1st June 2021
R&A Good Cheer Awards – Focus on the Overall Winner – R&A Magazine for June, 2021.
Transcription
Good Cheer Awards – Community Spirit & Beer
The Swan was the overall winner of our awards, embodying all that epitomises good cheer.
The Swan in Clewer has grown from the proverbial unwanted ugly duckling into a much-loved character at the heart of the community.
“We are unique, very much a community venture“, Peter Clifford, a member of the seven-strong committee The Friends of The Swan tells me as he shares his joy and that of all those involved in the project at their winning the overall Round & About Good Cheer Award for the Thames Valley.
The 18th-century pub called time in 2016, but one determined group of locals didn’t want to see it just sold to a developer and consigned to history. It was declared an Asset of Community Value and as such, was awarded protection from this fate. The community came together with the Green Room School and Windsor & Eton Brewery to set about saving The Swan and having been given the freehold, they were handed the keys in 2019.
Windsor & Eton Brewery provides the beers and the school which provides an alternative for those who can no longer access mainstream education, has developed a programme for older students to learn useful life skills through work experience.
Thanks to the goodwill and hard work of ‘weekend warriors‘, all heroes in Peter’s eyes, The Swan emerged and reopened its doors in July 2019 and was taking flight when Covid-19 and the ensuing lockdown hit in March 2020, but The Friends were undeterred. Peter said: “During lockdown, one of the greatest strengths was deciding to keep in contact with the community and to do this through events planned and staged by The Friends of The Swan.“
Quiz and bingo nights became a regular feature, and without doubt one of their most popular was the cheese and beer evening, teaming up with two local partners, The Cheese Munger and Will Calvert of Windsor & Eton Brewery, who picked six cheeses and beers for the Six Nations rugby tournament. A sell-out crowd joined the revelry online – just as they would have done had The Swan been open.
Emphasising its ethos of being a pub for all-it’s first customers included a 98-year-old woman and a six-week-old baby-young ones weren’t forgotten with children’s storytelling led by a former headmistress, again building on the community spirit and utilising specific skills.
And now they are enjoying seeing their loyal and loving customers again. “We’re in the lucky but strange position of having lots of covers, up to 80 people in the garden,” Peter explained, “all adhering to the rules, sharing tables, being friendly and being part of the community.
“Pubs have been living off goodwill, and after the past year, people are so keen to go back to socialising. Community pubs have benefitted more because of this.“
The next key stage is to get the kitchen in, with summer a possibility, and with future plans for B&B and extensive provision for cyclists and plans to work in tandem with local cycling groups, The Swan is on the right track for future success.