The book, titled The Jolly Regulars, will be launched on 24 March, with 37 regulars at the Newtown pub aged from 3 to 70-years-old telling the book’s author - amateur photographer and journalist Rhiannon Stocking-Williams - why they love the pub and what role it plays in their community.
Stocking-Williams, a resident of Newtown since 1993, hopes to raise awareness of the importance of local British pubs, while donating all profits from the book’s sale to Cancer Research UK. She was keen to capture the spirit of the pub before current landlord John Westendorp (below) retires this year.
Stocking-Williams commented: “I was amazed at the number of couples who originally met in the pub and how everyone has a unique reason for being there.
“Everyone identified the important place it has is their lives but also how it helps combat loneliness and social isolation for a lot of local people – something that’s being talked about at the moment in the media and Parliament.”
While copies of the book will be available to pre-order from 3 March, the book will be launched at a free entry event at the Jolly Anglers on 24 March, where books will be available to order for around £25 on the day.
Local printing firm Minutemanpress Reading has offered to sponsor a ‘Wall of Regulars’ photo display as a backdrop to the launch event while Stocking-Williams is also looking for a company to sponsor the purchase of the first 50 books, which will enable all profits from book sales to go to Cancer Research UK.
