As readers will recall from the February/March edition, CAMRA branches have been presenting Lockdown Hero awards to pubs and breweries who have gone that extra mile to serve their communities, despite all of the restrictions placed on them. You will find details of the latest batch of awards below.
CAMRA’s London Liaison Committee, the coordinating body for CAMRA branches in greater London, has decided, just for this year, not to present the John Young Memorial Award. Instead, London branches are currently considering nominations for a special Lockdown Hero of Heroes award. The decision will be made at the LLC’s meeting on 28 July. The result will be announced on the London Region website and the winner covered in detail in our next edition.
NORTH LONDON BRANCH
The Antwerp Arms has been serving Tottenham since the 1820s and was purchased by the local community in 2015, thus saving it from developers. It is north London’s first community owned Pub. When, during the various COVID lockdowns, the Antwerp Arms wasn’t able to trade as normal, the community association which runs the pub decided that they could still be proactive in the community with their committee, volunteers, kitchens and resources putting themselves at the service of the Tottenham Foodbank and the Felix Project to help provide freshly prepared and cooked meals for the needy in the local area. They cooked and distributed over 10,000 meals and food packages plus 400 Christmas hampers. This also involved training volunteers, young and old alike, in kitchen preparation and cooking skills.
the Antwerp’s manager
The award was presented during the Association’s sixth birthday celebrations on 30 May to acknowledge their marvellous efforts for their community. The Antwerp Arms is also CAMRA North London’s Branch Pub of the Year for 2021/2022. The Association has made a video about the foodbank project which you can view at https://fb.watch/5ITBY9AVT3/. The pub’s full address is 168-170 Church Road, Tottenham, N17 8AS.
Colin Coyne
RICHMOND & HOUNSLOW BRANCH
Two awards have been made: to the Angel and Crown in Richmond (Fuller’s; TW9 1JL) and the Jolly Coopers in Hampton (free house; TW12 2SJ). They will be presented later in the year and details will be posted on the branch website and in London Drinker in due course.
SOUTH WEST LONDON BRANCH
Following on from the presentation to the Crown & Anchor in Brixton, as reported in the June/July edition, three further awards have since been presented. The first was on 25 May, to the Trafalgar in South Wimbledon, for the successful operation of their fresh beer take away service during the first two lockdowns.
The photo shows district representative Martin Butler (proudly wearing a vintage Trafalgar beer festival t-shirt) presenting the award to manager Rowan Molyneux. Very sadly, the presentation was the final event held at this popular free house; see page 29.
Next, on 27 May, came the Priory Arms free house in Stockwell. The Priory Arms provided both a delivery service for beer and cider to local addresses through all three lockdowns, as well as a click and collect service when possible.
The photo shows branch chairman Mark Bravery preseting the award to Ellie from the pub, despite the railing getting in the way.
Finally, on 3 June, it was the turn of the Wimbledon Brewery Tap. Their award was in recognition of their setting up a home delivery service in addition to their shop and, when it became possible, expanding the opening hours for the brewery tap and adding a locally sourced food offering. They also supported one of the local foodbanks. The photo shows Mark Bravery, the branch chairman (right), with master brewer Derek Prentice (left) and brewer Max Scan with the certificate. With thanks to Philip Blanchard and Michael Howard for the photos.
