley & Area Community Benefit Society will be held at Beckley Village Hall on Monday 18th November, from 7.30pm (doors open 7.00pm).

The agenda will include formal reports from the Society’s officers, presentations about the conclusion of the accessible toilets construction project and instigation of the BACBS Good Neighbour Scheme, and results of the election of Members to the BACBS Management Committee.

BACBS Members will have received notification of the Annual Members’ Meeting and the election. Voting will be undertaken on-line, with a closing date of midnight on Friday 15th November. Please do exercise your Membership rights and community responsibility by looking carefully at the candidates’ biographies and casting your votes.

The evening will be concluded with drinks and an opportunity to meet our new tenants Suzy, Vicky and Alex.

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