Oxford CAMRA:
Branch Pub of the Year Competition 2006

9th February 2007

Unfortunately pressure of other business prevented us getting the shortlist ready for the December issue of Oxford Drinker, but voting is now under way for the Oxford CAMRA Pub of the Year, 2006.

All CAMRA members are entitled to vote. A PDF of the voting form is available, or the form can also be found in the current issue of Oxford Drinker. To vote you must visit all seven nominated pubs, get your form stamped to show that you've been, and then rank the pubs in your order of preference. Don't forget to add your name and CAMRA membership number at the bottom of the form.

Forms can be posted to the address given on the form, or they can be brought along to the March branch meeting (7.30pm on Monday 19th March at the Chester Arms).

The following shortlist of seven pubs were nominated at the December branch meeting (in alphabetical order):

1. Eagle and Child, 49 St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3LU.
   Phone: 01865 302925
2. General Elliot, Manor Road, South Hinksey, Oxford, OX1 5AS.
   Phone: 01865 739369
   Web: http://www.generalelliot.co.uk/
3. Harcourt Arms, Cranham Terrace, Jericho, Oxford, OX2 6DG.
   Phone: 01865 310630
4. King's Arms, 40 Holywell Street, Oxford, OX1 3SP.
   Phone: 01865 242369
5. Lamb and Flag, 12 St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3JU.
   Phone: 01865 515787
6. Morris Clown, High Street, Bampton, OX18 2JW.
   Phone: 01993 850217
7. Turf Tavern, 4 Bath Place, Oxford, OX1 1SU.
   Phone: 01865 243235
   Web: http://www.theturftavern.co.uk/

Most of the pubs are open all day, except the Harcourt Arms (11am-2pm, 5.30pm-11pm; noon-2pm, 7pm-11am Sunday) and the Morris Clown (5pm-11pm weekdays, noon-11pm Saturday and Sunday). The pubs mostly easy to find, but the following directions may help for the three less obvious ones:

The General Elliot - from the Abingdon Road, walk down Lake Street, use the footbridge to cross the lakes and the railway line and follow the path to South Hinksey - it is an easy walk but is unlit, so take a torch if going in the evening. By car use the South Hinksey turn-off from the A34 ring road. The pub web site has a map.

The Morris Clown - if you can arrange a designated driver then driving to the pub of an evening is the easiest thing to do (Bampton is on the A4095, south of Witney); however it is possible to the visit the pub by bus on a Saturday afternoon, using service 18 from Oxford (Castle Street stop M1) or service 19 from Witney (Market Square stop B).

The Turf Tavern - from Holywell Street, walk down Bath Place and turn left at bottom just before the Hotel entrance; or from Catte Street, turn into New College Lane, pass under the Bridge of Sighs and walk down the alleyway to your left. The pub web site has directions.

Judging for the regional and national CAMRA Pub of the Year competition is done by scoring on the factors listed below. This should give you some idea of what we are looking for in branch Pub of the Year candidate.

Quality of Beer: Obviously CAMRA are only going to give an award to a pub which consistently serves excellent real ale. Please note that the pub doesn't need to sell a wide range of beers to score highly. A pub selling a couple of ales in top-top condition is infinitely preferable to one selling seven or eight of variable quality. Also, the fact that a pub is a tied house should not be held against it.

Atmosphere, Style and Decor: This is partly about the "feel" of the pub - is it a nice place to be? Are you going to want to come back on a regular basis? It is also about the extent to which the most has been made of the actual building. Is the decor appropriate to the type of pub that it is? Does the style show respect for the building? Factors like imagination, taste and restraint all come into play. Pubs don't have to be picture-postcard, unspoilt rural gems to score highly here. Estate pubs, modern city centre bars, back street boozers - all can be excellent in their own terms.

Service and Welcome: Is the service prompt and friendly? Do you get a full measure without having to ask? The staff in a good pub should regard you as a human being rather than just a potential source of revenue!

Clientele Mix: A good pub is one where anyone can go in and feel comfortable, whoever they are. If a pub, intententionally or unintentionally, operates in such a way as to exclude some sectors of the community then that counts against it for this competition. A CAMRA Pub of the Year needs to be inclusive, not exclusive. Look out for whether the pub attracts a good cross section of people and age groups. Is there anything about the pub which might cause discomfort to certain groups?

Sympathy With CAMRA Aims: Does the pub espouse and promote our values? Is cask beer given a positive push here? Is information offered about the ales sold? Does the pub try to stimulate interest in the sorts of issues that we are concerned about?

Good Value: This is about value for money, but in the widest sense of the term (ie. not just how cheap the ales is). Having made the effort to travel to the pub and spend your money, how good a pub experience have you had? This is a bit of a catch-all category and acknowledges the fact that it isn't always easy to pin down exactly why a pub seems so good, but somehow everything comes together and the whole thing works.

Pub-judging can be great fun, especially when you find yourself in a belting upb that you havn't been to before. We hope you enjoy visiting these seven - make it part of your calibration of Community Pubs week!