19th July 2026
The 7th anniversary of the reopening of The Swan in 2019, provided a perfect excuse for a summer Community Day and Birthday Party! The day was opened by local celebrity Sue Holderness (aka ‘Marlene’) who then joined an intrepid gang of regulars on a gentle walk along the river to The Brocas and back.
We all enjoyed Zavier’s now legendary ‘Zavvy Burgers’, and the first of the afternoon’s live acts from vocalist Italo Castro. Lia & Alan and Dawn & Richard ran market stalls whilst Jessie’s Fantastical Face Painting entertained the kids.
After singing Happy Birthday to The Swan, volunteer Mirella cut the delicious birthday cake, made and donated by Jennifer from St Andrew’s Church.
The vibe was chilled and relaxed as we listened to our second act, vocalist and guitarist David Knowles accompanied by Omari on the saxophone. A great day was had by the community, walking, relaxing and chatting in the sunshine over a drink or two! And we raised £300 in donations for the Renovation Fund! A huge thank you to Mirella who conceived and planned the day with Trudy and Micky and to everyone who came along to be part of a great day.
And in the evening, after such a wonderful Community Day was over, it seemed only right that many settled down to watch the World Cup Final 2026. We cheered on Spain of course, our European neighbour, against rivals Argentina who had prevented us getting to the final just a few days earlier. We were delighted Spain came up trumps to win 1-0 after extra time and with that, we waved goodbye to World Cup for another 4 years!