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Betws-y-coed, Conwy, United Kingdom
Visit www.royaloakhotel.net or www.waterloo-hotel.info for more information

Wednesday 29 July 2009

BATS visit the Oak

We've been visited by BATS........

West Bromwich foursome Peter Hill and friends John Drew,Karl Bradley and Joe Hill, known as the Black Country Ale Tairsters have spent thousands since 1984 travelling across the UK, enjoying a pint in every county in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

They came up with the idea after getting bored of drinking in the same pub, the Old Crown pub in Whitehall Road and made it their mission to visit every pub in Herefordshire and Worcestershire - over 250.

After travelling all of the pubs in the Midlands in their trademark beer mat waistcoats in 1986 they were presented with tankards from the brewery. In 1988 they visited 71 different pubs in 12 counties covering 1,016 miles from Kent to South Wales. On that occasion they raised cash for Sandwell Hospital, Moxley Hospital and the Wolverhampton Royal Hospital.

Flushed with their success they then made it their mission to visit every pub in every county in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, an achievement marked in the Guinness Book of World Records. In the last three years alone, the Tairsters have raised over £5,000.

They have now set their sights on all the pubs in north Wales to raise money for Wrexham Children’s Hospital.

The Royal Oak became their 14,401 visit and their drink of choice was the famous Revered James cask ale-

"Iechyd da" boys and carry on the good work!

Monday 6 July 2009

Dulwich Reunion - Tanks away



Last weekend saw the old prep school boys who were evacuated during the second world war, return to the hotel for their annual reunion. It was an excellent attendance and included 2 headmasters amongst the ranks. Judging by the chatter, the Saturday luncheon was an interesting affair and the weather held well for all those staying over the weekend (some also stayed the Sunday night as well). Of specific interest was the small note book produced by Mr R Viccari depicting when the allied American tanks came through the village. The story goes that the noise of the rumbling tanks drowned out the boys shouts for sweets, so a large banner was to catch the eyes instead. I asked the author as to why the tanks where there in the first place and whether some artistic license had been employed. His reply was most honest in that the tanks were trying to ensure they were as far away from the nazi bombing threat whilst they regathered their forces after Dunkirk. There was even one stationed on the Waterloo Bridge; something I had not heard before. His drawings are reproduced with his kind permission and serve as a fascinating incite to a young boys perspective of the WW2 viewed from the Welsh foothills.