Local Issues

At 00:12 this morning the fire alarm went off at the Holiday Inn in Plymouth. When opening the hotel room door it was clear that there was smoke inside the hotel building - not visible, but you could certainly smell it. Most of us departed in an orderly way to the outside and watched as the smoke turned to flames and two fire engines turned into what appeared to be 10. It was certainly all very well done by the services there, but not so great from the Holiday Inn staff who did a role call right in front of the burning building and then sent us through the dense smoke to Jury's Inn. Good to see that the manager from the Holiday Inn eventually took charge and found rooms for people. I found a bed by 03:00. Thankfully it appears that no one was seriously hurt.

There is a bit more information on the BBC News web site http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11782607.

The original video is also available on YouTube.

Posted by Adrian Hollister

It looks like the Ibex in Chaddleworth has closed. Chaddleworth's pub, The Ibex, has won several awards including South East Entertainment Pub of the Year 2010 and West Berks CAMRA Community Pub 2009 but has been surrounded in controversy when the landlady Julia Jones stole over £15,000 from the village post office effectively closing the branch. I went to the pub quite often when I first moved into the area, but poor, grumpy and what can best be described as stroppy service drove me and others away. It was always going to be doomed when the landlady stole from our post office and then went around boasting about how she got away with it. The locals effectively just stopped going there.

At least the change will be good for our community and I hope to see the Ibex re-open without the taint of the previous tenants.

If you want a great pub in the Downlands area then Adrian Hollister's recommendation is The Stag in Leckhampstead - great food and a great atmosphere (relaxing and comfortable).

Posted by Adrian Hollister