Many moons ago, many many moons ago, I shared our adventures in a pub other than the Dolphin. The pub we used to visit for the quiz and also because the shanty buoys used to rehearse there, was The New Inn in the interesting little village of Kewstoke. If you imagine that Weston-super-Mare grew as a town in the early years of the nineteenth century by Weston Bay, which had the last hills of the Mendips on the south side, and on the north side Worlebury Hill now covered by Weston woods (thanks or not to a vicar who decided to plant trees over an Iron Age hill-fort) – well, Kewstoke is on the north side of the hill.
Kewstoke is a small but interesting village and within it lies the New Inn. Six or more years ago the Beach’d Buoys shanty band practised there, and the shwags (shanty wags, i.e. wives and girlfriends) would sit in the bar catching up with each other’s news while the Buoys practiced. It’s a friendly pub, and before long, we started coming along to the quiz, and on one occasion, I even wrote and ran it! However, all that ground to a halt by the horrific time of fear and lockdown, and afterwards things were different. The shanty buoys practiced elsewhere, the New Inn closed for a while, its quiz a thing of the past.
Now (hurrah) the New Inn is back to its old self, and this evening, since daughter lives nearby, we dropped in for a couple of drinks. It wasn’t very busy by the time we got there, but it is a Sunday night, and we were warmly welcomed by the new landlord, who I believe is called Rob. We sat in our old places and remarked that the pub was as clean and neat as it always was, the landlord, was a friendly efficient chap, I think we recognised the other customers who were chatting and laughing with each other, and we settled for a pleasant evening.
We were given a cheery farewell as we departed, so pleased that the pub was back to being itself again, and pleased that when we visit daughter we can go out for a couple of drinks/
Lois Elsden 