Patriotic flavour
With just less than two weeks to go until St George's Day, Rosie Davenport finds out how licensees are getting behind our campaign and how they plan to drive trade
St George may be England's patron saint, but he has struggled to make his mark on our national conscience, with only one in five people usually celebrating 23 April. But this year, deep in the heart of Wirral, one man and his pub are working hard to put the dragon-slayer firmly on the map.
Tony Carr, manager of the Saughall, a Daniel
Thwaites-owned pub in Saughall Massie, is celebrating St George's Day with a weekend full of events to honour England's patron saint.
The weekend kicks off with a family fun day on the Queen's birthday, Saturday 21 April. Guests will participate in traditional races, tuck into cakes, jellies and ice cream, and enjoy the music, including a jazz band.
On the Sunday, an all-day barbecue is sure to please, followed by a charity night with a raffle in aid of the British Heart Foundation - Daniel Thwaites' chosen charity for 2007.
A carefully chosen menu features typical English dishes ranging from venison through to old favourites, such as beer-battered fish and chips, and steak-and-ale pie, both made with Thwaites beer.
To offer customers a new beer for the special occasion, Carr has ensured that the pub will have plenty of Thwaites' Double Century beer available in time for St George's Day, with supplies of Thwaites Lancaster Bomber adding to the authenticity.
Morris dancing and England's symbolic red roses will add to the celebratory atmosphere.
A countdown of the number of days left until St George's Day, posted on the A-board outside, sparks interest among passers-by.
Carr says: "We're decking out the pub in bunting, and counting down the days on a blackboard outside attracts lots of attention.
"It's great that people have been curious enough to come in and ask what it's all about. Several customers have told us how pleased they are that we're flying the flag for England.
"I think more should be done to raise awareness of St George and we shouldn't be embarrassed to show our patriotism.
"The Irish and the Welsh raise their glasses to their patron saints with country-wide celebrations. I wanted to hold this weekend-long party in honour of St George as I think we should honour our own patron saint."
Food recipes to celebrate England's BIG DAY
Bombardier Beef Cobbler
1kg/2lb braising steak - diced
25g/1oz seasoned flour
Oil or dripping - for frying
3 large onions - sliced
2 medium carrots - sliced
2 sticks celery - chopped
1 dsp caster sugar
300ml/1/2pt Bombardier
300ml/1/2pt beef stock
1/2 a tin of chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp each of dried sage and thyme
For the scone (cobbler) topping:
225g/8oz self-raising flour
25g/1oz butter or margarine
50g/2oz mature Cheddar - grated
Pinch mustard powder and cayenne pepper
2 tbsp fresh parsley - chopped
150ml/1/4pt buttermilk or milk
Dust beef with seasoned flour, seal in oil in a frying pan and transfer to heavy pan. Sauté onions, carrots and celery in frying pan, stir in sugar and add to beef. Add beer, stock, tomatoes and herbs, cover and simmer until meat is tender (about 2 hrs). Season. For cobbler, sift flour into bowl, add salt, rub in fat, add grated Cheddar, seasoning and parsley. Add chilled milk. Roll out dough to 1cm/1/2in thick and cut into rounds with 5cm/2in cutter. Transfer beef to large pie dish, arrange scone rounds on top, brush with milk, bake towards top of hot oven (220°C/425°F/gas mark 7) for 15 mins until scones are well risen and golden. Serve beef with scone on top.
Gammon in Bombardier with mustard crust
2.25-4.5kg/5-10lb gammon joint
1 medium onion
1 large carrot - peeled
About 1.2ltrs/2pts Bombardier
English mustard powder
Brown sugar
Place gammon in large pan. Pour over 1-2 pints of Bombardier, according to joint size, and top with water to three-quarters cover. Add onion and carrot whole, bring slowly to simmering point, skimming off any scum. Cover and simmer gently for 1-2 hours, according to joint size; remove from heat and leave to cool in liquor. Remove joint, dry with kitchen paper, remove rind and score fat. Heat oven to very hot (230°C/450°F/gas mark 8). Place gammon in roasting pan. Mix mustard powder with water and spread thinly over joint, sprinkling brown sugar on top. Sear in oven for up to 45 mins, until sugar caramelises. Leave overnight and serve thinly sliced.
the Bramingham, Luton, Bedfordshire
It's the first time the Bramingham, a Luton-based Charles Wells pub, will be celebrating St George's Day. They will be decorating the bar with kits supplied by Wells Bombardier.
Manager Rob Wright has applied for an extended licence for the party to continue until midnight. "There will be a disco with the best of English music, from Oasis to the Beatles," says Wright. "We will also lay on traditional English-themed food. And at 10.45pm, we will be getting everyone in the pub to raise a pint of Wells Bombardier as an official toast to England and St George."
The Bramingham will also be tapping into the success of past England sporting triumphs by playing videos on their big screen, including, of course, the 1966 World Cup Final.
Reader COMPETITIONs to help pubs take part
Dress your pub to the nines - and win £1,000
As well as celebrating everything English and putting on a special event, the MA has teamed up with Gaffney Party Products to reward the licensee who puts the most effort into decorating his or her pub for the occasion.
To be in with a chance of winning the Best Dressed Pub competition, with a first prize
of £1,000 and a special plaque, send us
pictures of your outlet dressed up to the nines for the event.
Log on to www.celebratestgeorgesday.com to enter the competition.
The closing date is 28 April. The competition will be judged at county level, with one overall national winner.
Toast St George and scoop £1,000
Wells & Young's is offering a £1,000 prize to the drinker who toasts St George in the most unusual place in the country.
The winner will also receive a uniquely-crafted silver medal and a certificate for choosing the most imaginative location to toast the saint at 10.45pm on 23 April.
To enter, send a photograph of you performing your toast with Wells Bombardier, plus a written description (no longer than 50 words) of what you did and where you did it, to: Wells Bombardier Toast Competition, St George's Day 2007, The Office, 21 Coverdale, Carlton Colville, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 8TD.
Closing date is 28 April. Log on to
www.celebratestgeorgesday.com for details.
Judges consider winner of Greene King competition
The Greene King Abbot Ale St George's Day
competition, running in conjunction with the MA, has inspired licensees from far and wide to celebrate England's national day in style.
Today is the competition deadline, with judges set to choose five lucky winners of a tailored St George's Day makeover, alongside full marketing support from Abbot Ale.
Greene King Brewing Company marketing director Fiona Hope says: "So many entries have flooded in, giving excellent reasons to win the Abbot Ale St George's Day competition - it will be difficult for the judges to choose the winner!"
Get the Bombardier bus to visit
Wells Bombardier is giving Morning Advertiser readers the chance to have the Bombardier Bus visit their pub on Saturday, 21 April.
St George's Day falling on a Monday gives an excellent excuse to celebrate England over the whole weekend.
If you think the bus should visit your pub, tell us, in no more than 25 words, how you are planning to celebrate St George's Day.
Send your entries, along with your name, address and contact details to bombardier@
