21
January 2021
Brewery boss sees bright future once the crisis is over CHRISTMAS arrived at the Crown Hotel in Blandford in the form of the Hall & Woodhaus Alpine bar, when guests were invited to visit the outdoor après-ski pop-up in a marquee filled with evergreen trees and heaters. They were offered a festive menu including savoury authentic bratwurst rolls and sweet treat waffles, together with a speciality drinks menu. The alpine bar was the first of its kind for Hall & Woodhouse and as
H&W chairman Anthony Woodhouse. an outside venue under Tier 2 restrictions, groups of six from different households could safely meet at the themed destination. Matt Kearsey, managing director at Hall & Woodhouse, said: "We knew that this year would need to be different, so we have been planning for the alpine bar for a while. Our teams wanted to create a space where family and friends could meet to celebrate Christmas, while most importantly remaining safe."
The company over the summer raised more than ÂŁ9,000 through its charity dish initiative, giving 25p from each sale of honey-roast ham in managed houses and its Unlock'd lager campaign celebrating the reopening of pubs in aid of local charities across the south. A new seasonal charity dish launched in October - a spiced Indian bhaji burger generating 24p from each sale to charity - continued after the November lockdown. The company has also announced successful trading results in 2019. Chairman Anthony Woodhouse said: "The pandemic significantly impacted the hospitality industry and our pubs' business, but after the first lockdown, trading levels in our pubs were significantly better than predicted. "We are grateful for the support provided to the industry by the Government. "Borrowings are held at levels similar to last year, notwithstanding the pubs being closed throughout lockdown. However, we have to be realistic that this winter will be hard for us all, as the second lockdown illustrated. "The pandemic has accelerated a number of trends, such as home working, staycations, sense of community and demise of the high street, that had already heavily influenced our long-term thinking and our growth strategy. "We are well positioned to rebuild trade and grow rapidly when the crisis is over. The right pubs, providing the right offer in the right locations, will continue to be treasured by their communities."
Waitress Katy prepares to serve a table of customers in the Crown's Alpine bar.
News from the Surgeries Season's Greetings All the staff at the Blandford Group Practice hope that all their patients, from the youngest to the eldest, had a Happy Christmas and would like to wish them all a Hopeful New Year. It has been an extremely difficult year for all and everyone is hoping for a better 2021. In the meantime please look after yourselves and each other. Information about the Covid vaccines will be sent out as and when it becomes available and all eligible patients will be contacted when the date of availability is known for each particular group. Please do not telephone the surgery as you will be contacted in good time. We have many patients to vaccinate so we ask for your patience as we work through the vaccination programme which will last well into 2021. The Patient Participation Group (PPG) also hope all patients of the Blandford Group Practice had a Happy Christmas and wish them a Hopeful New Year. PAULA de Reucke, who has traded as Moonfleet in Salisbury Street, Blandford, for 15 years, has announced that on January 25 she will be moving her business online as 'Paula de Reucke Designs', and has been holding a closing down sale with plenty of bargains in the run-up to Christmas. Thanking all her customers for their support and friendship over the years, she said: "With the massive changes over the years to high street trading, the time has finally come to step down from the traditional high street shopkeeper role and take my creative business online. But I'm not going anywhere, I'll be a click away online."