Pub Works Update

Wow, what a difference a week makes! We have seen HUGE progress over the last seven days thanks to our army of volunteers and some local contractors. Here is an update on what’s been happening down at the Bladon Community Pub.

The Garden

The team from Nicholsons Garden Design, Landscaping and Forestry did an amazing job over two days taking down the four unsafe trees in the garden. Most of Bladon got to witness them at work, hair-raising stuff!

Even better, Nicholsons have kindly donated five new trees (fruit bearing), one more than we had to fell, as well as a collection of sleepers and over 60 plants. Thanks to our gardening volunteers we now have freshly planted beds and window boxes. Fantastic! We were also able to make use of some of the wood, as chips for the garden. The rest of the wood has gone to be chipped, providing fuel for a biomass energy plant.

Other jobs in the garden included renovating and repainting the decking at the front of the pub, moving and fitting new fencing, and sanding and painting the last of the outdoor furniture.

The Building

However, there is more to do than just the garden and the building also received some TLC. The pub chimney was fitted with a new flue liner, making it safe to operate the wood burning stove again, ready for winter. The tenant’s accommodation had a makeover, getting repainted throughout. Finally we have started work on renovating the pub interior, beginning with the furniture.

What’s Next?

Now our attention turns to the pub itself as we countdown to opening. Over the next two weeks the following jobs will be completed:

• Seeding the bare areas of the garden, finishing off the fencing and giving the gardent a final tidy
• Fitting a new kitchen to the tenant’s accommodation
• Cleaning carpets and flooring throughout
• Painting the pub – chairs, tables and front of house
• Commercial deep cleaning of the pub kitchen and toilets
• Preparation of the cellar – getting ready for beer!

Volunteers Needed!

As before, we are keeping our volunteer form updated with the time slots where we need help. Please fill in your details if you can help out.

Nearly there!