The Railway Inn, Ketton is voted Rutland's Pub of the Year 2024, the third time it has been awarded the accolade.
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00:00 But it is our biggest night of the year. It's to present our Pub of the Year Award to Jamie and Luby.
00:07 Thoroughly deserved. I think they're becoming serial winners of it. Three times in four years or something.
00:13 And, you know, thoroughly deserved on merit.
00:17 I'll give you a little bit of background of how they've won it.
00:22 Camera, as you're probably aware, Campaign for Real Ale have been going just over 50 years.
00:27 Initially was very much focused on preserving real ale.
00:31 Now our focus has shifted very much to, as well as preserving real ale, preserving the pubs and clubs that serve it.
00:38 So the focus is equally spread.
00:41 One of the ways in which we hope to support and promote our pubs and help them survive is through our rewards system and the Good Beer Guide.
00:51 So the Good Beer Guide comes out every year. You'll be aware of it.
00:55 We have seven entries in Rutland in the Good Beer Guide.
00:58 But the other thing we have is our award system and we have a Pub of the Season and a Pub of the Year.
01:04 To win our Pub of the Year, a pub must win our Pub of the Season.
01:07 Now to get the Pub of the Season Award, that pub must have in a quarter recorded the highest average beer scores to get onto a shortlist of three.
01:19 And then we, as Rutland camera members, vote for the pub on that shortlist of three.
01:24 Jamie and Luby won the Spring Award last year, I think.
01:27 Up on the wall there.
01:31 So went into the Pub of the Year contest and were up against the other three seasonal winners, which were the Exeter Arms in Uppingham,
01:41 the Lord Nelson in Oakham and the Wheat Sheaf in Oakham.
01:46 In February of this year, we had nine of our volunteers from within the branch went round as independent judges and judged all four pubs.
01:56 And there's a set of criteria that Cameron put out for judging the Pub of the Year, primarily on beer and the consistency of it and the way it's served,
02:05 on the cleanliness, the atmosphere, the value for money and the overall impression they get when they come out to visit the pubs.
02:14 It was a close contest, I must say.
02:17 Third place was the Exeter, second place was the Wheat Sheaf in Oakham, but the very worthy winners were, of course, Jamie and Luby here at the Railway.
02:26 And many congratulations to them because it's a fantastic little pub, as you all know.
02:32 One of the things that perhaps goes a bit unappreciated, I think, all of us as pub goers, is the amount of hard work that goes in.
02:42 You can have a talent for it, you can have a nice personality and work really, you know, be able to deal with people well, create a nice atmosphere,
02:52 but there's an awful lot of hard work that goes on and dedication to the task and commitment to it,
02:59 which I think Jamie and Luby showed this year by actually buying the pub.
03:03 So we were thrilled when we heard that news. You know, it's one of, it is Rutland's finest pub over the last three or four years, obviously,
03:12 because it's won the award and it was great to see that the commitment that Jamie and Luby have shown moving forward in purchasing the pub, so long may it continue.
03:21 So many congratulations to them both.
03:25 And we're just about to present the award, but I just want to indulge in Rutland Camera, moment of indulgence for Rutland Camera.
03:33 I'm talking about hard work and the gentleman on my right is our branch secretary, Dave Casewell, who has been our branch secretary for God knows how many years.
03:44 But Dave is the glue that holds our branch together.
03:48 So I've asked him tonight to present the award and he optimises the hard work that the branch has put in.
03:57 And it's great that you could present the award these days.
04:01 I'm delighted so to do. I'm going to say now, just hand it over.
04:07 [Applause]